[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E582-E583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TOBACCO SETTLEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 25, 1999

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I and my colleagues are introducing 
legislation to ensure that the federal Medicaid dollars recovered in 
last year's tobacco settlement are spent to improve the public health 
and to fund effective tobacco control policy.
  In the last few months, the states have been asking Congress to 
overturn thirty years of Medicaid law. The states want to keep the 
federal health care dollars recovered under the settlement and to use 
these federal dollars for whatever purposes they desire. In the 
process, members are being urged to rewrite Medicaid law.
  This is wrong. Half of the funds that are being recovered are federal 
funds that were spent by the federal government as its share of the 
Medicaid expenses for tobacco-related illness. These funds should not 
be used to build bridges, pave roads, or fund tax cuts. They should be 
used for health services and tobacco control programs.
  That is why today I and my colleagues are introducing legislation 
that will ensure that these federal health care dollars are spent in 
the best way possible: to improve public health and to protect the 
health of our children.
  I know that this position is not popular among the governors, but it 
is right. As federally elected officials, we have a responsibility to 
ensure that these federal health care dollars are spent wisely.
  It is indisputable that the state settlements with the tobacco 
companies were in large part based on Medicaid claims. Tobacco-related 
illness costs the Medicaid program nearly $13 billion a year, and over 
half of those costs are paid for by the federal government.
  Money from the tobacco settlement should be spent to break the cycle 
of addiction, sickness, and death caused by smoking. That is why this 
legislation will require that 25% of the funds be spent by the states 
precisely for these purposes.
  The bill also requires that 25% of the tobacco settlement be spent by 
the states on health. We have given the states options to tailor their 
expenditures to their priority health care needs. They can use the 
funds for outreach to enroll individuals--children, the elderly, and 
the disabled--who are eligible for health services or to help with 
their Medicare premiums. They can use them to improve Medicaid coverage 
or services or they can use them to extend public health or preventive 
health programs.
  Under this bill, most of the federal dollars are given back to the 
states, in recognition of their leadership role in suing the tobacco 
companies. There are, however, a few tobacco control activities that 
are best carried out at the federal level. For this reason, the bill 
retains at the federal level $500 million to fund a nationwide anti-
tobacco education campaign and $100 million to implement the Surgeon 
General's recommendations on minority tobacco use. The bill also 
contains federal provisions to ensure that our tobacco farmers have a 
stable economic environment so that they can begin an orderly 
transition to a more diversified economy.
  Today the original claims in the tobacco litigation have become story 
and legend, and it is easy for the facts to be forgotten. But the fact 
is that a substantial portion of the tobacco settlement is federal 
health care dollars. It is not the states' money to spend as they 
please. It is our duty and responsibility to ensure that these federal 
dollars are spent to improve our nation's health.

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