[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 38 (Monday, September 27, 1999)]
[Page 1791]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the United States Lawsuit Against Major Tobacco Companies

September 22, 1999

    Today the Justice Department announced that the United States is 
filing suit against the major tobacco companies to recover the costs of 
smoking-related illnesses. As I said in my State of the Union Address in 
January, smoking has cost taxpayers billions of dollars through 
Medicare, veterans' health, and other Federal health care programs. The 
Justice Department is taking the right course of action. It is time for 
America's taxpayers to have their day in court.