Henry Waxman: “we are about to consider the defense appropriations bill. Buried in this bill is a seemingly innocuous provision that…”

“we are about to consider the defense appropriations bill. Buried in this bill is a seemingly innocuous provision that would have a profound effect. The provision would require the Defense Department to obtain prior approval from both defense authorizing and appropriating committees before transferring funds to the Justice Department for litigation. The motivation for this provision may be to allow the Congress to keep track of funds appropriated to the Defense Department, but the provision has a major unintended and adverse effect. It would effectively block the Defense Department's contribution to the Justice Department's suit against the tobacco industry. This suit is currently under active consideration in the courts. Cutting off funds would seriously cripple DOJ's efforts to hold the tobacco industry accountable and to recover the billions of dollars spent by the Government on smoking-related health care. The tobacco lawsuit is strongly supported by the Department of Defense. Smoking-related illnesses cost the Department nearly a billion dollars each year. If the Justice Department case is successful, it could result in a substantial financial benefit to DOD health care programs which stand to share in the recovery. I had considered offering a simple amendment. It would ensure that the restrictions on transfers would not apply to currently pending litigation. It would thus ensure that there is no unintended impact on the tobacco case.”