Henry Waxman: “I thought that this issue had been resolved. I thought the House had determined that the veterans and America's…”

“I thought that this issue had been resolved. I thought the House had determined that the veterans and America's taxpayers deserved their day in court. The Federal lawsuit would be decided by a judge and a jury in a court based on the merits of the case, not by Congress through legislative riders. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The bill before us today, the Commerce-State-Justice appropriations bill, would undo the agreement we reached on Tuesday. Once again, it contains a rider that would defund the Federal tobacco lawsuit. During the debate over the past few days, we have learned several things. First, we have learned that stopping the Federal lawsuit is unfair to veterans.”