David Obey: “I would urge the House to adopt this motion. I think there is absolutely no reason why joint committees ought to be…”

“I would urge the House to adopt this motion. I think there is absolutely no reason why joint committees ought to be allowed a higher level of funding than was approved for any other committee in this House when the committee funding resolution was brought to the floor, especially in light of the nature of the publicity which has been directed lately at the committee that would be the beneficiary of the largess contained in the House bill. I would like to read from a newspaper article from USA Today. It says tobacco industry representatives wrote the provision of the balanced budget law that allows cigarette makers to reduce their future liability in smoking related lawsuits, Congress' chief writer told USA Today. The industry wrote it and submitted it; we just used their language, Kenneth Kies, staff director of the Joint Committee on Taxation said. Kies declined to identify the lobbyist who presented the provision or the company the lobbyist represented, but his statement is the first public acknowledgment that the controversial provision which could save cigarette manufacturers an estimated $50 billion over 20 years originated with the industry itself.”