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The Tobacco Toll |
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  Saturday . Nov 7 |
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Back to DOJ Lawsuit Report Home
U.S. House Votes on Federal Tobacco Lawsuit Show
Influence of Tobacco Campaign Contributions On June 19 and June 23, 2000, the U.S. House of Representatives cast two critical votes on whether to fund the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against the tobacco companies to recover federal tobacco-related health care costs. These votes showed the continued influence of tobacco money in American politics. On each vote, House members who voted to cut off funding for the lawsuit received at least five times as much in tobacco industry Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions as did those who voted against this special protection, according to an analysis of tobacco campaign contributions over the last two election cycles. VA-HUD Appropriations On June 19, 2000, the House voted 207 to 197 to prohibit the Department of Veterans Affairs from helping to pay for the lawsuit. Those voting to protect the industry have taken a total of $2,010,462, or an average of $9,712, in tobacco PAC money since January of 1997, compared to $344,732, or an average of $1,750, for those who voted to fund the lawsuit. The average amount taken by those voting to protect the industry is more than five times the average for those voting to fund the lawsuit. More than three-fourths (76 percent) of those who voted to cut off the lawsuit funding have taken tobacco PAC contributions since January of 1997, compared to one-third (33 percent) of those who voted in support of the lawsuit. The vote occurred on an amendment to the VA-HUD Appropriations Bill by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to help pay for the lawsuit. (Under pressure from veteran and public health organizations, the House reversed itself a day later and accepted by voice vote a slightly different amendment to allow the VA to contribute to the lawsuit).
Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations On June 23, 2000, the House voted, 215 to 183, to approve another Waxman amendment to the Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill to allow the Department of Justice to obtain funding for the lawsuit from other affected departments. On this vote, House members voting to protect Big Tobacco (voting against the Waxman Amendment) took nearly seven times as much tobacco PAC money in the last two cycles, on average, as did those who voted in favor of the amendment ($10,715 vs. $1,539). Seventy-nine percent of those voting with Big Tobacco took some tobacco PAC money in the last two election cycles, compared to just 32 percent of those who voted to support the lawsuit.
When the two votes are combined, the influence of tobacco money is even more stark. The 166 House members who voted with the tobacco industry on both bills took, on average, eight times as much in tobacco PAC contributions since 1997 as did the 171 members who voted both times to fund the lawsuit ($11,075 vs. $1,379). The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in 1999 to recover the billions of dollars federal health programs spend each year treating tobacco-caused diseases, including $20.8 billion under Medicare, $1 billion under veterans’ health care, and $1.6 billion under military health care. The Justice Department is paying for the lawsuit with assistance from other affected agencies, including the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Defense. Congressional opponents of the lawsuit are seeking to kill it by attaching anti-lawsuit provisions to appropriations bills funding these agencies. Additional votes are expected on the issue. View a complete list (185K, .pdf) of House members, their tobacco contributions and their votes on funding the federal tobacco lawsuit.
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