Our report to the Budget Committee on the fiscal year 1999 VA budget appropriately addresses a number of critical concerns. There is much in the Committee’s report which I believe every Member of this Committee can and should support.

The Committee’s report makes significant strides in several respects. It recommends, for example, a substantial increase in the appropriation for veterans health care, increased staffing to improve the delivery and quality of health care and non-health care benefits, and additional funding for both major and minor construction. It also recommends that we provide for the statutorily mandated number of Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialists and Local Veterans’ Employment Representatives.

For veterans health care, our Committee properly assumes VA’s health care system cannot possibly fully absorb expected cost increases and pay raises of more than $680 million without adversely impacting the quality of care it delivers. Already VA’s special emphasis programs—its spinal cord injury centers, blind rehabilitation programs and programs for homeless and mentally ill veterans—are being affected because of resource constraints. There are also significant inconsistencies in the restrictions various networks place on the number of bed days allowed in nursing homes for veterans. While inpatient services are being decimated, additional resources are needed to provide community, home and ambulatory care. We cannot allow VA’s special programs, in which VA has provided superior care, to simply unravel. Increased use of case management will allow veterans with complex health care needs being served by some of these programs to receive greater continuity in health care delivery. The additional appropriations for health care recommended by the Committee are essential to enable VA to maintain high-quality health care services for veterans and meet the special needs which veterans often have.

On other issues, we have honest differences of opinion and a lack of agreement. The Committee’s report, for example, recommends enactment of proposed legislation restricting service-connected disability compensation for smoking-related illnesses resulting from a nicotine addiction developed while in service. The Administration and its supporters contend that enactment of this legislation is needed to preserve the integrity of the VA compensation system. In fact, just the opposite is true. VA’s compensation system will be undermined irrevocably should Congress enact legislation prohibiting service-connected compensation for smoking-related illnesses.

While we are not in agreement today, I am, of course, willing to work toward reaching an agreement on this issue.

The Committee’s report is also silent regarding an Administration proposal to pay Filipino veterans and their survivors who reside in the United States full disability compensation. Currently these veterans receive benefits at one-half the level received by other veterans. The Committee should, in my view, strongly endorse this proposed legislation.

Mr. Chairman, while the purpose of today’s meeting is not to debate the Administration’s proposed legislation restricting service-connection for smoking-related illnesses, allow me to offer the following observations to provide some balance to this discussion:

• The Administration’s proposed legislation to greatly restrict service-connection for smoking-related illnesses is an effort by the federal government to limit its liability – this should come as no surprise to anyone.

• Support for the Administration’s position by Jesse Brown when he served as Secretary of Veterans Affairs should also not be surprising to anyone.

• Likewise, support today by Togo West for the Administration’s position is not to be surprising.
• Under the Administration’s proposed legislation:

• This effort to limit the liability of the federal government ignores relevant facts including:

1. The military has condoned and supported, some would say - encouraged, the use of tobacco, and particularly cigarettes, by members of the Armed Forces;
2. Cigarettes have been provided free of charge to members of the Armed Forces as part of their "C-rations";
3. Significant numbers of veterans were not smokers when they entered military service;
4. Significant numbers of veterans began smoking during their military service;
5. Reliable studies indicate 75% of World War II veterans began smoking tobacco products as young adults during the course of their military service;
6. The Department of Veterans Affairs has been authorized by law to provide tobacco products to veterans receiving hospital or domiciliary care since 1957;
7. Since 1933, predecessor agencies to the Department of Veterans Affairs were authorized by regulation to provide tobacco products to veterans receiving hospital or domiciliary care;
8. Warning labels of the addictive nature of nicotine and the dangers of tobacco products were not required for products distributed in the military system until 1970, five years following this requirement in the commercial market;
9. Tobacco products have been, and continue to be, sold by post and base exchanges at substantially discounted prices; and
10. As recently as 1996, commissary tobacco prices were 76% lower than commercial retail prices.

But whatever the individual views of Committee members are on the compensation issue, we should all be committed to working with the Chairman to make sure that if any such legislation were to pass, any cost savings should go back to the VA’s budget, and should be used for veterans and veterans alone.

As outlined in the Committee’s Budget Report, Chairman Stump and I also share the view that the VA should receive proceeds from any congressionally approved tobacco settlement. I have drafted a Concurrent Resolution expressing the Sense of Congress on this issue, and already have received positive feedback and support from a number of VSO’s, including the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the Fleet Reserve Association. I have made a copy of the resolution available to the Chairman and invited him to join me as an original co-sponsor. The staff has copies of the resolution available for any Members who share an interest in this issue. I plan to introduce the resolution next week, and I invite all Members of this Committee to join me as original co-sponsors.

Mr. Chairman, as there are honest differences of opinion today and a lack of agreement on all issues addressed in the report which will be submitted to the Budget Committee, I request the opportunity to submit written additional views prior to the close of business this Friday and that these additional views be included in the report submitted to the Budget Committee.