I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3948
To maintain health care coverage for veterans by the Department of Veterans
Affairs for tobacco related illnesses, and to provide for additional author-
ization of appropriations for the Department.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 22, 1998
Mr. KLINK (for himself, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr.
DOYLE, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mr. TRAFI-
CANT, Mr. MASCARA, Mr. HOLDEN, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. GEJDENSON,
Ms. STABENOW, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. RUSH, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. SMITH
of New Jersey, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania, Mr.
RODRIGUEZ, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania,
Mr. MANTON, Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs.
MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. GREEN, Mr. NADLER, and Mr. GOODE)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To maintain health care coverage for veterans by the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs for tobacco related illnesses,
and to provide for additional authorization of appropria-
tions for the Department.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDING.
The Congress finds that the United States has both
directly and indirectly facilitated tobacco use by members
of the Armed Forces in that—
(1) from the time of the Civil War until 1956,
the Army was required by law ‘‘to cause tobacco to
be furnished to the enlisted men of the army at cost
prices, exclusive of the cost of transportation, in
such quantities as they may require, not exceeding
sixteen ounces per month’’ with the cost deducted
from their pay;
(2) the Air Force is still required by law to
make tobacco available for sale to enlisted members;
(3) cigarettes have been distributed free of
charge to members of the Armed Forces as part of
the food and sundries packets referred to as
‘‘C-rations’’;
(4) tobacco products have been and continue to
be sold by military exchanges at substantially dis-
counted rates, thus actively encouraging tobacco
usage by military personnel, and as late as 1996
commissary tobacco prices were as much as 76 per-
cent lower than commercial retail prices;
(5) the military culture historically has recog-
nized, encouraged, and supported cigarette smoking
by servicemembers (‘‘Smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em.’’);
(6) a significant number of veterans were non-
smokers upon entering military service and began
smoking during military service, and reliable studies
indicate that 75 percent of World War II veterans
began smoking tobacco products as young adults
during the course of their military service;
(7) labeling requirements warning of the addict-
ive nature of nicotine and the dangers of tobacco-re-
lated products, which were applicable to tobacco
products sold in the commercial market, were not
mandated for products distributed through the mili-
tary system until 1970, five years after the require-
ment was applied to products sold in the civilian
market; and
(8) the Department of Veterans Affairs has
been authorized by law to provide tobacco to veter-
ans receiving hospital or domiciliary care since 1957
and was authorized to do so by regulation since at
least 1933.
SEC. 2. SERVICE-CONNECTED COMPENSATION FOR TO-
BACCO-RELATED ILLNESSES OF VETERANS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for pur-
poses of sections 1110 or 1131 of title 38, United States
Code, in the case of a disability of a veteran from a disease
or injury that may be attributable, in whole or in part,
to that veteran’s use of tobacco products, the veteran shall
be entitled to payment of compensation under chapter 11
of such title.
SEC. 3. INCREASE IN AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS.
In addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be ap-
propriated for the Department of Veterans Affairs for fis-
cal year 1999, there is hereby authorized to be appro-
priated for the Department $1,000,000,000 for such fiscal
year.
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