Veterans and Smoking-Related Illnesses: Congress Enacts Limits to Compensation

Publication Date: August 1998

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Research Area: Military and defense

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Abstract:

With enactment of P.L. 105-178 (H.R. 2400), the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), Congress limited authority of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to grant service-connected compensation to veterans who, after the enactment date, claim that their smoking-related illnesses are traceable to tobacco use that began during their military service. P.L. 105-178's prohibition on most smoking-related VA claims is the resolution of an issue with potentially explosive federal costs. Subsequent technical amendments included in P.L. 105-205, the Internal Revenue Service reform legislation, removed the implication that smoking may have been misconduct, and made other minor clarifications.

The issue surfaced in 1993, when the VA General Counsel determined that under VA law — which conditions veterans compensation on disabilities traceable to military service — diseases linked to tobacco use that began during military service are service-connected disabilities. After several years of study, in 1997 the VA Undersecretary for Health concluded that nicotine addiction is a disease, and the General Counsel reaffirmed the 1993 decision. The President’s FY1998 and FY1999 budgets recommended prohibiting VA from awarding compensation to veterans for adverse effects of tobacco use, and estimated the savings to be $16.9 billion over 5 years. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), using a slower rate in the growth of claims based on tobacco use had estimated the change would save $10.5 billion over the period.

Conferees on TEA-21 used VA’s savings estimate, committing $15.4 billion to offset costs of highway construction; the remaining funds were used to improve various veterans benefits. Among improvements are a 20% increase to veterans education benefits; increased amounts for special adaptations to houses and automobiles for severely disabled veterans; increased payments for veterans requiring full-time aid and attendance; and restoration of payments for surviving spouses of disabled veterans, in cases in which the surviving spouse’s subsequent marriage ends in divorce or death. Finally, P.L. 105-178 calls on VA to “take all steps necessary to recover from tobacco companies” the costs of medical care for veterans with smoking-related illnesses. (This report will be updated from time-to-time to reflect legislative developments.)