Reno under fire over tobacco lawsuit funding

March 10, 2000
Web posted at: 1:44 a.m. EST (0644 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Justice Department officials are defending their proposed use of millions of dollars from other agencies to help pay for government litigation against the tobacco industry, despite a congressional accusation of "subterfuge."

Justice said Thursday they may rely on a provision of the 1995 fiscal year appropriations act, which provides authority for the department to receive funds from client agencies.

Attorney General Janet Reno had been criticized on Wednesday by Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Kentucky), chairman of the House panel which funds the Justice Department, for continuing to fund the tobacco lawsuit after Congress last year vetoed Reno's $20 million request to help finance the suit.

"I want to know the details of this and I want to know who is behind it and why there is this subterfuge in getting the money to finance a lawsuit that we denied you the money to do directly," he said.

Reno replied, "I was not asked to do something, but to figure out how to fund the tobacco litigation, because I believe in it."

The 1995 law provides that in litigation involving unusually high costs, Justice can be reimbursed for salaries and expenses from any government agency represented in the litigation.

Lawyers in the Civil Division preparing the case are looking for nearly $8 million from the Defense Department, the Veterans Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The suit by the Justice Department seeks to recover billions of dollars from the tobacco industry for medical costs suffered by those agencies in paying for smoking-related illnesses.

A spokesman for Rogers said on Thursday that Rogers remains dissatisfied with the reasons he was given for the Justice Department action.

"He does intend to keep exploring it and pressing his concerns on it," the spokesman added.

Correspondent Terry Frieden contributed to this report

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