Misusing money
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We started with a premise, articulated by the governor, that all of these funds should be dedicated to health care. That premise became a promise, and today that promise is fulfilled.
-- The chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Health and Welfare Committee, June 2001
That premise and promise are unraveling.
If Gov. Tom Corbett has his way, the landmark Tobacco Settlement Act that has provided more than $4.5 billion over the years to pay for a wide array of health services, research and investments will be scattered into the General Fund.
The governor has called for upending the long-settled tobacco settlement reserve by slicing it into pieces and depositing a good portion of it into a new pet project fund that he would control. The governor also plans to use tobacco funds to plug budget holes.
This is wrong. The governor should maintain the integrity of the fund, keep to the promise that was made years ago and use the coming year's $324 million in tobacco money to pay exclusively for health care. As important, the programs paid for by tobacco revenue should be removed from the grip of the governor and not subjected to the volatility of the budget process.
The shift of these funds out of the General Fund could be covered by using a portion of the estimated $500 million revenue surplus and by enacting some of the cost-saving ideas in the Senate Democrats' $1.1 billion savings plan. By moving the tobacco programs off budget, we could release significant dollars for educational, health care and safety-net programs, even in these times of austerity.
The governor's approach flies in the face of the Tobacco Settlement Act, the spirit of the national tobacco agreement and the pledge by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to earmark these funds for health care -- and only for health care.
First Published May 23, 2011 12:00 am
