Good morning.

I am here to express my enthusiastic support for the goals of the Citizens' Commission to Protect the Truth and to underscore the importance of continued funding of the great work of the American Legacy Foundation, including its truth® campaign. Despite the great strides that we made with the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998, we still have a lot of work to do today and into the future if we want to more effectively combat smoking, the greatest avoidable public health problem we face in this country.

I am disappointed by the ways in which many of the states are using the funds that they receive each year from the tobacco companies under the MSA. The funds were intended to go toward smoking prevention, education, and public health. Too many of the states, unfortunately, are using little, if any, of the money to fund anti-tobacco or other public health initiatives.

This reality makes the work of the American Legacy Foundation all the more crucial. In the final analysis, it is entirely likely that the most important thing to come out of the Master Settlement Agreement will prove to be the American Legacy Foundation and its highly effective truth® campaign.

As a nation, we need to preserve this viable, independent and aggressive organization to continue to carry the fight to reduce smoking among young Americans. I join with the bipartisan membership of the Citizens' Commission as they call upon the tobacco companies to financially support the Legacy Foundation in this endeavor.

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