Hastings on NW Infrastructure & Tobacco Settlement

Hastings on NW Infrastructure & Tobacco Settlement. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Wednesday, the House Natural Resources Committee passed three bipartisan American energy bills that are important components of the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act. Washington Congressman Doc Hastings is chair of the Natural Resources Committee.

HASTINGS: The infrastructure of our country needs to be maintained on a regular basis and the Highway Trust Fund frankly doesn’t have quite enough money mainly because people aren’t driving as much. What this plan is, is to develop our natural resources especially on public lands and especially in the outer Continental shelf and use a portion of those revenues to fund our infrastructure repair across the country.

An estimated 45.3 million people, or 19.3% of all adults (aged 18 years or older), in the United States smoke cigarettes and is the leading cause of preventable death. State lawmakers in Idaho want to use $5.7 million from a nationwide tobacco settlement for smoking cessation programs and substance abuse treatment. Idaho currently gets money annually from the 1998 settlement with the nation's five largest tobacco companies. The money goes into an account called the "Millennium Fund," and lawmakers allocate 5 percent each year to spend on smoking prevention and related health programs.

Now here’s today’s Washington Grange report.

(Grange)

That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.