FUMO OPPOSES REMOVING TREASURER FROM TOBACCO BOARD

     HARRISBURG, November 25, 2000 – State Senator Vincent J. Fumo (D-Philadelphia) issued the following statement today regarding Republican-sponsored legislation deleting the office of state Treasurer from the membership of the Tobacco Settlement Investment Board.
     "This shows that the Republican majority in the Senate is willing to put petty political vindictiveness above good public policy.
     "The Tobacco Settlement Investment Board is not a policy-making body. It’s sole responsibility is investing money that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania received from the multi-state tobacco settlement. The Treasury is the state office specifically designed and charged with the responsibility to make wise and prudent investment decisions. It is the office with the greatest resources available to apply to that decision-making process.
     "The Treasurer is a most appropriate member of such a board. Republicans are removing the state’s principal investment officer from a board that manages a significant portion of the Commonwealth’s investments. It is immature, childish and reckless for the Republicans to impair the function of the Tobacco Settlement Investment Board simply because the current occupant of the Treasurer’s office did not support a particular political candidate."
     In the Senate Appropriations Committee today, Republicans, on a straight party-line vote of 15-9, inserted an amendment removing the Treasurer from the tobacco board into a bill that would extend senior citizen prescription drug benefits (HB 2860.)

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