Lejeune water contamination hot topic at hearing

Former Camp Lejeune Marine Jerry Ensminger returned to Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to advocate for a bill that would give Lejeune troops and their families who were exposed to tainted drinking water on base access to medical care under the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The morning hearing before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee included two expert panels who discussed bills addressing the VA claims backlog, protest buffers for military funerals, cataloguing systems for Arlington Cemetery, and career transitioning for troops, but nearly every speaker also addressed the Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act.

Committee co-chairman Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), a sponsor of the bill, began with an impassioned statement on behalf of those affected by the contaminated drinking water.

“Studies are underway to gauge how much of the dangerous chemicals they were exposed to and how it impacted their health,” Burr said. “But, those who were put at risk should not have to wait for these studies before VA will provide them with care. We should make sure they can get the treatment they need now, to combat any adverse effects from these toxins.”

VA representative Robert Jesse, principal undersecretary for health for the administration, voiced the strongest opposition to the bill, referring to a much-contested 2009 report from the National Research Council that found links between chemical solvents in the water and diseases in base residents inconclusive and discouraged further research.

Jesse also said the parameters in the legislation would allow too many to receive care, that the Defense Department would be unable to identify accurately the population exposed during the three-decade period of contamination, and that studies underway from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry should be completed before medical care is granted to those affected by the water.

“It is unclear exactly how many people were potentially affected by the water contamination at Camp Lejeune, but some estimates place the number at one million veterans and family members,” he said. “VA estimates that the costs associated with this bill are $292 million in fiscal year 2012, $1.6 billion over five years, and $3.9 billion over 10 years.”

American Legion spokesman Jeff Steele said the organization gave the Lejeune bill unqualified support, and Veterans of Foreign Wars representative Raymond Kelley said his organization hoped for a positive outcome, but believed Lejeune troops and families exposed to the water should receive care from the Defense Department and Tricare, rather than the VA.

Ensminger’s statement was succinct and emotional, focusing on his own story and the loss of his nine-year-old daughter Janey to leukemia believed to be caused by the tainted water in September 1985.

“Senator Burr’s bill, S-277 is a step in the right direction in rectifying this tragic situation,” Ensminger said. “Some of you may not know this, but Camp Lejeune is the largest documented domestic DoD environmental contamination incident on record.”

Prompted by Burr following opening statements, Ensminger argued that Lejeune water victims should rightly receive care from the VA, and not the Defense Department.

“I would ask anybody who recommends we be turned back over to the DoD, the very people who were responsible for poisoning us, and to this very day they’re denying they did anything wrong, how would that work out? The DoD still hasn’t stepped up to the plate on this issue,” he said. “There’s been many obfuscations, half-truths, and total lies.”

A bill similar to S. 277, The Janey Ensminger Act, was reintroduced in the U.S. House in May.

The committee will reconvene June 29 for a mark-up of the legislation discussed Tuesday.

Contact military reporter Hope Hodge at 910-219-8453 or hhodge@freedomenc.com.  

Ensminger’s full testimony is available at: http://veterans.senate.gov/hearings.cfm?actionrelease.display&release_id80ce96a2-709f-4dbc-b132-f18721314213