WILMINGTON -- A North Carolina congressman is introducing a bill to give Department of Veterans Affairs health care to those exposed to contaminated water at the Marines' Camp Lejeune.
Rep. Brad Miller, a Democrat from North Carolina, plans to submit the legislation later this month, a companion bill to the "Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2009" introduced by Republican Sen. Richard Burr in July.
Miller chairs the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and has held hearings on the issue.
The proposed bills would grant care at a VA facility to any veteran or family member who was based at Camp Lejeune during the time the water was contaminated and suffers from adverse health effects.
The bills do not specify what kind of health problems, only that they are connected to exposure to contaminated water.
Health officials say it is impossible to know how many people would qualify. They think as many as 1million people may have been exposed to the toxins trichloroethylene [TCE] or perchloroethylene [PCE] before the tainted wells were closed 22 years ago.
Miller's office said that it has been working closely with Burr's staff and that the House version has a "few tweaks" but no major changes. One tweak is a clause that would update who is covered if new chemicals or health effects are discovered in future studies.
"We want to make sure as future studies happen that the criteria can be updated so that we can keep up with the latest science," said Heather Parsons, Miller's legislative director. "There is a certain responsibility to take care of service members and their families. The end goal is to make sure they get the health care they need."
Water was contaminated by dry cleaning solvents and other sources at the base's major family housing areas: Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point.
Burr, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, is holding a hearing Thursday to discuss his bill.
Jerry Ensminger, a retired Marine master sergeant who lived at the base, applauded the bipartisan spirit of the lawmakers.
"It is my hope that this bipartisan spirit will spread to all members of our Congress so we can get at least some relief for the people who are suffering from this negligence," he said.
