Wednesday, May 18, 2022 - One by one, US Senators are getting behind the Camp Lejeune Justice Act and vocalizing their support. Up until recently, the Department of Defense looked the other way when burning toxic waste on the Marine base and extinguishing fires using PFAS forever chemical contaminated firefighting foam. Many service members were sickened by the fumes that the burn pits produced and eventually became ill from cancer due to drinking the tap water on and around the base. Marines are expected to be tough and few complained of their illnesses. It was not until their spouses and children became ill and died from diseases like childhood leukemia and other cancer that created an outcry, forcing the government to take action. Now, nearly 70 years after initial exposures were documented, the US Senate is poised to pass the Camp Lejeune Justice Act that would open the doors to thousands of PFAS water lawsuits alleging the Federal Government is responsible for causing personal injury and wrongful death.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio joined the chorus of distinguished lawmakers, led by local Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who are enthusiastically supporting the CLJA. Senator Rubio's office pulled no punches by releasing the following statement, "From 1953 to 1987, more than a million men, women, and children bathed in and ingested Camp Lejeune's toxic water. Hundreds of babies died,...[and t]ens of thousands of Marines, military family members, and civilian staff have since developed severe illnesses, from cancer to Parkinson's, linked to the contamination. For years, government officials covered up their crimes. Then, when the truth came out, they relied on legal loopholes to escape the consequences.... Fortunately, change is just over the horizon." Senator Rubio is fighting to keep the CLJA in the Honoring Our Pact Act as some lawmakers think it should be removed on jurisdictional grounds. Some think that the CLJA should be treated as a local issue as The Act extends whthe North Carolina statute of limitations restricting millions of filing lawsuits because it is too late. The problem with the archaic North Carolina statute is that it does not take into account cancer's 10-20 year latency period when the disease shows no symptoms. Rubio's argument and the argument of those supporting the inclusion of the CLJA is that the Marine installation is a Federal institution and federal laws should apply. That goes for those families and civilian workers living and working near the military base and drinking toxic local drinking water. Legal experts think that individuals with cancer or the survivors of those who died from drinking local tap water should speak with a PFAS water contamination attorney and file a PFAS water lawsuits. Marines and civilian workers with children who have died from leukemia or other cancer may be awarded tens of millions of dollars by juries incensed at the reprehensible conduct of the military coverup. Rubio pleaded, "Until we get justice for Camp Lejeune, its former residents...will be a living witness to government negligence and incompetence. I call on my colleagues in Congress to do the right thing and pass the Camp Lejeune Justice Act."
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