People poisoned by contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune are taking their fight back to the nation's capital. Next week, victims and advocacy groups will launch their third mass demonstration of the year, holding a two-day rally on the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Monday and Tuesday.
The demonstration aims to pressure lawmakers into passing a critical, bipartisan piece of legislation: the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act. Advocates say the bill is desperately needed to cut through severe administrative roadblocks and jumpstart thousands of lawsuits currently gridlocked in the federal court system.
"All the veterans raised their right hand and swore an oath to defend this country," said Brian Amburgey, an organizer with Lejeune Veterans for Justice, who coordinated the event. "And when we signed that contract, that we would do our part, and which we did. And we're still waiting for the government to honor their part of the contract when we all became poisoned by the toxic water at Camp Lejeune."
Related content: Born into Toxicity: Camp Lejeune survivor fights for justice
Decades of toxic contamination and cover-ups
From the 1950s through the 1980s, the drinking water at the eastern North Carolina military base was heavily contaminated with industrial solvents, benzene, and other known carcinogens. Though base officials uncovered the contamination in the 1980s, critics and military families allege the issue was actively covered up, allowing toxic wells to remain operational for years.
Congress previously attempted to rectify the tragedy by passing the landmark Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which gave victims the unprecedented right to sue the federal government for damages. However, victims say the Department of Justice (DoJ) and Department of the Navy have weaponized the legal system to delay payouts, resulting in a massive logjam where not a single case has reached a trial.
Related content: ‘It would be 2424’: Camp Lejeune families demand action on claims backlog
Restoring the original intent of Congress
Introduced over a year ago, the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act functions as a technical correction to the original law. The bill has remained parked in committee, but Amburgey notes it introduces common-sense fixes designed to honor what lawmakers originally intended.
Chief among those fixes is guaranteeing the right to a trial by jury.
"Somehow the Department of Justice career attorneys convinced the four federal judges that the veterans and their family members don't deserve jury trials," Amburgey said. "And that's our constitutional rights to have that. And this would give us our constitutional rights back for a jury trial."
The proposed bill would also:
- Acknowledge existing science: Force federal agencies to accept historical scientific findings from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) regarding water-caused illnesses, rather than forcing sick plaintiffs to re-prove medical causation in individual courtrooms.
- Expand court jurisdiction: Open up additional federal district courts across North and South Carolina to handle the overwhelming influx of cases, expanding past the single over-burdened Eastern District of North Carolina.
- Cap predatory legal fees: Establish a firm cap on attorney fees at 20 percent for settlements and 25 percent for jury trials. Currently, some private law firms are targeting vulnerable families with fees totaling 40 percent or more.
Related content: Advocates react after federal court pressures both sides to settle Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit
Losing four to five veterans a week
The urgency for legislative action grows by the day as an aging population of sick service members continues to pass away without seeing their day in court.
"Congress original intent was for this to get settled fast," Amburgey emphasized. "That way the veterans that are sick and dying would have some justice before their illnesses take over. We're on average right now probably losing four to five veterans or family members a week waiting on justice."
Compounding the tragedy, when a veteran dies, their grieving heirs are met with a whole new wave of administrative hurdles when trying to pick up the legal mantle.
"Department of Justice Now and Department of Navy are not accepting death certificates showing the illnesses. They want medical records," Amburgey said. "But a lot of medical records was destroyed. They don't keep them 50, 60 years."
Related content: Advocates, victims rally at Capitol Hill, urging lawmakers to support Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act
A glimmer of courtroom momentum
Despite the ongoing systemic gridlock, advocates are celebrating a rare sign of forward momentum in North Carolina's federal courts, where pretrial hearings for a small number of kidney cancer cases are finally beginning to move.
"Judge Boyle is doing pretrial for kidney cancer cases. On one of the cases, which I know the gentleman, they set his court date for November the 2nd to start the hearings," Amburgey shared. "You know, that's a positive thing that's came out in the last couple of weeks that possibly we'll be able to maybe start getting some settlements through the court system instead of the elective options."
As hundreds of families prepare to gather in Washington next week, the backdrop of the iconic Washington Monument will stand in stark contrast to the grueling emotional toll carried by the attendees. Major service organizations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), are backing the legislative push, with families traveling from as far away as Hawaii to make their voices heard.
