WASHINGTON — Frustrated by the slow pace of more than 1,800 lawsuits filed against the government over harm from decades of contaminated drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, a bipartisan group in Congress is pushing legislation to try to speed things along.
A bill from Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., with 11 co-sponsors as of Thursday, would broaden the terms of a 2022 law that gave victims of the tainted water the right to sue for damages and would allow plaintiffs to request jury trials despite a February decision by four federal judges in North Carolina that they would hear the cases themselves.
And a bill sponsored by Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., that passed the Senate by unanimous consent on June 4 would offer free services to veterans and attorneys who need “guidance and advice on any disability awards, payments, or benefits” in the Camp Lejeune litigation.
As many as a million people, mostly Marines and family members, were exposed to toxic chemicals in drinking water at the base on the North Carolina coast from the 1950s to the mid-1980s, according to the Department of Defense.
Since the law was enacted in August 2022, giving victims two years to file claims and lawsuits, at least 232,890 administrative claims have been filed with the Navy and more than 1,800 lawsuits have been filed in federal court in North Carolina, according to the Camp Lejeune Claims Center, an advocacy group for veterans exposed to the…
