Camp Lejeune Water-Contamination Bill Passes Senate

The American public doesn't like the fact that Marines were contaminated with toxins and ignored, things are changing.

Jerry Ensminger

(WASHINGTON DC) - Last evening a major victory was achieved in the fight for Camp Lejeune and those Marines and civilians impacted by the base's history of toxic water contamination.

Mike Partain

Advocates like Mike Partain, have had their hands full. In regard to the progress, Partain says it is time for people to be more involved in the process than ever:

"Senator DeMint released his hold and our Bill has now cleared the Senate. We ask that everyone cease contacting Senator DeMint's office and Face Book from this point forward."

Of course none of it would be taking place if it were not for Jerry Ensminger, the movement's platoon leader, if you will. The loss of this career Marine's daughter to cancer, and the subsequent discovery that the base water was responsible, sent Jerry on a mission of massive determination. His goal has always been to spare people the pain he has to live with every day due to the coverup of Camp Lejeune's water contamination.

Partain said of this man, "We all owe Jerry a huge thanks. He has been tirelessly campaigning for the past two years and longer. Over the past few months, Jerry has burned up the phone lines to Washington in call after call to push our Bill forward to a vote."

The Miami Herald's Franco Ordonez wrote Senate passes Camp Lejeune water-contamination bill, in response to the developments:

After an impasse with a South Carolina senator was broken, the Senate passed a historic bill Wednesday by unanimous consent that would help thousands of sick Marine veterans and their families who were exposed to contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Sens. Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat who's the head of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican, brokered the deal on the Senate floor moments before she was expected to force his hand by publicly calling for a unanimous-consent vote on the measure.

Instead, she announced that they'd reached a "gentlemen's agreement" on modifications DeMint had been seeking in the bill.

"These families have waited for decades to get the assistance that they need and should not be forced to wait any longer," Murray said from the Senate floor.

DeMint said he was always supportive of the "underlying bill," but he'd put a procedural hold on it and charged that there weren't enough safeguards to prevent fraud by those whose illnesses weren't due to contaminated water.

"The modification would make sure the veterans who deserve these benefits get them and they're not taken advantage of by fraud from others who don't deserve it," he said from the floor.

Last month, the House of Representatives and Senate veterans committees agreed on a bill that would provide health care to sick military personnel and their family members provided they'd lived or worked at least 30 days on the base from 1957 to 1987. They also must have a condition listed within the bill that's associated with exposure to these chemicals.

Please finish reading this Miami Herald article by visiting the McClatchy Newspaper article here: Senate passes Camp Lejeune water-contamination bill

Partain says their next step is the House and a vote is expected relatively soon. We will keep you posted.

To learn more about the efforts of Jerry Ensminger and Mike Partain, visit: The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten Edited by Tim King, Salem-News.com