My remarks will focus on one exposure issue that is very personal to me – the contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune in my home state of North Carolina.　 I know we’ll hear from several witnesses about this issue, but I’d also like to acknowledge two former Marines, Jerry, who is here today, and David Briscoe, who could not be here.　 They both lived on Camp Lejeune during the years the water was contaminated and have their own painful stories.

David, who lived on Camp Lejeune in the 1980s, was later diagnosed with cancer of the hard palate and underwent treatment that reduced his ability to eat, speak, and work. Jerry’s daughter, who was born on Camp Lejeune in 1975, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of six and, tragically, died three years later.　　 Jerry, I commend your personal strength in the face of such tragedy and appreciate you being here.

Unfortunately, Jerry’s and David’s heart-wrenching stories are not unique for veterans who served on Camp Lejeune between 1957 and 1987.　 The residents of Camp Lejeune didn’t know it at the time, but the water they were drinking, cooking with, and bathing in contained harmful chemicals – including TCE, PCE, benzene, and vinyl chloride -- which are known or probable human carcinogens.

Some of them are now living with rare cancers, like one of our witnesses today, Mike Partain.　 He is the son of a Marine, a former resident of Camp Lejeune, and one of over 20 former Lejeune residents diagnosed with rare male breast cancer at an unusually young age – he was just 39 years old. This condition usually strikes less than 2,000 men each year in the U.S. and most are over age 55.

Although a number of studies have suggested a possible link between the water at Camp Lejeune and these types of conditions, we still don’t have an answer about what made Jerry’s daughter, or Mike, or David sick or what has caused other former Lejeune residents to become ill.　

The government’s role in scientific discovery is clear. Camp Lejeune was designated by the EPA as a National Priority List site.　 Under Title 42 of the US Code, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is conducting a number of studies of the Camp Lejeune contamination.　 These studies include sophisticated computer modeling and future mortality and health surveys.　 It would have been valuable to have ATSDR here so that they could respond to testimony being given by our witnesses and answer questions from this Committee. Mr. Chairman, in order to strike a balance of scientific opinion on this important issue, I ask that ATSDR’s official response to the National Research Council’s report on Camp Lejeune be included in the record.

We have an obligation to figure out how much of these dangerous chemicals veterans and their families were exposed to at Camp Lejeune and what impact these exposures have had on their health. For these patriots who have endured unbearable heartache and suffering, they deserve no less than our best efforts to provide them with answers about why they are sick.　 Also, we must make sure that the claims these families have pending are not prematurely denied by the government before science has had the opportunity to provide more answers.

But, while we wait for the science, we must deal with the fact that many of these exposed veterans and their families continue to suffer from devastating conditions.　 It is simply not right for us to continue to tell our veterans and their families to just wait for another study.　 They have already waited two decades.　 We owe them much more than that.

That’s why I have introduced legislation, the Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act, S. 1518, which would allow veterans stationed at Camp Lejeune while the water was contaminated to get medical care from the VA.　 Perhaps more importantly, it would also allow the VA to treat their families for any conditions associated with exposure to the contaminated water.　 Providing health care to veterans and their families would be one step towards meeting our moral obligation to those who were put at risk.

I thank the Chair.