Camp Lejeune Justice Act stalls, lawyers advertising before bill is even passed

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act will help many who seek damages for health issues related to toxic water contamination in the mid-late 20th century.
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act will help many who seek damages for health issues related to toxic water contamination in the mid-late 20th century.

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act has stalled, delaying a possible passing for at least a few more weeks, but lawyers are already circling Onslow County for potential clients.

"Those are what we call sharks," said former Marine reservist and bill advocate Curtis Crawford. "They smell the blood in the water, and they're already circling. They're advertising for a bill that has not even passed yet."

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If passed, the Camp Lejeune Justice Act would allow people exposed to contaminated drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and New River Air Station from 1953 to 1987, to sue the government and potentially recover damages for harm caused by drinking the water.

The bill had already passed through the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, however, a Blue Slip Objection was just brought forth. One of the bill's leaders and advocates, Mike Partain, said the objection is a procedural issue that requires the Senate to fix before the House can move forward with the bill.

"Where the problem happened, and it had nothing to do with Camp Lejeune, but apparently the Senate included some appropriations as far as like, raising funds," Partain said. "They were raising revenue as part of the bill, and the Senate is not really permitted to do that."

He said the Senate tried to fix the issue last week through unanimous consent, but Republican Senator Pat Toomey objected to it, which means they now have to go the long way around. Partain said this means the Senate has to introduce a motion to amend, then vote on it, and then it will go back down to the House.

However, the Fourth of July holiday is going to delay the process even further.

"It should've happened last week," Partain said on June 30. "I'm irritated with Senator Toomey and anyone else that would have objected to the unanimous consent, because there's no reason why this couldn't have been addressed last week."

Partain said he's hoping once the Senate is back in session, around mid-July, this will be one of the first topics they take care of. He said it's only a three-sentence revision, so it shouldn't be difficult.

Lawyers advertising now for potential clients

What's concerning to both Crawford and Partain are the feasting lawyers. Although the bill hasn't passed, many lawyers have already started advertising in an attempt to grow their client base once the bill has passed. That's why you might have seen countless TV and radio commercials, as well as online ads.

"Everybody sees it coming, and pretty much feel like it's going to happen, so they've started advertising," Crawford said. "Matter of fact, they've been had several things online to where they're actually using some of our pictures and stuff, and we're having to come up with cease and desist orders on them."

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Partain said he sees the lawyers as opportunists, trying to take advantage of the situation.

"The main thing is to get this bill passed so that the veterans can get taken care of," Partain said. "And in our case, the families also have our rights restored, because one of the big parts of this bill is the fact that it's restoring the rights that were taken away from the dependents, and the marines and sailors, along with the base employees, to go after the government for damages."

For those interested in more information, visit the Camp Lejeune Justice Act website, The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten.

"We're the ones that made this thing visible again," Crawford said. "It's been quiet for a while, and we started making it visible again. And that's one of our goals is to keep getting it out there."

Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Camp Lejeune Justice Act stalls, could pass in matter of weeks