US Senate Votes to Provide Medical Care for Victims of Camp Lejeune’s Contaminated Water
Camp Lejeune’s Water Was Poisoned by Cancer-Causing Chemicals for Three Decades
In response to the decades-long efforts of Sgt. Jerry Ensminger, a retired U.S. marine drill sergeant of 24 years, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill that will provide medical care for the estimated 200,000 people who lived on the military base Camp Lejeune during the three decades when water on the base was poisoned by cancer-causing chemicals. His popular campaign on Change.org gained more than 135,000 signatures in less a month.
Ensminger’s petition called on the U.S. Congress to provide medical care for the families who were stationed at Camp Lejeune between 1957-1987, a 30-year period when water on the base was contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals. The contamination at the base has been well-documented through the years, though Ensminger says the U.S. government has been slow to respond to calls for medical help for affected veterans and their families.
Ensminger’s daughter, Janey, was one of the victims.
