Congressman Don Davis’ Statement on Camp Lejeune During Armed Services Committee Hearing
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Don Davis (NC-01) questioned the Secretary of the Navyon behalf of veterans and their families impacted by toxic water contamination at Camp Lejeune.
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See below for a transcript of the interaction:
Congressman Don Davis (CDD): Thank you so much, Chair and Ranking Member Smith. I want to start today, if I may, by extending a deep appreciation, especially to the wives who are here today. Thank you so much. And to obviously, you know, staff members who are grinding it out every day to help your members and thank you for what you're doing. I was talking to one and I said I knew a little bit more about the Air Force and he forgave me today. But for the record, I'm going with the President to present the Commanders in Chief award to the Air Force today. But let me say, Admiral Gilday and General Berger, thank you so much sincerely for your service to this country and all that you continue to do. And to Mrs. Secretary, thank you to General Milley and to this committee and he shared these words as he spoke about losing men and women in combat. He said it was personal. And then it went on for me to express it's personal. When we see our members go serve our country, come back, take their lives. And I'm glad the work that we are doing there. But I'll tell you one other thing that's personal today. It's when we inadvertently cause harm to our military families. So military families impacted by toxic waste water at Camp Lejeune desperately need some level of certainty about how to process these claims that they're bringing forward. And according to former U.S. District Court judge of the Eastern District of North Carolina, James Dever, he said what the possibility of 1 million cases getting filed. It could take more than 1000 years to resolve them without streamlining a process. Mrs. Secretary, I'm not sure if you plan on sticking around for a thousand years, but my question is, how can we or can you give this committee just a sense of the timeline of how we can maybe get these claims process?
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro (CDT): This is a very complicated issue. And let me begin by saying how important it is actually in how pleased I am
that the Biden administration has actually worked to ensure that we meet
the commitment of these military families who have been negatively
and been negatively impacted by the toxic water at Camp Lejeune. Having said that, there are enormous number of cases that are now coming in and we in the military services across the Department Defense have to gear up to try to handle these cases far more expedited manner. It's going to take a lot of additional resources.
CDD: Mr. Secretary, If there's not a clear timeline, then my question is, how do we streamline the process?
CDT: Well, I have to look at doing that, Congressman. We'll have to look at doing both. But, you know, each case has to be investigated. Each case has to be looked at carefully. It's a matter of law. Regretfully, there are, you know, steps that we may not be able.
CDD: Mr. Secretary, let me ask, have we use, for instance, data a grid to group cases? Have we given consideration that or settlement?
CDT: General counsel's looking into all these issues, Congressman, and I'm more than pleased to get back to you and work with your staff to come up with better ideas and how to do it more expeditiously as well.
CDD: Well, Mr. Secretary, some believe and have conveyed to me been from North Carolina that they believe the Navy has delayed, stonewalled and even tried to cover up perhaps what has happened at Camp Lejeune over 34 years. What would you say to those families?
CDT: I can't speak to the ills of the past, obviously, but I accept responsibility for what we do now. And you have my commitment that we will do now to try to expedite this process as quickly as he as I can to build to rebuild trust when action at a time one day at a time.
CDD: I would like to Mr.Chair enter this, it’s an article from WRAL in my home state titled Camp Lejeune, Toxic Water Claims Get First Day in Court into the record.
Chairman Mike Rodger: Without objection, so ordered.
CDD: I just want to end on this note. This is a note from Master Sergeant Jerry Ensminger, who's retired now from the Marine Corps. He's talking about his daughter, Janie, who died in 1985 at the age of nine of leukemia. “I started this journey in August 1997,and even then, it was 14 years after Janie had been diagnosed and 13 years after she died that I hadn't heard anything about the water contamination at Camp Lejeune.” I would hope that we would do the right thing by just giving them their day towards justice and a fair process in a timely manner. Mr. Chair, I yield back on behalf of all these impacted.
Congressman Davis inserted into the committee record an article from WRAL News entitled “Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Claims Get First Day In Court.”
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