news-record.com

Congressional bipartisanship may be in short supply, but it still happens when issues that affect constituents transcend politics as usual.

A perfect example: the relentless pressure brought in the Senate by Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagan on the Department of the Navy to study decades-old complaints about contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and ultimately provide health care for Marines and their dependents who may have been sickened by it. In the House, Brad Miller, a Democrat representing the 13th District, has worked closely with Burr and Hagan and is co-sponsoring similar legislation.

After months of stonewalling, the Navy has agreed to fund a $1.5 million look into health problems linked to water contamination at the Jacksonville base. Last fall, Burr and Hagan pushed legislation preventing the military from arbitrarily dismissing such claims.

Earlier studies by military consultants deliberately under-reported levels of known carcinogens in well water used for drinking and bathing. Leaks from stored fuels and cleaning solvents are the likely culprits.

Meanwhile, a disproportionately high number of the thousands of people who lived at Camp Lejeune between 1957 and 1987 have experienced serious medical conditions often tied to exposure to carcinogens such as benzene and vinyl chloride lurking in the base water supply.

Unresolved, for now, is what treatment should be offered and by whom. So far, the Veterans Administration and Defense Department can't agree on how to proceed.

While the Navy's funding decision will help provide answers, closure still lies somewhere in the future. Our congressional delegation, along with counterparts in other states with large numbers of veterans, must keep up the pressure. The battle won't be over until adequate care is readily available.