Senators Hammer VA's 'Intolerably Long' Delay In Addressing Toxic Exposures

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee heard testimony on Tuesday from senators and advocates who urged the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to remove roadblocks to care and compensation for veterans sickened by environmental toxicants, including contaminated drinking water at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune. "Agents within the VA system have expended more effort, time and money devising methods to deny Camp Lejeune victims their rightful benefits rather than providing them," Retired Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger, who has devoted nearly 18 years to research and advocacy on the issue, said in his testimony before the Senate. His daughter Janey, who was born on the base, died on Sept. 24, 1985, at the age of 9 from a rare form of leukemia. "The 30th anniversary of her death was just five short, painful days ago," added Ensminger. "Janey is but one example of the multitude of tragedies suffered by former Camp Lejeune families who were exposed by this negligence." As The Huffington Post has previously reported, Ensminger is among critics who have accused the VA of dragging its feet with regard to veterans exposed to toxicants -- allegedly denying and delaying help, often through the deceitful and faulty use of cherry-picked and outdated science. Hundreds of thousands of former and current military personnel have likely encountered a number of toxicants, from burn-pit smoke in the Middle East to plumes of radiation off the coast of Fukushima to lingering Agent O...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news