Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., has asked the VA to address complaints about the way the agency rolled out a new benefits program to help Camp Lejeune veterans exposed to toxic water.
Isakson and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., asked VA officials last week about concerns that the agency’s efforts to educate veterans and raise awareness about the program have fallen short. Started last March, the program offers disability payments to veterans suffering certain cancers and other health conditions linked to chemicals in the toxic water at the base.
Isakson, who chairs the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, is still waiting for a response from his inquiry last Thursday.
Georgia has 10,556 Marine veterans who have registered as having served at the base during the decades when the exposure took place. More than 258,000 Marine veterans and their families nationwide are on the registry.
The CDC was scheduled to hold a Camp Lejeune community assistance panel meeting on Tuesday in Atlanta, but the government shutdown derailed the meeting.
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