Despite bipartisan support, a critical fix for Camp Lejeune toxic water victims remains stuck in a legislative stalemate nearly a year after its introduction.
H.R. 4145, known as the Ensuring Justice for Camp Lejeune Victims Act, was meant as a “course correction” for the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, to clarify that those sickenedd by the toxic water aboard the eastern North Carolina Marine Corps base have the right to jury trials, and the legislation would also lower the burden of proof for plaintiffs. But since June of last year, the bill hasn't moved an inch out of committee. For the thousands of veterans and families waiting on their day in court, the delay is frustrating.
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“There's a lot with the original bill, when you look at the intent of Congress, that have just been overridden by the Department of Justice. I don't understand how and why they're doing it, but they are. You know, Jerry and I sat in the Senate gallery as the original bill was passed back in 2022. And we were honestly like, ‘we finally won. This is going to be resolved.’ And here we are coming up on four years later this August, and not much is happening. There's over 408,000 claims and roughly 1,500 of those claims have been settled. And at that rate, we're going to be here for another 400 years trying to get this resolved,” said advocate Mike Partain.
The son and grandson of Marine officers, Partain was born at the Camp Lejeune base hospital in 1968. At age 39, he was diagnosed with male breast cancer. He has long advocated for the victims of the contaminated drinking water aboard the base, alongside Jerry Ensminger.
Ensminger is a retired Marine Corps Master Sergeant who was stationed at Camp Lejeune. His daughter, Janey, was conceived and born on the base and died of leukemia at age nine in 1985.
“You're left wandering around in the darkness,” he said of his daughter’s illness. “Well, the first question I had after Janie was diagnosed was, why? Why is this happening to my child?”
His advocacy was sparked by a 1997 news report from WCTI Channel 12 in New Bern, which first linked Camp Lejeune's contaminated water to childhood leukemia.
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While the government has paid out more than $500 million dollars in settlements so far, those represent only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of claims still pending with the Navy.
Advocates point to a variety of reasons for the stall, from a crowded congressional calendar to behind-the-scenes debates over capping attorney fees. Partain said those are empty excuses.
“This isn't new legislation, so the excuses that, ‘we're busy with this, with that,’ well, this is something that can be quickly passed, added on to...other legislation,” he said, “It's not groundbreaking. It's just something that needs to be done.”
In the meantime, the Department of Justice continues to file dozens of motions in court, further slowing a process that many veterans fear they won't live to see completed. Partain said, “We're four years down the road and not one case has gone before any of the judges. Not one case. And when you ask why, it's because of all the excessive motions that are being filed by the Department of Justice, which is a delay game.”
Another important component of the stalled bill would open the litigation to more judges. Right now, it’s being overseen by four federal judges in the Eastern District of North Carolina, who also maintain full, active calendars for other criminal and civil matters. As of April 2026, more than 407,000 administrative claims have been filed with the Department of the Navy, while roughly 3,724 lawsuits are active in federal court.
Ensminger said, “I really feel sorry for these four judges in the Eastern District of North Carolina. They're facing a tidal wave of cases. Something's got to give.”
Under HR-4145, he explained that cases could be heard in any federal district court within the Fourth Circuit -- including North and South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland -- helping to relieve the massive backlog.
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Partain said the most common-sense way to provide justice to those sickened by the water is to negotiate a settlement for all rather than taking hundreds of thousands of cases to court.
“The most sensible way to resolve this is to come up with an agreement, not just an arbitrary number like the Department of the Navy has done with the elective option, but an agreed settlement negotiated between both sides for everybody. That's the way this needs to be resolved,” he said, “And the idea of a trial and trying to try these cases is insane because there's no way it's going to get done.”
The Elective Option is a voluntary "fast-track" settlement program created by the Department of Justice and the Navy, which is designed to get money to victims within months rather than the years typically required for litigation. The catch? Those who accept the offer must waive their right to sue the government and give up any future claims related to Camp Lejeune exposure. Partain said those who have accepted an EO settlement have received pennies on the dollar.
Read more: Camp Lejeune Justice Act Series
Ensminger, who retired in 1994 -- just a few years before he began his nearly three-decade mission to uncover the truth about the water contamination at Camp Lejeune -- remains frustrated by the DoJ, the federal government, and even the branch which he once faithfully served.
“The United States Marine Corps is supposedly the branch of honor and Integrity. Well, they've shown me something else,” he said. “They've shown us all something else.”
