U.S. Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) recently spearheaded successful efforts to get bladder cancer added to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) list of presumptive diseases.
The VA announced on Thursday that a presumption of service connection had been established for service members suffering from bladder cancer from contaminated drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
Last year, the VA did not include bladder cancer on a list of eight presumptive diseases for veterans who served at Camp Lejeune. Veterans who suffer from presumptive diseases qualify for disability compensation.
“I’m glad the VA is stepping up to help the veterans who were negligently poisoned by the water at Camp Lejeune,” Burr said. “The scientific link between bladder cancer and service at Camp Lejeune is clear. I had a lot of questions for the VA when bladder cancer was not included on the initial list of presumptive diseases. This is an important step in the right direction.”
Burr and Tillis led efforts to get bladder cancer added to the list, recently urging Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan to not allow cost to be a deterrent to establishing disability presumption for bladder cancer.
“While there was no excuse for the VA to initially deny disability compensation for veterans who developed bladder cancer as a result of past toxic water contamination at Camp Lejeune, I’m grateful that the VA made the right decision in the end,” Tillis said. “We have a debt of obligation to the veterans, family members and other civilians who were poisoned at Camp Lejeune, and today’s announcement helps us provide hundreds of more veterans with the compensation they need and deserve.”