II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5257 

To amend the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 to make technical 

corrections. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Mr. TILLIS (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BUDD, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

RUBIO, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. COONS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Mr. PETERS, and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 to make 

technical corrections. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Justice for 

5 Camp Lejeune Victims Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO THE CAMP LEJEUNE 

7 JUSTICE ACT OF 2022. 

8 Section 804 of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 

9 (28 U.S.C. 2671 note prec.) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘in the United States Dis3 trict Court for the Eastern District of North 

4 Carolina’’; and 

5 (B) by inserting ‘‘, including a latent or 

6 potential harm,’’ after ‘‘appropriate relief for 

7 harm’’; 

8 (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘(c) BURDENS AND STANDARD OF PROOF.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The party filing an action 

12 under this section shall be entitled to appropriate re13 lief upon showing— 

14 ‘‘(A) the existence of one or more relation15 ships between the type of contaminant in any 

16 water at Camp Lejeune and the type of harm 

17 suffered by the individual, including latent or 

18 potential harm; and 

19 ‘‘(B) that the individual was present at 

20 Camp Lejeune for a period of not less than 30 

21 days, whether or not consecutive. 

22 ‘‘(2) EVIDENTIARY STANDARDS.—To meet the 

23 burden of proof described in paragraph (1), a party 

24 shall produce evidence showing that the relationship 

25 between exposure to any level of contaminants of a 


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1 type in any water at Camp Lejeune and the type of 

2 harm is— 

3 ‘‘(A) sufficient to conclude that a causal 

4 relationship exists; or 

5 ‘‘(B) sufficient to conclude that a causal 

6 relationship is at least as likely as not.’’; 

7 (3) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(d) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION AND VENUE.—The 

10 United States District Court for the Eastern District of 

11 North Carolina shall have exclusive jurisdiction and venue 

12 for coordinated or consolidated pretrial administrative and 

13 procedural matters and resolution over any action filed 

14 under subsection (b), and a party filing the action may 

15 transfer such action to any district court of the United 

16 States situated within the fourth judicial circuit for trial 

17 of such action, including all matters related to causation 

18 and admission of evidence. Any action against the United 

19 States under subsection (b) shall, at the request of either 

20 party to such action, be tried by the court with a jury. 

21 The court shall advance an action filed under subsection 

22 (b) on the docket, and expedite the disposition of such ac23 tion to the greatest extent possible.’’; 

24 (4) in subsection (e)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘latent 

2 disease’’ and inserting ‘‘latent or potential 

3 harm’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre5 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘shall be 

6 offset’’ and inserting ‘‘may be offset’’; and 

7 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(k) ATTORNEY FEES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The total amount of attor10 neys fees under this section shall be in an amount 

11 that is not more than— 

12 ‘‘(A) 20 percent of any settlement entered 

13 into before a civil action under subsection (b) is 

14 commenced; or 

15 ‘‘(B) 25 percent of any judgement ren16 dered or settlement entered into after a civil ac17 tion under subsection (b) is commenced. 

18 ‘‘(2) DIVISION OF FEES.—A division of a fee 

19 under paragraph (1) between attorneys who are not 

20 in the same firm may be made only if the division 

21 is in proportion to the services performed by each 

22 attorney. 

23 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

24 this subsection shall prohibit an individual or the 

25 legal representative of an individual and such indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:25 Oct 11, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5257.IS S5257

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1 vidual’s or representative’s attorney from agreeing to 

2 a fee award that is less than the maximum percent3 age specified in paragraph (1).’’. 

4 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

5 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

6 take effect as if enacted on August 10, 2022, and shall 

7 apply to any claim under section 804 of the Camp Lejeune 

8 Justice Act of 2022 that is pending on the date of enact9 ment of this Act. 

Æ 


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