WASHINGTON — The nation's largest veterans service organization supports limiting how much money lawyers make when suing to recover damages for Marines who were harmed by tainted drinking water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
American Legion leaders were asked about the issue during a joint hearing by the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees on Wednesday.
At issue: chemical contaminants in the drinking water that sickened thousands of Marines at the base from 1953 to 1987.
Several proposed bills would cap contingency fees for lawyers. The goal is to ensure that more of any settlement money would go to the Marines who were harmed.
"My bill is a choice between taking care of sick Marines and their families, or enriching trial lawyers," said Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).
American Legion Legislative Director Lawrence Montreuil expressed general agreement.
"I think our objective at the end of the day is to ensure that veterans aren't being abused ad taken advantage of, that monies appropriated by Congress aren't going into the pockets of lawyers with nefarious intent," he said.
One House bill -- the "Protect Access to Justice for Veterans Act" -- would bar attorneys from collecting fees that exceed either 20% of a settlement or 33% of a judgment.
The hearing was designed to hear from the American Legion about its top legislative priorities.
American Legion's National Commander Vincent J. "Jim" Troiola said de-stigmatizing seeking mental health care and suicide prevention help "is our organization's highest priority today."
Troiola also called for Congress to apply the same urgency toward stopping veteran suicide as it did toward the passage of the PACT Act last year.
Another priority that the American Legion has long advocated is the elimination of the disabled veterans tax, also known as "concurrent receipt."
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) promised to reintroduce the "Major Richard Star Act," which would eliminate the tax for more than 50,000 military retirees with combat-related injuries.