Our toxic exposure case for Oregon National Guard vets exposed to sodium dichromate at the Qarmat Ali facility in Iraq continues. The case is against Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) and its various offshoots. Background: Link to NBC Nightly News story and reflections on the case here. Earlier updates on the case here.
Meantime, worth noting is that Senator Ron Wyden’s sent a letter today to Eric Shinseki, the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding the matter. Here is a pdf copy- Qarmat Ali vets letter fr Sen Wyden.
I am appreciative that Senator Wyden continues pushing on these issues. As well, Senator Merkley, Rep. Schrader, and Oregon Sen. Shields have carried this issue, too. Some of this is about good constituent service, I suppose.
But in talking to Sen. Wyden, Sen. Merkley, Oregon Sen. Shields and their staff members, I know that this is about more than simply providing service to voters. We all agree that we owe our vets better. To my way of thinking, this includes that KBR face its day of reckoning.
To all of our leaders who continue advocating for our soldiers-I am sure you know from your own conversations that our Qarmat Ali vets deeply appreciate your continuing efforts. One of our vets’ father served in Vietnam. He quietly shared with me his appreciation that a senator or a busy lawyer would come to the aid of his son. As he explained it, usually soldiers think that they can only rely on other soldiers. I thanked him for his kind words and simply said that it was the very least we could do.
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