,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ijg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #f1 #bjbe,mr4 ,tillis 7for himself and ,mr4 ,blumenthal7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,camp ,lejeune ,justice ,act of #bjbb to make technical corrections4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,ensuring ,justice for ,camp ,lejeune ,victims ,act of #bjbe 4 #b4 ,technical corrections to the ,camp ,lejeune ,justice ,act of #bjbb ,section #hjd of the ,camp ,lejeune ,justice ,act of #bjbb 7#bh ,u4,s4,c4 #bfga note prec47 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7b7-- 7,a7 by striking in the ,united ,states ,district ,court for the ,eastern ,district of ,north ,carolina2 and 7,b7 by inserting 1 including a latent or potential harm1 after appropriate relief for harm2 7#b7 by amending subsection 7c7 to read as follows3 7c7 ,burdens and standard of proof 7#a7 ,in general ,the party filing an action under this section shall be entitled to appropriate relief upon showing-- 7,a7 the existence of #a or more relationships between the type of contaminant in any water at ,camp ,lejeune and the type of harm suffered by the individual1 including latent or potential harm2 and 7,b7 that the individual was present at ,camp ,lejeune for a period of not less than #cj days1 whether or not consecutive4 7#b7 ,evidentiary standards ,to meet the burden of proof described in paragraph 7#a71 a party shall produce evidence showing that the relationship between exposure to any level of contaminants of a type in any water at ,camp ,lejeune and the type of harm is-- 7,a7 sufficient to conclude that a causal relationship exists2 or 7,b7 sufficient to conclude that a causal relationship is at least as likely as not4 2 7#c7 by amending subsection 7d7 to read as follows3 7d7 ,exclusive jurisdiction and venue 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,united ,states ,district ,court for the ,eastern ,district of ,north ,carolina shall have exclusive jurisdiction and venue for coordinated or consolidated pretrial administrative and procedural matters and resolution over any action filed under subsection 7b74 7#b7 ,transfer ,a party filing an action under subsection 7b7 may transfer such action to any district court of the ,united ,states situated within the fourth judicial circuit for pretrial and trial of such action1 including the adjudication of all evidentiary motions4 7#c7 ,jury trial ,any action against the ,united ,states under subsection 7b7 shall1 at the request of either party to such action1 be tried by the court with a jury4 7#d7 ,expedited disposition ,the court shall advance an action filed under subsection 7b7 on the docket1 and expedite the disposition of such action to the greatest extent possible4 2 7#d7 in subsection 7e7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking latent disease and inserting latent or potential harm2 and 7,b7 by striking paragraph 7#b7 and inserting the following3 7#b7 ,health and disability benefits relating to water exposure 7,a7 ,claims settled before filing ,an award to an individual1 or legal representative of an individual1 under this section that is made pursuant to a settlement entered before a civil action under subsection 7b7 is commenced shall not be offset4 7,b7 ,claims resolved after filing ,an award to an individual1 or legal representative of an individual1 under this section that is made pursuant to a settlement entered or judgment rendered after a civil action under subsection 7b7 is commenced shall be offset to the extent permitted by applicable law by the amount of any disability award1 payment1 or benefit provided to the individual1 or legal representative-- 7i7 under-- 7,i7 any program under the laws administered by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs2 7,,ii7 the ,medicare program under title ,,xviii of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acie et seq472 or 7,,iii7 the ,medicaid program under title ,,xix of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acif et seq472 and 7ii7 in connection with health care or a disability relating to exposure to the water at ,camp ,lejeune4 2 and 7#e7 by adding at the end the following3 7k7 ,attorney fees 7#a7 ,in general ,the total amount of attorneys fees under this section shall be in an amount that is not more than-- 7,a7 #bj percent of any settlement entered into before a civil action under subsection 7b7 is commenced2 or 7,b7 #be percent of any judgement rendered or settlement entered into after a civil action under subsection 7b7 is commenced4 7#b7 ,division of fees ,a division of a fee under paragraph 7#a7 between attorneys who are not in the same firm may be made only if the division is in proportion to the services performed by each attorney4 7#c7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this subsection shall prohibit an individual or the legal representative of an individual and such individual's or representative's attorney from agreeing to a fee award that is less than the maximum percentage specified in paragraph 7#a74 4 #c4 ,effective date ,this ,act and the amendments made by this ,act shall take effect as if enacted on ,august #aj1 #bjbb1 and shall apply to any claim or action under section #hjd of the ,camp ,lejeune ,justice ,act of #bjbb that is pending on1 or filed on or after1 the date of enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this ,act or an amendment made by this ,act shall be construed to modify the applicability or statute of limitations provisions under section #hjd7;j7 of the ,camp ,lejeune ,justice ,act of #bjbb 7#bh ,u4,s4,c4 #bfga note prec474