RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — President Barack Obama signed a bill Monday promising health benefits for Marines and families who were exposed to contaminated water at a North Carolina Marine base for decades.
"I think all Americans feel we have a moral, sacred duty toward our men and women in uniform," Obama said in an Oval Office ceremony before signing the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act.
"They protect our freedom, and it's our obligation to do right by them. This bill takes another important step in fulfilling that commitment."
The bill passed Congress last week with bipartisan support. Health officials believe as many as 1 million people may have been exposed to tainted groundwater at Camp Lejeune from 1957 to 1987.
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