Wyden urges Pentagon: Step in to settle Oregon Guard lawsuit

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued a statement Tuesday in response to a federal appeals court ruling in a lawsuit filed by Oregon National Guard soldiers against KBR, alleging they were exposed to toxic chemicals in Iraq:

Last week, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an $85 million jury award to the Oregon soldiers who said they were sickened from guarding an oil field water plant during the Iraq War.

“The latest development in this lawsuit will only continue the legal water torture that these Oregon Guardsmen have already endured in their struggle for justice,” Wyden said.

“I call yet again on the Department of Defense to step in and make things right for these veterans who have suffered far too long because of KBR’s failures.

“I have repeatedly urged the Pentagon to exercise the contractual authority to take control of this litigation and reach a settlement in the interests of the taxpayers who are footing this bill. By doing so, I also hope that these brave veterans will receive the justice they have long been denied.”