The act opens up a two-year period for military members and their families to file claims based on exposures to chemicals like trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, vinyl chloride and benzene. It's open to Marines who served on the base, their family members and contractors who worked there.

McLain said anywhere from 30,000 to 75,000 Wisconsin veterans could be impacted by this coverage expansion. It’s a large growth that the hospital system said it’s planning on expanding for.

“My first reaction is to get mad. But then I have to reel back and say, ‘You know, I can’t get mad about it because I can’t undo it,’” Derrick said. “I mean, it’s done, and all these other people, their health issues, they can’t take that back. So on behalf of all the other people, we have got to get justice and have accountability.

Eligibility for VA health care is also expanded under the Act. Now Gulf War and post 9/11 veterans are eligible if they served in theater of combat operations during a period of war after the Persian Gulf War or served in combat during a period of hostilities after November 11, 1998.

The Act requires that the injured person, or the representative of a deceased injured person, first, file an administrative claim for damages with the appropriate federal agency within two (2) years after the date of enactment.