By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Burn pits recognition for veterans took decade of struggle
20220809-005202-preview.jpg
FILE - Veterans, military family members and advocates demonstrate at the Capitol in Washington, Aug. 1, 2021. President Joe Biden is set to sign into law a bill that aims to help military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. The signing on Aug. 10 will culminate an effort that began with the vets themselves and their harrowing stories. - photo by AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rosie Torres of Robstown, Texas, is no Washington lobbyist, but she’s been making the long trek to Capitol Hill for some 13 years, knocking year after year on lawmakers’ doors. Her mission: Alert them — convince them — that something awful has been happening to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as a result of constant exposure to toxic military burn pits. Torres’ husband, Le Roy, suffers from constrictive bronchitis, a respiratory condition that narrowed his airways and made breathing difficult.