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.
Burn pits recognition for veterans took decade of struggle