Burn Pits 360 Statement at the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Roundtable

Statement on Behalf of Burn Pits 360

Presented by: Rosie Torres, Co-Founder, Burn Pits 360

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Roundtable

April 8, 2025, | 360 Cannon House Office Building

Chairman, Ranking Member, and esteemed participants—thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of Burn Pits 360 and the toxic-exposed veterans and families we serve.

The SFC Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022 was more than a policy win—it was the formal recognition of a reality veterans and their families have been living with for decades. It acknowledged that the battlefield doesn’t end when service does, and that toxic exposure—from burn pits, contaminated water, radiation, and more—has left a lasting legacy of illness, suffering, and death.

That victory, however, came at great cost. We slept on the steps of our nation’s Capitol. We held firewatch for those whose bodies no longer could. Our presence was a reminder that these veterans exist, that their injuries are real, and that our country owes them more than silence.

Since the PACT Act’s passage:

    •    Over 6.1 million at-risk veterans have received toxic exposure screenings.

    •    1.5 million PACT Act claims have been approved at a 74.3% rate.

    •    Over 796,000 veterans have enrolled in VA health care—a 37% increase.

    •    And more than 43,000 veterans will receive a new cancer diagnosis this year.

But this is not the finish line—it’s the foundation. We are here today to emphasize that preserving the PACT Act’s funding, infrastructure, and implementation is essential. The systems that have been built to identify, treat, and compensate veterans must not be undermined by shifting priorities, political negotiations, or lack of will.

Burn Pits 360’s Independent Registry now includes over 8,300 veterans who voluntarily reported exposure and illness—often long before the VA would listen. This data is not just numbers. It’s proof of what we’ve long known: toxic exposure is a slow-moving casualty of war.

We strongly urge this Committee and Congress to safeguard this progress. Our veterans deserve consistency, not instability. They deserve care, not contingency plans.

As we explore legacy toxic exposures here at home—at Red Hill, Fort McClellan, in military housing, and beyond such as those veterans exposed to toxins while serving in the Panama Canal Zone —we must remain vigilant. The scope of exposure may shift, but our responsibility and moral obligation does not.

Burn Pits 360 remains committed to being the voice of those impacted, the firewatch for those still fighting, and a partner in the long road ahead. Thank you.