Medios de comunicación

WASHINGTON, D.C. — During military operations in the Global War on Terror and the Gulf War — and before those conflicts — the U.S. military employed open-air burn pits to incinerate garbage, medical waste, plastics, and other waste from military installations.

Latino members of Congress are pushing for a U.S. Army base to be named after a Latino military hero and for a greater recognition of the role of Hispanics in the nation's defense.

U.S. Congressman Raul Ruiz M.D. (D-CA) is joining veterans advocate Jon Stewart, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), 9/11 responder and advocate John Feal, and an array of veterans groups Tuesday morning to announce "their landmark legislation, the Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act."

In her native dialect, Elizabeth Esteban's mother tells him how proud she is to learn that she has just fulfilled the dream that so many young Latinos seek to achieve, a full scholarship to Harvard University .

Michigan Reps. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, and Peter Meijer, a Republican, introduced a bill Thursday that removes a key barrier to health benefits for veterans exposed to toxic fumes while serving overseas.