Rosie Torres, Photo Credit: Molano Media

Rosie Torres, Photo Credit: Molano Media

The Hill is an American newspaper and digital media company based in Washington, D.C.  founded in 1994. Focusing on politics, policy, business and international relations, Coverage includes the U.S. Congress, the presidency and executive branch, and election campaigns.

The Hill is an American newspaper and digital media company based in Washington, D.C. founded in 1994. Focusing on politics, policy, business and international relations, Coverage includes the U.S. Congress, the presidency and executive branch, and election campaigns.

As someone who was not a lobbyist by profession, I am honored to be amongst an impressive group of people who dedicate their lives to improve conditions in society.”

— Rosie Torres

LOS ANGELES , CALIFORNIA , UNITED STATES , December 9, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Activist and Civil Rights Advocate Rosie Torres made The Hill’s Annual List Of Top Lobbyists for one of the most monumental achievements on Capitol Hill in 2022: the passing of the PACT ACT (Promise To Address Comprehensive Toxic Act.)

Rosie Torres a grassroots advocate, won a 13 yearlong battle alongside her husband Captain Le Roy Torres, to secure one of this year’s most significant bipartisan measures – the passing of the PACT ACT, a legislation to expand benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits.

“Lobbyists played a key role in shaping an avalanche of legislation in 2022, including Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act and several bipartisan bills — ranging from the CHIPS and Science Act to the Respect for Marriage Act — that brought sharply divided lawmakers together.” – THE HILL

Lobbyists are people whose business is trying to influence legislation, regulation, or other government decisions, actions, or policies on behalf of a group or individual who hires them. Individuals and nonprofit organizations can also lobby as an act of volunteering or as a small part of their normal job.

“As someone who was not a lobbyist by profession, I am honored to be amongst an impressive group of people who dedicate their lives to improve conditions in society,” said Rosie Torres. In my case it was an act of survival for my family which ended up expanding to help millions of military personnel. The non-profit organization my husband Le Roy and I founded, Burn Pits 360, its about outreach, advocacy, education and research for warriors affected by burn pits.”

The Hills’s list included lobbyist from JP Morgan Chase, Procter & Gamble, Toyota Motor Corporation, Lockheed Martin, United Parcel Service, Exxon Mobil, Boeing, IBM & Apple among others.

About Rosie Torres

Activist and Civil Rights Advocate Rosie Torres was born in San Antonio, Texas.
She was the youngest in a household of nine children. Her father is from Zacatecas, Mexico and her mother is a brave Texan who taught her to be resilient, hardworking and self-motivated. Her parents didn’t have a formal education, but they made sure Rosie and her siblings excelled academically.

Rosie’s mother was a warrior, an example of resilience and strength who did it all. Rosie grew up looking up to her brothers and sisters as mentors because of the wide age gap between them.

Rosie attended Burleson Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas and graduated from Edgewood High School. She was in the AB Honor Roll from elementary school all the way to middle school. She received Citizenship Awards and made All District Honor Roll during her senior year where she received a college scholarship. For undergraduate studies, Rosie attended Palo Alto College and St. Leo’s University where she studied Political Science and Law.

With dreams of getting a law degree, major events kept interfering and derailing her goals. She became a single mom at nineteen, which put a full stop on her studies. When she met Le Roy Torres, he was about to finish school. It was now her turn to go back to school after he graduated to get her bachelor’s at Texas A&M. Unfortunately, Leroy got sick after his deployment in Iraq due to toxic exposure. She he had to put her studies on hold once again.

Rosie recently learned that at one point her father, a welder by trade, stood up to his employer by writing to congressman Henry B. Gonzalez fighting for his job and that of his co-workers. They have been fired from their jobs for not being able to speak English. Thanks to her father’s tenacity and his well-spoken ways, all workers got their jobs back. After they won the case, her father rejected his job.

It is said that the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree. In this case, Le Roy’s illness pushed Rosie and her husband Le Roy to become two of the greatest, if not the greatest military personnel advocates in U.S. history.

In 2008, after his deployment to Iraq, Le Roy came home suffering from breathing problems. He was already starting to suffer from the toxic substances he had inhaled from the 10-acre burn pit at Camp Anaconda in Iraq.

Rosie and Le Roy founded the Burn Pits 360 group that advocated for over 13 years for Congress to help veterans suffering from injuries caused by the massive disposal sites on overseas bases.

On June 29, 2022, in one of the most monumental legal wins to date, Rosie and Le Roy won the United States Supreme Court case and seeing to the passing of the PACT ACT signed by President Joe Biden on August 10, 2022. This law guarantees that 3.5 million American service members exposed to similar hazards can get medical care.

Rosie realized her vocation as an advocate while working at the Veterans Hospital in an administrative position, where she got a name for challenging policy. She was told to stay in her lane, but she didn’t. She felt that her calling went beyond helping veterans and job descriptions.

Awards and recognitions include Twice the Citizen Awards by the Reserve Organization of America, The Senator Daniel K. Inouye Award by The National Veterans Legal Services Organization (2022) and The Bend’s HER 2022 Honoree- Humanitarian Award (2022) In May 2023 Rosie will be presented with the American Thoracic Society Presidential Commendation Award.

Rosie Torres has appeared in countless network television and radio shows, magazines and newspapers including PBS News Hour, NPR, New York Times Magazine, Military Times, Washington Post, San Antonio Express News, Esquire, The Hollywood Reporter, Texas Tribune, Spectrum News, Associated Press, The Bend Magazine, ABC News, CBS News, Univisión, CSPAN, The Hill, Politico, Stripes, Huffington Post, Iheart Radio, Businesswire, Newsie, LA Times, WarHorse, The Independent, Houston Chronicle, The Verge, Fox News, OZZY, McClatchy, BlogTalk Radio, Guests on The Problem with John Stewart (Apple TV +) Telemundo, News Nation, WFAA – Dallas & more.

She supports The Reserve Organization of America and The Amie Muller Foundation.

Jasmin Espada
Espada PR
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