Burn pits, corporations' influence are dangerous

It's maddening that our country is willing to spend millions upon millions of dollars showing off our military might with flyovers and expensive military events. Yet when it comes to men and women who willingly signed up to serve our country, who went off to war and then became ill due to their service, we just push them aside as if they don't exist and forget about them. This frivolous use of taxpayer money is why I am involved with two grassroots groups: Burn Pits 360 and American Promise.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. government contractors burned tons of hazardous waste in football-fieldsize ground pits using jet fuel. Items burned included batteries, medical waste, amputated body parts, plastics, ammunition, human waste, animal carcasses, rubber, chemicals and more. Exposure to these toxins has caused devastating health conditions such as neurological disorders, pulmonary diseases and rare forms of cancer in veterans.

Burn Pits 360 Veterans Organization has been lobbying for over a decade for Congress to hold a hearing for veterans who are victims and doctors who are treating them to be allowed to tell their stories. We are a small nonprofit group that has to fight for access to meetings with legislators.

American Promise has shown me that Americans must insist on reducing the influence of money on government decisions. Citizens' concerns must be heard and taken as seriously as those of corporations.