Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis hold a roundtable for "Hope Florida."
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00:00:00Remember we did a pretty big bill signing in Brandon a few years back basically going against
00:00:06the federal government on the COVID shot mandate to say that you have the choice to make that for
00:00:11yourself and not not President Biden. That was a really good event. It's great to be able to do
00:00:15another event here. Today we are joined with Pastor Tina Blount, Mike Cooper, Dream Center of
00:00:24Lakeland, Liz Phillips, Lead Hope Navigator for the Department of Juvenile Justice, Jasmine Johnson,
00:00:30Office of Continuing Care Peer Specialist, Department of Children and Families, and of course
00:00:34my wife, our First Lady, Casey DeSantis. We're excited to talk about ways that Florida is working
00:00:42to lift people up, expand opportunities, and really help people make the most of their own lives.
00:00:49But there's a couple things I'd like to say just before we get into that. One, you know,
00:00:55look, these rankings come out all the time and so sometimes it is what it is, but there was just
00:01:00a ranking of the best five cities in America to start a business. Of the five, four of them are
00:01:07in Florida, including Tampa. I think it was Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami. I think Austin, Texas
00:01:19was third and then the others were one, two, three, four, five. But that just adds to all the other
00:01:26things that we've known. We're ranked number one in the economy of all 50 states the last two years
00:01:31by both CNBC and US News and World Report. We're ranked number one in higher education. Since I've
00:01:37been governor, we have not allowed any tuition increases for state universities. And so as a
00:01:44Florida resident, you're going to university if that's the path you want to take, and it's about
00:01:49$6,300. A lot of these places are charging $50,000, $60,000, $70,000, $80,000 for tuition private,
00:01:57but even the public universities are charging much more than that traditionally for in-state
00:02:02tuition. So that's something that we're proud of. But we've also are one of the top states. We
00:02:08weren't when I became governor. Now we're becoming one of the top states for workforce education. You
00:02:13know, not everyone needs to go to a four-year brick and ivy university. There's a lot of great pathways
00:02:18to success. We've expanded manufacturing jobs in Florida since I've been governor by over 100,000 jobs,
00:02:26increased manufacturing businesses by over 30 percent. And we've got a lot of really strong
00:02:31industries like commercial space where folks who get good skills, there's places that people can use
00:02:39that type of stuff. So, you know, people can choose what they want to do. It used to be they'd say you
00:02:45have to go to college or you can't be successful. Well, we know that's not true, that there's other ways
00:02:50that you can you can pursue. So we're proud of having done that. You also look at our state's
00:02:56fiscal. You know, they're debating Washington, you know, what to do on budget. And it seems it's like
00:03:03a debate between spending more and spending even more, having more debt or having even more debt than
00:03:11that. There's really no debate about actually reducing spending or lowering debt at all.
00:03:18deficits or debt. And so that's so that's frustrating. That's not what we've done in
00:03:23Florida. If you look just on debt, take Florida's 180 year history, if you take all the debt that
00:03:30they've accumulated, which wasn't that much compared to other states. But still, just since I've been
00:03:34governor, we've retired 41 percent of that. And we accelerated the retirement of some of the debt
00:03:40that saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in interest costs that they would have had to have
00:03:45paid over the years. We are the lowest per capita debt in the entire country of all 50 states. So
00:03:52as a Florida resident, if they just parceled out what your share would be, if we just charged everyone
00:03:58to retire it fully, I think it'd be like $400. Your share as a US citizen with the 36, 37 trillion
00:04:07would be $105,000 per person. So way different. Theirs is going up, ours is going down. You also
00:04:15look at tax burden, no income tax. We have at the state level, one of if not the lowest tax burdens
00:04:22of any state in the country. Now I've said that the focus of tax relief needs to be on where
00:04:31Floridians are feeling the pinch, which is not anything the state's doing. It's the property taxes
00:04:37of local government. That's what we need to be focusing on, given relief there. And it's, you know,
00:04:44there's a philosophical element about do you own your own home if you have to just keep paying taxes
00:04:51indefinitely to the government just for the purpose of using, privilege of using your own property.
00:04:56We, we typically wouldn't think that would be private property if you're always having to pay
00:05:01more just to be able to use it. Normally you buy something, maybe they tax you and then it's yours.
00:05:07You don't just have to keep paying taxes on it. So, so that philosophical point, I think a lot of
00:05:12people are like, well, wait a minute, I've been in this home. They're saying the home's value has gone
00:05:16up and the home values have gone up because people have wanted to come to Florida. And I don't recruit
00:05:22anybody to come because we've got a lot of people. And honestly, there's challenges when people come.
00:05:28So, so I'm not, there's some governors, oh, please come to our state, please come to our state. I don't
00:05:32do that. In fact, I don't think I've gone, you know, I don't think I've gone, certainly since COVID,
00:05:38I've not gone around the U.S., you know, asking for businesses to move either. A lot of them call us
00:05:44and, and, and ask about how they, you know, saying they want to come to Florida. So, you know,
00:05:48when you have population growth, when people are voting with their feet, that is a sign that we're
00:05:53doing things right. Um, and there's benefits that come to that, but there's also challenges,
00:05:57infrastructure, uh, you have challenges with education, all these different things. So,
00:06:02so I'm not one saying, oh, we need all these new, new folks, but the reality is, is, um, you know,
00:06:08you've had people come, some people, you know, you can leave California and a typical home is
00:06:14probably, certainly when COVID started, it was probably twice as expensive as, as the same
00:06:19house, similar house in Florida. They can sell it, uh, and then they can buy, you know, probably a much
00:06:25bigger house for even less money than their home in California were. So you saw that happening over
00:06:31many years. And so property values went up. And so somebody may have had a home that they paid
00:06:37$250,000 for, uh, 15 years ago. Now, all of a sudden someone's telling you it's worth $750,000 or
00:06:44$800,000 and your tax reflects that. Even with the F Homestead, it's not enough to keep up. It's
00:06:51outdated the amounts you get for Homestead exemption. So, so that's been a huge, huge issue. And so I'm
00:06:56very much supportive of obviously doing something on the ballot in 26, which is the only way you're
00:07:02going to finally be able to, to give people permanent relief, but even in the meantime,
00:07:07uh, providing people with rebates off the, off the taxes that they've already paid. I think it's
00:07:12really important, but certainly from what the state is doing, we're one of, if not the lowest tax state
00:07:18in the United States. You know, I, I had this debate, um, a year ago or so with the governor of
00:07:23California on, on Sean Hannity's show. And he was trying to say California had lower taxes than Florida.
00:07:29And I'm just thinking to myself, is there anybody on God's green earth that believes that? Because
00:07:37not only do they have, I think the highest income tax in the country for a state, they have the highest
00:07:44sales tax in the state. So, you know, it's like we in Florida really rely on the sales tax. Uh, a lot of
00:07:53that is paid by tourists. You know, they've done analysis in the past, oh, about 18%, 20% is paid by
00:07:58tourists. But that was when we were having 84 million visitors this year. We had last year at
00:08:02142 million visitors. So I think the more accurate number in terms of the amount of revenue the state
00:08:08takes in from tourists is probably 25% of the total sales tax, maybe even a third. Uh, and then you add
00:08:16to that, uh, the snowbirds who are not Florida residents, but who live here part time. Some of
00:08:22the Canadians live here three, four months. You have people from other parts. They do that.
00:08:26You know, they're off. They're also contributing to that. And so, uh, and yet we have no income tax
00:08:32and yet our sales tax is much lower than California's and they have income tax and all this other
00:08:38stuff. So, so we've done really well in terms of, um, in terms of tax at the state level. And since
00:08:44I've been governor, we've done billions and billions of dollars in tax relief. Uh, that's been meaningful
00:08:49for people and we will continue to support that. But, but that is really what you want. So, and yet
00:08:55with, with, with all that, uh, we're still doing really big things for the state. We, um, current year
00:09:02budget after my budget vetoes last June, uh, is a year over year reduction in spending by over 2%.
00:09:10Um, we're spending less this fiscal year than we did the year before. Not many places are doing that.
00:09:16I mean, let's just be honest with how things are going. Uh, if you look at the amount of money
00:09:20that the government spends per capita, Florida is one of the lowest in the United States,
00:09:26obviously California and New York are a lot higher. California, they're finally having to
00:09:30acknowledge it may have been a mistake to have taxpayer healthcare for illegal aliens because
00:09:35you have people flooding there and getting free benefits. So now they're reevaluating that,
00:09:39but we've made better choices. So, so you have that. And of all the States, we have the lowest number
00:09:45of state bureaucrats per capita of all 50 States. So, so it's a small government. And yet if you needed
00:09:54to get your driver's license, would you want to go to New York city to do that? Or would you rather
00:09:59do it someplace in Florida? Obviously I think you'd rather utilize the services here. Clearly our roads
00:10:04are better and our education is now much better, uh, in terms of the, the rankings on that. So,
00:10:10so, so, but we've done it very, but with all that, even reducing spending, lowering debt,
00:10:16cutting taxes, we've had record support for education record for teacher salary increases record
00:10:23for conservation and restoration of things like the Florida Everglades record acceleration of road and
00:10:31infrastructure projects. Some of these things weren't even, you know, we just did the temporary
00:10:35lane on I-4. If you guys go from here, uh, towards Orlando, you'll end up going, as you get into Polk
00:10:40County, you see these temporary lanes and then we're going to do the whole thing. And I for that's a
00:10:44brutal stretch of traffic. They were going to do it like next decade. I said, what is, what good does
00:10:49that do? People going, so we, we, we surge massive amounts of money to be able to do that. And, uh,
00:10:56and it's important because it's quality of life issue. We've been very strong on law enforcement,
00:11:02record amounts of support. And look, the state law enforcement's a fraction. Most of what you have
00:11:07are municipal and county law enforcement, but we did the $5,000 recruitment bonus program that applies
00:11:13to all law enforcement agencies in the state. Uh, we did thousand dollar bonuses. We've done a whole
00:11:18bunch of stuff that, that has been really, really meaningful. So we've really shown how it's done.
00:11:24And, you know, my message is, is we need to keep doing what we've been doing and, and build off
00:11:30that success. I think that's why the voters sent us, uh, here. I think that's why, you know, I got
00:11:35elected in 22 again. I think that's why the members of the legislature got, got elected. Uh, people
00:11:41realized that Florida has a successful model and people wanted to see that, uh, obviously do as good
00:11:47as you can, always make improvements, build off the success. But I don't think there's anyone that
00:11:52wants, um, wants us to just see that, um, that we're just going to go in some type of, uh, much
00:11:57different direction. So, uh, so I'm proud of that success. I'm proud that we've led the way on that
00:12:02now, which brings us to today. Not every jurisdiction in the country can say what we've said about our
00:12:10economy, our education, our fiscal posture, our low debt, our low taxes. And so you have, and they're, they're
00:12:17having to debate this in the, with the federal government right now in the budget, you know,
00:12:21you've got massive, massive percentages of people in some parts of this country, uh, that are, that
00:12:27are on public assistance. And, you know, there's a role if, if somebody really needs a hand up, um,
00:12:34for temporary assistance, but to have this be something that is more done in perpetuity, uh,
00:12:41it's certainly not going to be good for the folks, um, who are on that assistance because their horizons
00:12:46really dim, uh, if they are dependent on, on, on federal programs. But then it also is just the
00:12:52taxpayer's never going to be able to, to make that work. And you see the cost ballooning in some of
00:12:58these programs, uh, into the future, which, you know, brings us to here when, uh, we have the ability
00:13:05that, that I think the model that really represents the solution to a lot of the problems that are ailing
00:13:11other states and certainly, uh, the federal government. Um, and, and that's the model of
00:13:15Hope Florida. And what Hope Florida did was not seek, um, you know, an appropriation, uh, not demand
00:13:24all this, but just simply say, okay, we have folks in state government. Their job has been with respect
00:13:30to child welfare and other related matters. Their job's been to process benefits, try to get people
00:13:36hooked up with as many, uh, government benefits as possible. And that was kind of the silo they
00:13:42worked in. So someone would come, try to get them on benefits and kind of keep, keep going, um, as that,
00:13:48as that would go on. And, you know, the problem with that is that's not really leading someone to a
00:13:53pathway to self-sufficiency and fulfillment. And particularly when you have folks, um, a lot of
00:13:59single moms that have, that have children, uh, it's, it's more of a kind of stay in place, uh, rather
00:14:06than, than lift job. And so Hope Florida's insight, and it was the, the first lady's, uh, uh, brainchild
00:14:13was, okay, we have all these folks in state government doing this, uh, but our resources, one, are finite,
00:14:21uh, and two, this is not necessarily creating a pathway to self-sufficiency. Yet, Florida's blessed,
00:14:29and I think most places around the country are blessed, uh, we've got so many great resources
00:14:35exterior to government in our communities. And that starts with the faith-based community.
00:14:41And there's some of these states that don't want to deal with the churches. They don't want to have
00:14:45any type of, uh, uh, of religious bent to anything that's going on. That's not how we view it in Florida.
00:14:52Uh, you know, we welcome the participation of the faith-based community. In fact, we view it as
00:14:58essential to be able, uh, to fully allow people to realize their God-given potential. But you also
00:15:05have great charitable organizations. You have businesses that want to be involved in helping
00:15:10people in the community. You even have individual volunteers. And yet, if you have somebody that's
00:15:16showing up at one of our state agencies that's not in great, great shape economically or has other
00:15:23problems, they don't know what resources are out there. Now they're going, and if they get put on
00:15:28a program, that's kind of, that kind of it. Uh, and so what Hope Florida did was one, get these folks
00:15:35together in the community. And so you have all these, uh, churches, you've got synagogues, you've got
00:15:41charities, you've got all these folks that are now a part of this mission. And then the people that are
00:15:47working in state government, instead of just processing benefits, uh, you know, your job is
00:15:52to, to be what is called a hope navigator, to help navigate the person in need, uh, to all the
00:15:58resources that are available exterior to government. And sometimes it may be someone needs a helping
00:16:05hand. Maybe they need a place to stay for a short period of time. Maybe, uh, you know, their, their
00:16:09kids are hungry. Maybe they need help with education. Maybe they need help finding a job. There's a lot of
00:16:14different things and hope Florida. It's not like, you know, people say, Oh, well, this person went and
00:16:19they didn't get a full-time job immediately. Like, look, it's, it's, um, you're helping people find
00:16:26help. Uh, and there's been great success on that. Uh, there's also issues that are, that are difficult
00:16:31and sometimes it doesn't happen overnight. Uh, but the reality is you've got a lot of people throughout
00:16:37our state that are ready, willing, and able to help. They want to be part of the solution and they just
00:16:42needed to basically, it's like kind of put me in coach. We're ready to go. So how do you do it?
00:16:47And so that's really what hope Florida has been able to do. So, so this has been going on now for,
00:16:52for a couple of years and you've had tens of thousands of Floridians that have, that no longer
00:16:58need, uh, some of these mean tested welfare programs. And if you extrapolate in a very conservative
00:17:04estimate, how much money that saved, uh, it's over a hundred million dollars a year that saved the
00:17:09taxpayer. So not only are you providing the folks in need with a better pathway to self-sufficiency
00:17:16and you're expanding their horizons, you're also relieving burdens on the taxpayer to the tune of
00:17:23likely over a billion dollars over a 10 year period. And just to put that in perspective, you know,
00:17:29our state budget has been, you know, anywhere from 113 to 118 billion over the last couple of years.
00:17:35And so, you know, that's a, that's a significant amount of money given a billion dollars over 10
00:17:41years for the federal government. You know, that they would consider that budget dust, right? They
00:17:44wouldn't even, they wouldn't even register on their radar, but here that that's something that's
00:17:49really, really significant. So, uh, you have the churches and what they have is they have, they use
00:17:55the technology called care portal. So if somebody is in need, the needs go out to everyone connected
00:18:02in care portal. So, you know, you will get a notice at the church here that there may be someone
00:18:07in the community that needs help. And then you can go immediately fill that need. And we have churches
00:18:13in particular that are doing that as well as charities that are doing that all the time.
00:18:17And so now you have over 5,000 nonprofits and charities that are signed up as part of the network.
00:18:24Um, there's over 834 church response teams that are actively participating, uh, over 9,000 individual
00:18:32church responders that are ready to help and step in. Uh, we have, uh, or our department of children
00:18:38and families rather has communicated with over 120,000 Floridians in need, uh, as a result of this
00:18:45initiative. And they've been able to do with resources that are exterior to government. Uh, 93%
00:18:53of all positions supporting Hope Florida were just simply repurposed with existing resources.
00:19:00Uh, this wasn't any type of big new spending program or any of that. It was repurposing.
00:19:06So, uh, um, I'm excited about, uh, being able to tell the story, being able to get more people
00:19:12throughout Florida involved, being able to help more people, but also pointing out that this is a model
00:19:18that could help problems throughout this country. And even at the federal level, uh, where you have some
00:19:23of these programs that are exploding, uh, when folks are on those indefinitely, I mean, they clearly
00:19:29aren't going to end up really, really succeeding. And so let's look at ways to do it. Let's enlist
00:19:37the, the faith-based community. Let's enlist charities. Let's enlist individuals, businesses,
00:19:42the whole nine yards, uh, to get the job done. We were able to announce, uh, recently expansions
00:19:48of Hope Florida to our 28 state colleges. So each state college is going to have a Hope
00:19:54Florida liaison. And you think about it, our state colleges have a diverse set of students.
00:19:59We've got some people that are graduating from high school in Florida, go to a state college,
00:20:03which also have some people that are maybe in a transition period in their life. We have
00:20:06a lot of single moms that are trying to get more skills that they can go in and provide
00:20:11for their families. And there are needs that arise with that. So having a liaison there
00:20:16is really, really critical to link that per that student in need with the resources that
00:20:21are available in the community. Uh, Hope Florida also announced the pilot expansion with the
00:20:27Department of Education to help, uh, children as well as parents of children in need in our
00:20:32K through 12, uh, school system. Uh, if you have early intervention, you have much better
00:20:38chance of solving these problems and that's what you're doing. So it started off in Orange
00:20:43County, uh, expanded to Lake County and the department's now in, um, in the process of
00:20:49making sure there's a Hope liaison, um, at all, uh, at all of our school districts who
00:20:54want to participate. Uh, we also announced that Hope Florida's expanded to include a
00:20:59liaison at all 67 Florida sheriff's offices across the state. Why is that important? Well,
00:21:05who comes into contact more with people that are having difficulties in their lives than,
00:21:11than law enforcement. And sometimes they may get called to a situation and see that, but
00:21:16honestly, they may be called to a different situation and maybe some apartment complex and
00:21:20then they see other things there. So they're in a unique, uh, role, a position to be able to,
00:21:26to offer help to folks, um, who need it. So as these liaisons, uh, get activated, uh, they're going to know
00:21:33someone's got substance abuse problems. There's a whole host of, of groups that are involved
00:21:38in, in helping advance the Hope Florida mission that, that focus on substance abuse or focus on,
00:21:45uh, helping, uh, mothers with young children. There's, there's a whole host of things that can
00:21:50happen. So, so that's really, really good. Um, uh, Hope's also working with businesses to connect
00:21:55people who are looking for work. And some of that involves helping them get more skills. I mean,
00:22:02there are jobs available, uh, but sometimes you need a certain skillset. And so getting people
00:22:06on that pathway, I know we had, we highlighted someone in my state of the state where we did
00:22:10that and that's, that's great. And we're happy to do that. So we have career source. We have all
00:22:15these other things. So that's really utilizing and leveraging the resources in the community.
00:22:21Another way this model has been successful is on disaster response. So we had two major, I mean,
00:22:28as you guys know, we had two major hurricanes, uh, last year, we had another, a third hurricane
00:22:33that didn't rate as a major, but was a hurricane Debbie. And so there were needs that arise. And
00:22:40again, just like normal society, when we have major disaster events, there's a lot of people
00:22:46that want to be helpful. There's a lot of groups that want to come and be helpful. Uh, there's
00:22:51charities that are designed solely to assist in disaster response, ranging from food support,
00:22:58ranging from things that involve helping people repair their home, cleaning debris, all these
00:23:03different things, but people don't necessarily know where to turn. We would, and we still do,
00:23:09we would set up, uh, different things where people could go and basically be like a resource center
00:23:15makeshift. But through Hope Florida, uh, we created the, the activate hope, uh, provision of
00:23:22the department of emergency management. And so all these groups, just like if you're in Brandon, you
00:23:28have this church, other churches, others that are, that are helpful. When you have disaster, they're all
00:23:33plugged into the hope network and active activate hope. So if someone goes to the hope bus after
00:23:38disaster, well, maybe they need food. Maybe they need show me and it will go out and folks will be
00:23:44referred in a much more efficient fashion. So I was pleased at the first round of that for last
00:23:51hurricane season. I'm hoping that we don't have to test it again this year. It'd be good to get a
00:23:57respite from that after having, I mean, we've had, you know, you go, you look through history, there are
00:24:02times and we had 10 years where we didn't have a hurricane, uh, recently, but then now we've had six
00:24:07majors in the last seven years. And that's not unusual how these things kind of come in bunches.
00:24:12So I'm hoping this bunch is done and that we have a nice, uh, a nice runway where, where we don't
00:24:18have it. The other thing that's been helpful. So you have these groups and, you know, hope Florida
00:24:24is not a, it's not a taxpayer funded thing where church is involved and they get to get on, uh, with
00:24:33the state and get money from the state. That's just not how it's been envisioned. It's been envisioned
00:24:38to save money for the state. Nevertheless, there are instances where organizations that are doing
00:24:45great work, you know, deserve some support. And so, uh, in Florida government, some of the state
00:24:51agencies have what's called the direct support organization. So for example, our department of
00:24:56education has a direct support organization. It's a charity that, um, can receive donations and then
00:25:02provide awards. And so teacher of the year, for example, the foundation does like a $50,000 award for
00:25:08that and stuff. And so there's good things that are happening. Our department of children and
00:25:11families, uh, created, I think about a year and a half ago, a direct support organization to serve
00:25:17the DCF and hope Florida mission. And so this foundation is a, is a private charity. Um, it can
00:25:24get private money and then it issues grants to organizations that are fulfilling the hope Florida
00:25:31mission. And so, you know, there've been millions and millions of dollars, uh, that have been awarded
00:25:35through, through that entity, uh, to be able to help, um, nonprofits, uh, some churches, uh, advance
00:25:42the mission of the department of children and families and to depart, uh, the department of, uh,
00:25:46of the whole Florida initiative. So, so that's leveraging everything at your disposal, uh, to try to be
00:25:53able, uh, to provide a network that can help people get on the great pathway to help them find help.
00:26:01And ultimately to instill a sense of hope and purpose in people's lives. Uh, it's had great
00:26:07success. Uh, there's a lot more to do and I'm just thankful that everybody, uh, here, uh, I know that
00:26:13we've had, uh, great, great help from, from the church here, uh, as well as many people throughout the
00:26:18Tampa Bay area. Uh, but, but we've got to keep on, uh, working to help people. It's really important,
00:26:25uh, that you do it. If you're able to, to, to do this where you're linking people with, with these
00:26:30resources exterior to government, the results are going to be so much better than if it's just that,
00:26:36that traditional government silo. So, so thanks for everyone that's been involved. I'm going to turn
00:26:41it over to the first lady and then we'll hear from some of our panelists. Great. Well, well, thank you,
00:26:46Governor. Ron, appreciate you and everything that you do to help, uh, support, you know, a good
00:26:51initiative that's standing up for what's right. Uh, Jake Collins, a great friend. Uh, you know,
00:26:57we've sat in our offices and talked for an hour about how great this initiative is and how much
00:27:03it's needed really, of course, in the state of Florida, but really across the United States of
00:27:07America, particularly when you see some of the conversations going on in Washington. But as the
00:27:12governor really articulated very well, you know, hope Florida really is what the title says it is.
00:27:17It's providing hope. And it's just as simple as that. The hope to hang on for those who are suffering
00:27:24to know that help finding help is really only one phone call away. And think about that. It's just a
00:27:30central number that you can talk to a human and then that human can help navigate you through all of
00:27:38the resources, making it very simple for somebody, particularly who is suffering because the last
00:27:44thing they want to do is have to parse through all of the available resources in which we're blessed
00:27:49to have a lot to try to figure out which door they go into to be able to get meaningful help.
00:27:54It also really represents one of the only meaningful reforms to the welfare state since the great society
00:28:00of the late 1960s. And it does so, as the governor has said, without growing government. It changes the
00:28:08tired orthodoxy that spending more money, just spending and spending equates outcomes. It provides
00:28:15our elected leaders with a guiding light to see how government in this instance is uniquely positioned
00:28:21in a limited way to legitimately help people on a pathway to economic self-sufficiency. And as Ian mentioned,
00:28:29you know, the success, we've seen it already. We're even seeing more results coming in, but we've
00:28:34been able to transition off more than 30,000 people from government assistance, either partially or
00:28:39entirely. And as he mentioned, already realized about a hundred million dollars to the taxpayer and
00:28:46savings. But when you extrapolate that over 10 years, you're saving a billion dollars. And that doesn't
00:28:52even really get into the preventative side of that. That's just realized in real time. Why is all of this
00:28:59possible? Because hope is being realized through the power of the communities, by harnessing the
00:29:06horsepower of the church, by giving the private sector a seat at the table, while leveraging the
00:29:11goodwill of the nonprofits, especially the little guys. In Florida, we have really proven that solutions
00:29:19are not found in silos, but collaborations fueled by compassion, by faith, and a common vision that's
00:29:27really rooted in hope. The federal government is spending, and we looked, about $2 trillion annually
00:29:33on means-tested welfare. A state-based Hope Florida model would go a really long way to reduce
00:29:39our really voluminous, unsustainable debt and deficit, while at the same time, legitimately helping people,
00:29:48which is the ultimate goal.
00:29:49So for me, it's just really disheartening and very sad, but not surprising, to see these slanderous,
00:29:57false accusations hurled at Hope Florida, in an attempt really to undermine all of the meaningful
00:30:05progress that we've made on behalf of so many families across the state of Florida, and to undermine
00:30:10the tireless, hard work of so many people who have answered the call to help. And when you seek,
00:30:17and when you talk to, I should say, Floridians all across the state, they don't care about someone's
00:30:24personal agenda. They don't care about somebody's political calculations. But they do care about
00:30:31trying to find a way to put food on the table, to keep the lights on, to keep their kids in school,
00:30:38to help them get an education, to live up to their God-given potential, to figure out how to get skills,
00:30:44to find a meaningful job, one they can be proud of, so that they can prove to themselves and their
00:30:50children that the American dream is alive and well, and that Hope will never die.
00:30:57So we are not going to waver on our commitment at all. We are not going to be dissuaded by the critics
00:31:04who have been captivated by willful ignorance. And we will not allow any petty politics to drown out
00:31:10the voices of families who have told us over and over for the first time they actually feel a sense
00:31:15of hope. Hope Florida is not a program. Hope Florida is a movement. It's about empowering the
00:31:24struggling to reclaim their purpose, to restore their dignity, and to realize their full potential.
00:31:32We will always stand on the side of those who are fighting, looking desperately for a better way.
00:31:40We will continue to defend the right of every individual to pursue a better life, to rise above
00:31:46their current circumstance, not because it's politically advantageous, but because it is the
00:31:52morally right thing to do. So in Florida, we're going to choose hope. And we will keep choosing it
00:32:01again and again and again until every life that needs lifting gets the chance to rise. So I'm honored
00:32:10and privileged to be leading this fight. And like I always say, we'll be fighting it every day of the
00:32:15week and twice on Sunday. Great. Thank you.
00:32:24Okay, Tina, go ahead. Well, welcome everyone. Governor, First Lady, we are so honored here at
00:32:29Rise Church to be able to host you for this event. Hope, I love the word First Lady, and I love your
00:32:38partnership with the faith community and recognizing that we have the ability to be the hands and feet.
00:32:45That's why the church exists. We exist to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And this program allows us to
00:32:52reach deeper into the community than we would naturally. Many churches, and I'm not suggesting this
00:32:58is wrong, open their doors and say, come. And that's beautiful. We want you to come. At the exact same
00:33:05time, not everyone's going to walk in the door, and especially those who are struggling and vulnerable.
00:33:09And Hope Florida, through the vehicle of Care Portal, gives us that ability to step into the community
00:33:16and meet practical needs. I think of Jesus. He didn't tell people, oh, you're hungry. Great. Let me tell you
00:33:23about, no, he fed them. And then when their bellies were full, he was able to encourage them in different
00:33:29ways. And so, Arise was introduced to Hope Florida and Care Portal through Daisy Stolte. She's sitting
00:33:35somewhere here in the rooms, a church ambassador with Care Portal. She introduced Care Portal to us,
00:33:42the Hope Florida program. We've been serving for the last year, just celebrated our one-year anniversary
00:33:48under the leadership of Lisa Miller, our director of pastoral care. And we've been able to serve 43
00:33:53families in the last year. It's been amazing.
00:33:59And here's the thing. The families that come to us are often families that are either fostering in the
00:34:06middle of the night. They have to take in a child or their grandchildren. It's a vulnerable family who is
00:34:13at risk from losing their children until they reach a place of sustainability. And so we get to step in.
00:34:19And sometimes it's as simple as formula and diapers. And other times it's getting children up off the floor
00:34:27and building beds and buying beds and putting beds together. But the relationship doesn't end there.
00:34:33This is the beauty of the partnership of Hope Florida through Care Portal is that we get to build a
00:34:37relationship with these individuals. We just had one of our our team members actually on Easter out
00:34:44playing ball in the front yard with a family that they served three months ago. Why? Because they built a
00:34:50relationship with them. And so when they need community and let's face it, who doesn't need community?
00:34:56We get to step in and be that community. So thank you for the program. Thank you for your partnership.
00:35:00Thank you for letting us come alongside of you. Great. Thanks so much. Okay, Liz. Hey there. Good
00:35:06morning. Thank you for that. My name is Liz Phillips, and I have proudly been employed with the Department
00:35:12of Juvenile Justice since 2007. But before I began, I do want to sincerely thank the First Lady. You are a
00:35:21walking inspiration to all of us doing this work every day. And we thank you so much. And of course,
00:35:27the governor for your vision and your unwavering support of Hope Florida. You know, when you've
00:35:33served in state government for a bit, you see programs go, you see systems shift. And the truth is,
00:35:42is that people needing help is nothing new, right? Like that's not a new thing. Families have always
00:35:50struggled. Parents always have and always will worry about their children, right? Like these are just the
00:35:56norms that are constant. What is different now? And what makes Hope Florida so pivotal is that
00:36:06it's how we show up, right? It's how we are showing up to these situations that are that are not new to
00:36:11us. This is one of those moments that we talk about in government, where policy meets purpose, and
00:36:19something really strong takes roots. Being a part of Hope Florida, for me, isn't an assignment. It isn't a
00:36:25job. It is truly an honor for me to be a part of what I do every single day. It is life-changing work.
00:36:34And I am so very proud to stand alongside the other Hope Navigators like Jasmine around the state.
00:36:41They show up every single day with heart and grit, and they're ready to serve our families.
00:36:46And the First Lady touched on this, but Hope Florida has truly set in motion a shift from silo
00:36:55service delivery to genuine collaboration amongst agencies. And I don't know, when I say that, it's
00:37:03mind-blowing, because as a state employee who's been here for so many years, this is something that
00:37:08we don't see. And we're actually seeing it every single day. When a family comes in and they've
00:37:15exceeded my expertise, I don't know how further to help them when they're coming in with some
00:37:20disabilities or if they're a veteran. I don't know that lingo and that language well. So historically,
00:37:26I would worry. Where am I sending them off to? I don't know where they're going. But now,
00:37:30I can pick up the phone. I can call a Hope Navigator at that agency who does have that. They are the
00:37:37subject matter experts. And I don't hand them off. It is truly a team approach. We work together.
00:37:43And that family, the entire time, knows they're supported. They are surrounded with cheerleaders.
00:37:52And we still understand their needs. So that entire time, they know what they've got surrounding them.
00:37:58And that never, ever, ever waivers. At DJJ, you know, mentoring has been a long-standing thing.
00:38:04It's something that anybody who says mentoring is wrong, I don't, nobody would ever say that,
00:38:09because mentoring holds so many positive things for youth and families alike. But what's really
00:38:17exciting about Hope Florida is that we've taken the youth mentoring kind of to another level,
00:38:22in the sense that it's not just about that child, right? We recognize that there is a family
00:38:27sitting there that needs that wraparound support, that needs that, they need a mentor too. And so
00:38:33we're tapping into those resources to say, hey, who can we find to provide that encouragement,
00:38:39that guidance? It's about wrapping around that whole family and offering relationships that provide
00:38:45that stability, that accountability, and hope. We say that word so much, but it's so true.
00:38:50You know, I can't imagine in my life being so desolate or without that I don't have at least a glimmer of
00:38:59hope, but we're finding people who are hopeless, and we are going to fix this. Hope Florida is helping
00:39:06to build these bridges, linking youth and families to role models who can just not tell them what they're
00:39:12doing wrong, right? But to show them, hey, you're not alone, and let's walk together as we get there.
00:39:18Not every impact that we do is going to show up neatly in a report or a referral source. It's just
00:39:26the truth. Some of the most meaningful work we do happens in those moments that can't be measured. Like
00:39:36having a parent trust us when they're feeling the most overwhelmed they've ever felt. The belief
00:39:44of someone who was, that belief that grows in your belly that says, you know what, I can do this. I can
00:39:49take a new path even though I'm scared to death. As I was driving in this morning, I was talking with
00:39:55a dear friend who oversees Hope Florida at APD, and she was telling me about one of her navigators who
00:40:03lives in Tampa. And this navigator was working with an individual on, you know, on those boxes that we can
00:40:10check. Did we help find some housing stability? Yes. But if I said that to you, you would say,
00:40:17wow, that's great. But this man who doesn't trust, who doesn't trust, and it's taken him a long time,
00:40:25his truck broke down and he was stranded. He picked up the phone and he called his navigator. It was in
00:40:31the middle of the night. The navigator took the call. Her husband and her got in their car, drove to where
00:40:38Paul was and helped him. They helped him with his truck and they sat with him. Do you understand
00:40:45what that took for him to reach out and the first person he thought to call was his hope navigator?
00:40:51That can never be measured in any report, right? But that shows the hard work, you know. And so for
00:40:57the gingers out there, we see you. We see the work that you're doing and the love that you're pouring out
00:41:03to make those connections. And so across the state, navigators are helping people reclaim that,
00:41:09you know, that stability, that confidence. These aren't always the kinds of wins that fit into a
00:41:15spreadsheet, but they are the kind that can really change the trajectory of someone's life and often
00:41:22what stops them from going down into a deeper level of involvement with systems of care, right?
00:41:29So what makes Hope Florida different is that it reflects what the very best of government can be,
00:41:34which is compassion, responsiveness, and just being human. This isn't about systems. It truly,
00:41:42like the first lady says so eloquently all the time, it's about people helping people. And by placing
00:41:50the individual and not the institution at the center of our work, we're proving that there is a better way
00:41:56and it is possible. I'm grateful for this movement. I tell you every day I wake up and I am so proud to
00:42:02be a navigator. I'm proud to stand alongside the other navigators across the state who go above and
00:42:08beyond. I wish you could just walk with us and see what they do every day. It is life-altering. Not
00:42:17for just for the Floridians and families we're dedicated for, but for us as humans. They do this not for the
00:42:26recognition, but they truly believe in the people that they serve. So thank you again First Lady and Governor
00:42:31for believing in this model and for giving us the space to do what we do. We appreciate you so much.
00:42:41Okay, Mike Cooper, Dream Center of Lakeland.
00:42:45Governor, it's so good to be here today. I want to first of all thank you from my wife. We go to Disney pretty
00:42:51regular and you turn an hour and five-minute trip into about a 38, 39-minute trip, so I don't know.
00:43:01I don't know if Disney's thanked you, but they should, you know. But really what I want to talk
00:43:06about very quickly today, the Dream Center of Lakeland is really, you know, a blessed place because one of
00:43:14our main goals is how do we equip faith-based. We have over 60 churches that partner with us, Episcopal,
00:43:21Presbyterian, and Methodist, and just across the board. But the second one, which is one that's very
00:43:29important to us, is how do we embrace our city? How do we love Lakeland? And I was called to go to
00:43:35Hattiesburg, Mississippi because a church up there wanted to start a Dream Center very similar to our
00:43:40model. And after meeting with their city governor, their mayor, which is a strong mayor system there,
00:43:46the police department, we found out that you couldn't put a Dream Center like we have there
00:43:51because the city would not embrace them. And what hope now is what I've noticed is that we get a call
00:43:58one day, can you come to Arbondale, like a day before, can you come to Arbondale and meet with the
00:44:02first lady? And I grabbed my wife and I said, well, I don't know what it's about, but we're going to go over
00:44:06to Arbondale. And we went over to Arbondale and that day they presented a check to the Dream Center.
00:44:13They vetted us. They embraced us. When you fill out a grant to get money to do a nonprofit organization,
00:44:22usually in the first three or four questions is, are you a nonprofit 5013C? The next one is,
00:44:30are you faith-based? And that will usually bump you out of the grant right there, because for whatever
00:44:36reason they look at faith basis, not being the resource that it really is. This governor and
00:44:42first lady have understood that. Let me tell you, since we got that $10,000 check, I got two calls
00:44:49from the governor's office following up on what we have spent the money for. That very seldom ever
00:44:55happens. I get a call one day from the governor's office about we have a need in Highlands County.
00:45:01Well, we're Polk County. Pastor Mike, do you know anybody in Highlands County? We are very short
00:45:07there and some resources and connectors. And I gave them a name of three or four churches.
00:45:13That said to me that they don't set an office and go, look, here's our statistics. We're fine with
00:45:17our statistics. They saw where they were lacking and they took the initiative. Now, I want you to hear
00:45:24that. They took the initiative. And as a nonprofit, we feel embraced by our government. And that's very
00:45:33key, very key to where we are. I was saying about this the other day because we got a call, it's been
00:45:38a month or so ago, from the governor's office about what the money's going for. And I said,
00:45:42so how's it reaching children? We do a lot of things for kids. We're in five schools every week,
00:45:48you know, with, with, with kids, we bust, you know, in just two weeks, we will bust 350 kids
00:45:53to a Western town where they come for a full day camp, a Western theme. And, you know, these are all
00:45:59at risk kids. And as I'm talking to this individual from the, from, from the office, I said, oh, and we
00:46:06have a 18 to 35 year old basketball league. Now everybody that goes, well, how does that affect children?
00:46:11Do you realize that 18 to 35 year basketball league, a lot of those men will have two,
00:46:18three children that they absolutely have no contact with? Do you, do you know what you do
00:46:22for a man when he goes and he mentions in passing that he has a daughter that has a birthday this week,
00:46:28and he has no contact with that daughter. And you go upstairs, you go through all your toys,
00:46:33and you give him a toy, and he gives it to him, and you tell him to take it to his daughter.
00:46:39That, that connection. Now, granted, I will tell you this. Thank you, Governor, First Lady,
00:46:46for embracing us, and for embracing all over the state, because it makes a difference. There's
00:46:50hands out there that most governments do not engage. And you guys have done a great job.
00:46:56You know, I'm sure you dropped the ball in places. We've dropped the ball in places.
00:47:00But when you see that you're willing to deal with that. So I want a person to thank you,
00:47:04but really for I-4 too. So appreciate that.
00:47:12Well, on I-4, the best is yet to come, but we're glad that we were able to do that eight months ahead
00:47:17of schedule. So if it was in some of these other states, it would have gotten done sometime in,
00:47:23you know, probably eight years. So, um, okay. Jasmine Johnson, you're up.
00:47:28Good morning, everyone. My name is Jasmine Johnson. I'm grateful to be here in Brandon,
00:47:31Florida this morning. Um, before I share a bit about myself and the work that I do,
00:47:36I want to sincerely thank both, um, Governor DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis,
00:47:41um, for their pro-family approach to leadership and for the opportunity to speak today about a
00:47:46topic so close to my heart. So thank you so much. I'm 26 years old. I'm from Panama City,
00:47:52but I live in Tallahassee, Florida, and I serve as a hope navigator for the Department of Children
00:47:57and Families Office of Continuing Care. In 2021, Governor DeSantis, you signed legislation
00:48:04creating the Office of Continuing Care and through that positions like mine were established to offer
00:48:09peer-to-peer support to young adults who've aged out of foster care. This work is close to my heart
00:48:16because I've lived that same experience. I turned 18 and aged out of foster care not long ago and now I
00:48:23have the opportunity to help others who are just a few steps behind me in their journey. And as a
00:48:29hope navigator, I meet young adults right where they are helping them navigate real life challenges
00:48:35and connecting them to resources that can stabilize and empower them. That includes housing, job training,
00:48:41educational opportunities, and mentorship. Because I've walked that same road, I'm able to build trust
00:48:47with the young, with the young adults that I work with. And I know what it feels like to feel
00:48:52uncertain about what comes next. And I work to make sure that no young adult that I work with
00:48:57ever has to feel that again. When I aged out, I was fortunate to have a support team around me
00:49:04that encouraged me to pursue higher education, that helped me with housing, and encouraged me to step
00:49:12into meaningful employment like the position I hold now. But I also know that not everyone has that same
00:49:19support and many of the young adults that I serve are facing immediate needs, a need for stable housing,
00:49:25a job, and a need for direction. And in those moments, I step in as a navigator to enable to stabilize
00:49:31the situation and walk alongside them towards long-term success. And it makes a difference when they have a
00:49:38trusted adult that not only listens to them, but they show up and they follow through and they stick with
00:49:43them. And that's what I do. And that's what Hope Florida does. And to give you a little example
00:49:49about some of the cases that I have, there was a young adult that I had as a case who reached out
00:49:54because even before they had aged out, he was homeless. He was living in a car, was working a job,
00:50:02and not really having that support he needed to find the resources that he needed, that he was eligible
00:50:09for to be more stable. And so I was able to get him connected to his CBC, where he was eligible for
00:50:17all of the services. And he got housing, he was able to obtain a tuition waiver, and he's doing well
00:50:23in college now. So when I help these young adults, I stand in the slips of the cracks to help them
00:50:35from slipping further and bring them back up to where they need to be. So Hope Florida isn't just
00:50:40a program, it's a lifeline for people I serve, and giving them hope, help and trust that things will
00:50:46work out for them even at a critical time in their life. Hope Florida is a game changer for these youth,
00:50:51and I see the difference that it makes every day. And honestly, had I had something like this, I know
00:50:56it's 2021, I was at the cusp of being eligible for Hope Florida OCC services, but now that I work for
00:51:04them, I'm able to connect those young adults to those services. But if I had that, it would be a
00:51:10great safeguard for me, and I'm glad that it's a safeguard for the young adults after me. So thank
00:51:15you, First Lady, for your vision and ensuring navigators like me can be there for Florida's youth
00:51:19when they need it the most. Thank you.
00:51:21Thanks so much.
00:51:27Well, thanks, everybody. We really appreciate all the hard work. We've got a lot more to do,
00:51:31and we will be working very hard to do that. I also just want to just remind some folks that
00:51:37we in Florida, you know, have led on a lot of issues. I mean, we just, there's been some stuff
00:51:42about what we've done on illegal immigration, leading the country to help the federal government there.
00:51:47But one of the things that we've done is looked at Washington, and you see what goes on, particularly
00:51:53with the Congress, and the results are, you know, habitually poor, certainly over the last
00:51:58a couple decades. And so it's my judgment that you're not going to get radically different results
00:52:05just by electing a few more good people, that the incentive structure there is so skewed that it's
00:52:12just not going to produce the type of results that I think we all want to see. And so two of the things
00:52:18that the legislature in Florida has certified for constitutional reforms, constitutional amendments,
00:52:25are a balanced budget requirement for the federal government and term limits for members of Congress.
00:52:29And so we've been I've been active, I was just meeting with the Ohio legislature yesterday,
00:52:35they're on the cusp of doing the term limits, they have done the balanced budget amendment.
00:52:40We've also met I mean, I've met with people from Montana, Idaho, you name it about balanced budget.
00:52:46And so we have the ability as states to to bring propose these amendments, just like Congress can
00:52:53propose amendments. Either way, three quarters of the states have to ratify any amendment. So the
00:52:59ratification is the same regardless. But I think our founding fathers knew you had to empower the states
00:53:05to to offer changes. Because when the changes affect what's going on in the nation's capital,
00:53:13those Congress folks may not want to do the things that need to be done. So I know that they've tried
00:53:18to do a balanced budget amendment through Congress in the past, came up one vote short in the late 90s.
00:53:24Just imagine if that had passed 25, 26 years ago, our country's trajectory would be totally different,
00:53:29perhaps. They definitely want nothing to do with term limits. I know that. But it's also something that
00:53:35most people want to see. So we're, you're now I think 27, 28, 29 states have done the balanced budget,
00:53:43you need 34 to allow the states to write one and propose one for ratification. And then the term
00:53:50limits has just started within the last really few years in earnest. And this has been something I've
00:53:55been involved with in a long time. So there's already 12 states just in a few years, I think you're
00:54:00going to see a few more relatively quickly. And as that builds support, and it gets more traction,
00:54:06there's gonna be a lot of people in the public that are going to want to see that. So sometimes,
00:54:10you know, we were proud of what we've done in Florida, you know, we think we've shown, you know,
00:54:14model to have have have good government, good results and good governance. But I think a lot of
00:54:19people are frustrated, particularly with Congress. I mean, it's just been very difficult in that
00:54:24institution in recent years. Well, we have the we do have the ability to do something about it.
00:54:29And you know, you don't just have to sit there and and and, you know, throw throw something at
00:54:33the TV. I mean, like you can do something. And so I'm using whatever role I have to be able to help
00:54:39that process go forward. But I really believe I mean, if you could do term limits for Congress,
00:54:44a balanced budget requirement for feds, and then I would say the President should have line item veto
00:54:49authority like I do as governor, you know, they do these massive omnibus bills, President's got to
00:54:54either sign it or veto it. If you could go and line item out pork, that'd be a huge, huge positive
00:55:00thing. So so those would be the three that I think would just change the incentives. And
00:55:04if the incentives are better, then I think the behavior and the results would likely improve
00:55:09as it is now the incentive structure is to kind of keep doing what they've been doing, you know,
00:55:14over the last 1015 20 years, and by and large, it's not been terribly successful. So I'm proud that
00:55:21Florida has led on on those issues. I know there's a lot of support across the country for for both of
00:55:27those. And I think we've got to just continue to really press forward on it. So we'll do whatever
00:55:32we can in Florida to help that. And man, if we could get that done, I think that that would be a
00:55:37huge, huge positive for for the United States. Okay, do we have any questions?
00:55:41I didn't see it. No, I'm not going to go sit in front of the committee. That's not the role of
00:55:54the chief executive. We have been talking about property taxes for many, many months. In fact,
00:56:00last year, we were talking about how people's property taxes were going up because of the values.
00:56:07I've talked about getting relief. Now, I've made series of proposals. We also want to get something
00:56:13on the ballot. It doesn't take a committee hearing to do that. It just requires leadership. And so we
00:56:19want to see that out of the legislature. And it's interesting because, you know, remember when I called
00:56:25the the special session for immigration, the response was, Oh, we we in the house legislate,
00:56:32the governor doesn't legislate, right? And so they and they didn't want to do it. Now they're saying,
00:56:37well, that's the governor's responsibility to tell us what that well, what you can pick one,
00:56:41right? It's got to be one or the other. So look, I hope that there I'm skeptical. And I've told people
00:56:48I'm skeptical publicly, when everyone's been clamoring for property tax relief, that's the I mean,
00:56:54if you talk to Floridians, it's like 90% will talk about property tax. Now, if you tell them,
00:57:02hey, do you want to get something on some other? I mean, they'll say fine. But like, no one is like
00:57:07organically clamoring to do one quarter of a penny sales tax, that honestly benefits the tourists and
00:57:14stuff, which we shouldn't be doing. I want to I want more tax burden to be on the tourists and the
00:57:19snowbirds and less on Floridians. I think that's the bet. And we're the unique state to be able to
00:57:24make that happen. Because we have so many visitors and we're the place to be. So so you do but people
00:57:30have been really, really interested in property tax relief. And I think most people know, because
00:57:38they've heard me say this many times. The property taxes are leveled locally, we the state does direct
00:57:44some but it's it's a relatively modest. I think I think we can still do a rebate for people this year
00:57:50and get the rebate in their hands. You know, some people in the legislature said giving people a
00:57:56rebate on their property tax is like, like a Joe Biden or Gavin Newsom welfare handout. Are you kidding
00:58:04me? These are taxpayers that are paying taxes, you know, on their property taxes. So I didn't I didn't agree
00:58:09with that at all. And I don't think most people did. But but ultimately, because the power
00:58:15constitutionally for for property taxation is vested in local governments, we need to do a ballot measure
00:58:23to be able to provide you with constitutional protection to own your own home. And and I'm just
00:58:28very, very supportive of that. I hope that that the House will pledge to put something strong up
00:58:37to put it beyond the ballot. I think the Senate has said they want to do it. I know Senator Collins
00:58:42is helping lead that we've got a number of senators, whether it's Senator Martin and Golia, Senator
00:58:47Collins that have really worked hard. And we want to get this done. And it's not easy to get 60%
00:58:53in a referendum, you know, as we've seen, but I think it's something that is that is worthwhile,
00:58:59and that needs to be done. So we've been talking about this ad nauseum. I think the issue is, is,
00:59:05you know, my proposals about property tax relief now, were basically rejected by by one of the
00:59:12chambers. And so I think that was a mistake. I don't think that that it's over. I think,
00:59:17you know, they haven't done a budget yet. They haven't done any tax yet, even though the session
00:59:21ended a week or two ago. So so I think you may be able to still still land the plane. But you ask
00:59:27people, what do they want relief on? They want relief on property taxes. We have the unique situation in
00:59:34Florida to do something really, really bold, given that we have 142 million visitors a year and all
00:59:41these snowbirds that that we can do it in a way that'll be meaningful for for Floridians. But also,
00:59:49you know, it's not going to be, you know, you know, I don't think insurmountable to be able to continue
00:59:54to do the basic services that everybody wants. So that's the goal.
00:59:58First of all, the focus should be on actually passing a budget, right? I think that that's really
01:00:10important. That's what I think a lot of people signed up to do by a certain time. I would say I
01:00:15understand why when I travel around the state, I meet with a lot of people, why they're very
01:00:21concerned when this guy, the goat, is no longer in office. I get it. I mean, I tell you what, he laid
01:00:30it out at the top. I mean, just going over our economic numbers, paying down 41% of our outstanding
01:00:36debt. We have the largest debt in migration. We have more new business formation than any other
01:00:40state in the United States of America. I mean, people are moving here because they love Florida
01:00:46and they love this guy. They love what he's done for parents and standing up for parental rights and
01:00:49education, for making education number one across the state, whether it's K through 12 or whether
01:00:54it's higher education. They appreciate what this guy has done when it comes to our environment.
01:00:58I mean, paying billions of dollars to invest in water quality, to restore our Everglades,
01:01:04to leave the state of Florida better to God than we found it. And so you also look at public safety,
01:01:1050-year crime low. People know when they move to the state of Florida. And again, he's not inviting
01:01:14people to move to the state of Florida, but they are coming, that they know that their families
01:01:18are going to be safe and that they're going to be protected. And he's going to do everything he can
01:01:21to back the blue and to make sure that we're giving bonuses to people who are putting their lives on
01:01:26the line. So I get why this is a big conversation, but I will also say it's more than a year away from
01:01:34qualifying. I mean, I think we need to be thinking about what the people put people into office to do
01:01:39to try to make sure that they're delivering on the promises that they told the people they were going
01:01:43to do when they first got elected. So I think there's a lot of time to think about it, but I
01:01:47definitely understand why people want to want to see the goat, someone who stands up like the goat.
01:01:53And I didn't even mention this too. So you think about all of the accomplishments that the governor
01:01:58has done, right? And it's, it's unparalleled across the United States of America. I mean,
01:02:01he's the best for a reason, but I'll tell you one thing that I've had the privilege to watch from
01:02:06behind the scenes is that guy has a backbone of steel. You can say all of these things, right? You can go out
01:02:12and you can have your talking points, but if you do not have the courage of your convictions
01:02:17to stand up and fight for him like he did during COVID, I mean, the entire world descended upon this
01:02:24guy. And I watched from behind the scenes, he was like a steely eyed missile man every day of the week
01:02:30fighting for you to keep the state open, to get our kids in school, to make sure that you weren't
01:02:35smothered by a mask or had a mandate to take a COVID MRNA jab contingent upon you keeping your job.
01:02:41But I saw him every day of the week fight like hell for this state. And I think whoever
01:02:46he ultimately decides that should be following after him should be somebody that I think, you
01:02:52know, obviously after the people of the state of Florida, but I think it should somebody who
01:02:55should be somebody in the mold of a DeSantis who's willing to get out there and fight.
01:02:58You know, and as we were doing the fights with COVID, I mean, it was publications, quite frankly,
01:03:10like the Miami Herald that was concocting hoaxes. I mean, they accused our Department of Health of
01:03:17fabricating COVID data. That was a lie. That was a hoax. That was made up. That was fiction. And that was
01:03:23put out there for many, many weeks and months with zero supporting evidence for it, just simply to
01:03:30try to discredit the fact that we have the state open and free. And so I'd be very skeptical of
01:03:37discredited outlets in terms of what they're doing, because you remember, you remember that hoax.
01:03:43You remember the book ban hoax. Oh, Florida's banning, but what book has been banned? Well,
01:03:49no, but you know, this, okay, so you're removing a pornographic book from third grade. That's not
01:03:54banning the book. That's just common sense. So that was a hoax. Don't say gay was a hoax.
01:04:05You know, the whole, when he, when you were talking about Disney, I thought he was going to
01:04:10say thanks for standing up against the insanity a few years ago. And, but I mean, it was a hoax,
01:04:17right? It was a total, total fabrication. And so these are things that they just kind of run with,
01:04:24and with, with, with some of the legacy outlets. But it's like, man, it's just constant. And that's
01:04:31just what they do. So I just think it's important to remember all that because people look back and
01:04:36say, thank God, our kids were in school during COVID. Thank God, our businesses were open. Thank
01:04:41God all this happened. But, but you know, the people that were fighting tooth and nail against that
01:04:46were all these organs of the left. Some of these legacy media publications, obviously the teacher
01:04:53union suing me to try to force the closure of schools. We shouldn't forget that we, you should
01:04:59never forget who was on your side and who was fighting for the bad guys. And they were fighting
01:05:06for the bad guys. That's just a fact.
01:05:10I have to get back to Hope, Florida, and that there's been a lot of talk about that $10 million.
01:05:16Would you say that it was a poor use of funds and maybe it should have gone to the community of those in need?
01:05:22The ACA settlement that they did was appropriate, legally sound, and advanced the core policies of the
01:05:29state of Florida. They did a good job negotiating it. They did a good job across the board. And the reality
01:05:36is no one would say anything about this if it wasn't for some people have an agenda. Some people want to
01:05:44try to obliquely hit the first lady, even though she wasn't involved in the ACA thing. They want to try
01:05:49to do that. They want to try to cast dispersions. They want to discredit a successful program. Maybe it
01:05:54conflicts with their vision. Maybe it's something that they view as inconvenient because it's a
01:05:59success. So, um, you know, this, that, that was political. Uh, I think that the, the agency,
01:06:05uh, handled it well and, uh, clearly, you know, what they did was appropriate, um, and legally sound.
01:06:11And that's been demonstrated, I think, very clearly.
01:06:13But do you think that the money should have gone to those in need?
01:06:17It did though. It did. I mean, anything that has gone goes to fulfill the Hope Florida mission.
01:06:24Um, that's just the reality. Now that's done separately from the state. It's done through,
01:06:29uh, a board of directors. There's applications, uh, but, but all the things that have been done.
01:06:34And I think the foundation has a 99% grant rate. 1% is overhead. You know, when you talk about these
01:06:42things, it's usually people are somehow making money. No one's made a penny off this thing.
01:06:47There's no one that's, that's, that's been employed or, or given anything. It's all been done to grants
01:06:53to fulfill, uh, the mission. Uh, and so, uh, that's appropriate. And there's more to do,
01:06:58uh, in that regard because some of these groups, uh, this is, this isn't necessarily
01:07:04sexy stuff to do, right? I mean, there's other things that some people would, would maybe prefer,
01:07:10uh, but this is something that's all very important. And so I think that those missions
01:07:14were furthered in, in important ways. Um, and that's just the reality. And I understand there's
01:07:19people that have political agendas. I understand there's people that have access to grind. Uh,
01:07:24but we gotta be clear. Uh, you know, you had some of these publications saying that ACA took money out
01:07:31of, um, a Medicaid fund and did it. No, it was a private settlement. It was a settlement dollar,
01:07:38private settlement. So all this stuff that gets put out there, um, so much of it is intentionally,
01:07:44uh, fraudulent and contrived. And I think this is a good example of that. This has been a great
01:07:51initiative. It's changed people's lives for the better. Uh, and, and the state needs to continue
01:07:58on this pathway. This is the way that you break down barriers and you lift people up.
01:08:04Uh, Karen Gonzalez, Pittman took propaganda that was done by far left Democrats. She rebranded it
01:08:20and was, and was passing it out. Uh, that is a fraud. That is a hoax. And when she's doing this
01:08:28stuff, she is basically adopting left wing conspiracy theories, uh, what just to try to
01:08:35damage hope Florida, to try to, to try to hit me obliquely, to try to hit our attorney general,
01:08:40to try to hit the first lady. Um, you know, I think Karen Gonzalez, Pittman has done a, a poor job as
01:08:47the representative from South Tampa. You know, Jackie Toledo got a lot done when she was in there.
01:08:53And I know there are many other people who were interested in running for that and who did run
01:08:58for it and came very close. And I know there's others that are going to be looking to do it, uh,
01:09:02before. Uh, but I think what she was doing was, was highly irresponsible. Um, and I think it's, um,
01:09:08it's unfortunate, but, but, you know, people ultimately people reveal their true colors, right?
01:09:13I mean, when you have this and you look at it and you see, uh, that's not what you campaigned on.
01:09:18Uh, but if you're going to do that, so I know there's a lot of people that have been very
01:09:22disappointed, uh, in her for her conduct and they should be.
01:09:25Governor, do you think the president should accept the claim from Qatar?
01:09:30So I think that the president's, uh, first term policy towards the Middle East was the
01:09:36most successful that we've seen. I think it was very clear eyed about the threats from
01:09:42the Middle East, whether it was Iran. And in fact, I think he acknowledged and was very clear
01:09:47about, uh, past behavior for Qatar. And, and, and I, I think Qatar, uh, they play a double game.
01:09:54Uh, they are involved in, um, in, in funding some very, very, uh, dangerous causes. I know
01:10:01they've been involved in terrorism. They spend a lot of money in the United States. I mean,
01:10:06billions and billions of dollars flowing through our universities. And I don't think now we've
01:10:12cracked down on that in Florida. We did our foreign influence where, um, that's much more
01:10:18difficult to do, if not impossible in Florida now. Uh, but I think the foreign influence on
01:10:23universities is a, is a really big problem. Uh, and so I just hope that that is the policy
01:10:29that emerges. I think this trip will, will tell. I haven't been able to follow everything,
01:10:34uh, that's going on, but we know Iran is the biggest problem in the region. Uh, we know Israel
01:10:42is our strongest ally in the region. We know the Abraham Accords helped shift more and more countries
01:10:48towards the U S and Israel's position and against Iran. And I think that that's what you need to
01:10:54build off of. I would not, um, advise doing any type of, of quote, deal with Iran that allows them
01:11:02to get a nuclear weapon. I think Barack Obama tried that it failed. I think that, uh, Joe Biden tried it,
01:11:08um, it failed. So be very clear eyed. Um, he did a great job in the first term. Uh, and I think that
01:11:16if he can just simply replicate that, uh, going forward, uh, I think that would be a big success
01:11:22for the country, but, but I do think Qatar's influence, they have spent a lot of money in this
01:11:27country. And I think that that's something that, that people should, um, should take notice of.
01:11:33Okay, guys. Thanks so much.