00:00Today, including our Florida Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Director, General James Hammer Hartzell.
00:13We also have our former Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Director and current Florida State Senator Danny Burgess,
00:22as well as Danny's colleagues in the Senate, Jay Collins and Keith Trunow.
00:27We also have Representatives McFarlane, Oliver, Nix and Albert who are joining us here today and I want to thank them for being here.
00:36So today marks 81 years where we had a merry band of brothers storming the beaches of Normandy
00:45and their task was a monumental one to liberate Europe and ultimately to be able to preserve freedom here and throughout the world.
00:53They were not favored to necessarily be successful in that mission.
00:59They suffered an enormous number of casualties on that June 6th day,
01:04but ultimately they prevailed in that operation and eventually prevailed in winning a decisive victory
01:13and not just the European theater, but of course the Asian theater as well.
01:18We don't have very many folks who are on that mission that are with us anymore.
01:26I mean, I think 81 years, you can do the math.
01:29You're basically down to a lot of people who are lying about their age to be able to get into the service.
01:33And people did do that at the time.
01:35But I think because of that, and we've seen that just over the course of me being governor,
01:43as we've seen those older generations pass away,
01:46we have a responsibility to keep the memory of what they did alive.
01:51And that's one of the reasons why we're so strong on ensuring that we have really robust civics education in our schools.
01:58We want people to know what it means to be an American.
02:01We want them to understand the founding principles of this country.
02:05But we also want to stress that those things that we hold so dear, those don't run on autopilot.
02:12Freedom is not free.
02:14It needs to be fought for and it needs to be preserved.
02:17And there are certain flashpoints in our country's history, and really all of human history,
02:23but in American history where that freedom was really on the line in a big way.
02:27And June 6, 81 years ago, was one of those days.
02:31I know there was an enormous amount of sacrifice that went in far beyond just the D-Day invasion
02:37in terms of what the American people sacrificed in that conflict.
02:42But I think we're all of an agreement that we're better off for their great heroic sacrifices.
02:48And so we remember that today, 81 years later.
02:51And it's fitting that as we remember what they did there, that we also can be here today to sign legislation
02:59that shows our commitment to the people who live in our state who did wear the uniform.
03:04And it comes in a variety of ways.
03:06We still have some World War II vets.
03:08We've got a lot of Vietnam vets.
03:10And then, like me, we've got a lot of post-9-11 vets who served during that crazy time.
03:17And Florida is and will remain the number one state for veterans in the entire country.
03:23So we've got some folks here that I want to recognize at the outset.
03:36We have Sergeant Hugo Riva.
03:39He's about to turn 105 years old.
03:42He served as a flight engineer and gunner on a B-17 bomber in the European theater during the Second World War.
04:02So God bless you, my man.
04:04You look like a million bucks, I'll tell you what.
04:06So keep it up, whatever you're doing, keep it going.
04:08We thank you for your service.
04:10We also have First Sergeant Raymond Melendez, 96-year-old veteran who proudly served in the Army in the Pacific theater during World War II.
04:22We also have Army Specialist Elmer Franklin, a Vietnam veteran who serves as Resident Council President.
04:29We're also joined by, I saw Charlie Flynn.
04:33Where's Charlie?
04:35And then I saw, is James O'Leary here?
04:38We, he's over there.
04:40Okay.
04:41And we, and we, I know we have some others.
04:42So just everybody, we appreciate what you do.
04:46I always like to say that you can have these different things where you can speak, elected officials speak on Veterans Day.
04:53And they say this and that.
04:55And a lot of times it's just platitudes that are empty and they're not backed up by anything.
04:59And I'm somebody who speaks a lot just in the job I do.
05:04And so I do believe that, that words can be meaningful, but ultimately it's deeds that are the most powerful.
05:10You can say that you support veterans, but what are you actually doing to put your money where your mouth is?
05:15What are your actions telling us about whether you're getting the job done?
05:19And I'm proud to say that Florida's home to roughly 1.5 million veterans.
05:25That's the third most of any state in the nation.
05:27Now we're the third largest in population, you know, kind of a distant third.
05:32I mean, California and Texas have way more people than we do.
05:35But I would say, and I think Hammer would agree, we punch above our weight class in terms of the percentage of veterans when you look at it this way.
05:41And I can just tell you as a Navy guy, we've got a lot of Navy installations in Florida.
05:45When you get stationed in Florida, you know, it's like military, two years here, three years there, year and a half here, just you bounce around, right?
05:53You don't just go serve in one duty station for 20 years.
05:56And so people go around.
05:58And in Navy, there are certain places that you go.
06:01If you're in aviation, a lot of times Pensacola will be a spot that you go to.
06:05We have an air station in Jacksonville, Port and Mayport.
06:09There's all these different things.
06:10But then you've got Norfolk, Virginia.
06:12It's got a huge Navy footprint.
06:14San Diego, Washington State.
06:15There's all these different things.
06:17But chances are you come through Florida at one point or another when you're in the Navy.
06:21And what I know people will do is once they're able to establish that Florida residency, they do not give it up.
06:29And so they buy a home.
06:36You know, the thing is you buy a home.
06:38That's your home of record.
06:39So then if they do transfer you from, say, Mayport to San Diego, you don't have to pay California state tax.
06:46They tax you on your home safe.
06:49So we're proud of that.
06:51We know people have enjoyed being able to live and thrive in the state of Florida as a veteran.
06:59Over the past few years, we've signed legislation that supports pretty much every aspect of the life of military veterans.
07:07We've increased access to educational opportunities post-deployment.
07:11We've supported military families and their children, including with education options in the K-12 system.
07:18We've expanded mental health resources for veterans returning from overseas deployments.
07:23We've created new solutions for veterans to obtain workforce training and employment.
07:27Last year, we signed over a dozen veteran-related bills, which are already having positive impacts on our communities across the state.
07:35Our budget last year had nearly $100 million to support various initiatives that help Florida's veterans.
07:43And this is everything from workforce preparedness to mental health, helping alleviate and eradicate homelessness amongst veterans.
07:51Education, medical, legal services, you name it, we're in the game on all of those.
07:56Now, that number included almost $20 million allocated to Florida DVA that went to, among other things, dental care for low-income veterans, employment and training services programs,
08:08and building a new state veterans nursing home in Collier County, further south from here, as well as doing upgrades on additional veterans' homes across the state.
08:20Now, this year, my budget, so we're in the first week of June, and the fiscal year ends at the end of this month, and the legislature still has not produced the budget.
08:30Now, this was due over a month ago, and I know some of these legislators here, if it was up to them, this would have been done a long time ago.
08:38But the reality is, these things do what they do.
08:41So, we'll see what ends up happening as that process unfolds, but we had an additional $15.3 million in our recommendations that we did at the beginning of the year to support capital improvements for our veterans' state nursing homes,
08:54as well as $1 million to provide for a veteran's dental care grant program, and I would like to see the legislature show their support for veterans by including that in the budget that they're working on.
09:06And I think we think something's going to happen, but, well, one way or another, something will happen.
09:10And I can guarantee you that.
09:14So, we also, though, we have Florida DVA, you know, which is great, but it's a relatively small footprint.
09:21It's nothing compared to, like, the U.S. VA, which, honestly, I mean, that's too big of a bureaucracy, and I don't think it always serves the veterans well.
09:28And most veterans think about going to a U.S. VA before they think about state, but nevertheless, so that serves an important function.
09:36But we have other agencies that interact with the general public, but also have specific veteran-focused missions.
09:44So, our Department of Commerce administers several programs to support veterans as they transition to new careers,
09:52veteran state grant programs, state small business credit initiatives, and Paychecks for Patriots,
09:57which connects veterans with hundreds of potential employers through a series of fairs held throughout the state.
10:03Our Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation has programs designed to help active
