1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:06,142 Good morning . It's such a privilege to 3 00:00:06,142 --> 00:00:08,740 be here . Thank you General Richardson 4 00:00:08,740 --> 00:00:10,629 for the invitation and I wanna of 5 00:00:10,629 --> 00:00:12,700 course recognize my colleagues and 6 00:00:12,710 --> 00:00:14,932 fellow elected officials that have been 7 00:00:14,932 --> 00:00:17,310 an integral part of both the past , the 8 00:00:17,310 --> 00:00:19,366 present and the future of what we're 9 00:00:19,366 --> 00:00:21,380 going to do here today on behalf of 10 00:00:21,390 --> 00:00:23,279 Governor Ron DeSantis , a veteran 11 00:00:23,279 --> 00:00:26,030 himself . We appreciate those of you 12 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,200 that serve in the military . We thank 13 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,170 you for what you signify for this 14 00:00:30,170 --> 00:00:32,960 country as lieutenant governor of the 15 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:34,904 great state of florida and a proud 16 00:00:34,904 --> 00:00:37,560 resident of Miami . I'm as enthusiastic 17 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:39,560 as all of you are here today to see 18 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:41,570 this groundbreaking . Because I was 19 00:00:41,570 --> 00:00:43,737 reminded earlier that it was one of my 20 00:00:43,737 --> 00:00:45,626 first meetings when I was elected 21 00:00:45,626 --> 00:00:47,681 lieutenant governor in my first term 22 00:00:47,681 --> 00:00:49,792 that I had an opportunity to stand on 23 00:00:49,792 --> 00:00:51,792 the roof and look out here and talk 24 00:00:51,792 --> 00:00:53,848 about the challenges that are needed 25 00:00:53,848 --> 00:00:55,959 for our military service personnel as 26 00:00:55,959 --> 00:00:58,070 it relates to housing . And so now we 27 00:00:58,070 --> 00:01:01,130 get to see what was once as uh the 28 00:01:01,130 --> 00:01:04,130 chaplain said an aspiration become a 29 00:01:04,130 --> 00:01:06,350 reality . And so with support of both 30 00:01:06,350 --> 00:01:08,570 the federal and the state level , this 31 00:01:08,570 --> 00:01:11,730 project will absolutely position our 32 00:01:11,730 --> 00:01:14,190 military families in a positive way . 33 00:01:14,570 --> 00:01:17,120 Our active duty military members , our 34 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,342 service members that are stationed here 35 00:01:19,342 --> 00:01:21,398 in florida , especially those junior 36 00:01:21,398 --> 00:01:23,530 enlisted personnel struggling to find 37 00:01:23,530 --> 00:01:26,470 adequate housing in a crushing market , 38 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:28,930 will now have the resources needed to 39 00:01:28,930 --> 00:01:31,060 improve their quality of life . The 40 00:01:31,060 --> 00:01:33,282 project will not only alleviate housing 41 00:01:33,282 --> 00:01:35,338 challenges for service members , but 42 00:01:35,338 --> 00:01:37,227 will also serve as an encouraging 43 00:01:37,227 --> 00:01:39,393 recruitment tool for our south florida 44 00:01:39,393 --> 00:01:41,393 military community in general . You 45 00:01:41,393 --> 00:01:43,282 were at , you are right . So many 46 00:01:43,282 --> 00:01:45,393 people are looking to move to florida 47 00:01:45,393 --> 00:01:47,338 and we're excited about that . And 48 00:01:47,338 --> 00:01:49,560 that's part I believe of the governor's 49 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:51,782 leadership . But we now know that close 50 00:01:51,782 --> 00:01:53,782 proximity to the base will not only 51 00:01:53,782 --> 00:01:55,949 improve housing opportunities but also 52 00:01:55,949 --> 00:01:57,838 increase overall unit readiness . 53 00:01:57,838 --> 00:02:00,004 Something that for military leadership 54 00:02:00,004 --> 00:02:02,116 I know is a tremendous priority . And 55 00:02:02,116 --> 00:02:04,116 so with less time having to commute 56 00:02:04,116 --> 00:02:06,171 back and forth , our service members 57 00:02:06,171 --> 00:02:08,171 can use that valuable time to spend 58 00:02:08,171 --> 00:02:10,116 with loved ones in training and in 59 00:02:10,116 --> 00:02:12,004 other opportunities and of course 60 00:02:12,004 --> 00:02:13,949 visiting the great restaurants and 61 00:02:13,949 --> 00:02:16,116 facilities that we have here in Iraq . 62 00:02:16,220 --> 00:02:18,220 And so those that are servicing our 63 00:02:18,220 --> 00:02:20,276 country , they sacrifice as it is so 64 00:02:20,276 --> 00:02:22,331 much and we believe it is only right 65 00:02:22,331 --> 00:02:24,387 and fitting and proper and proper to 66 00:02:24,387 --> 00:02:26,387 insist that our service members are 67 00:02:26,387 --> 00:02:28,498 honored and supported and given these 68 00:02:28,498 --> 00:02:30,990 resources so on items such as housing , 69 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,222 family security and the transition from 70 00:02:33,222 --> 00:02:35,220 military to civilian life . Our 71 00:02:35,220 --> 00:02:37,570 administration stands ready to support 72 00:02:37,580 --> 00:02:40,320 and to provide . So as you mentioned , 73 00:02:40,330 --> 00:02:42,920 we have instituted a toll relief 74 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:44,890 program which has been extremely 75 00:02:44,890 --> 00:02:47,950 popular and what we see is more than 76 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,840 1.7 million veterans in our state . We 77 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:53,896 want them to know that we care about 78 00:02:53,896 --> 00:02:56,062 them . We want them to know that we're 79 00:02:56,062 --> 00:02:58,340 looking out for them . And in addition , 80 00:02:58,340 --> 00:03:00,229 in June of last year the governor 81 00:03:00,229 --> 00:03:02,396 launched our hometown Heroes program , 82 00:03:02,396 --> 00:03:04,507 a program that will provide , uh , to 83 00:03:04,507 --> 00:03:07,325 date nearly 3500 hometown heroes with 84 00:03:07,335 --> 00:03:08,625 over $50 million 85 00:03:08,625 --> 00:03:18,955 $905 86 00:03:18,955 --> 00:03:20,566 million dollars in home loan 87 00:03:20,566 --> 00:03:22,960 transactions . Governor de Santis also 88 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:25,510 created an innovative pathway to 89 00:03:25,510 --> 00:03:28,010 certify our military veterans and help 90 00:03:28,010 --> 00:03:30,190 them begin new careers in education 91 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:32,570 because who better than our servicemen 92 00:03:32,570 --> 00:03:34,860 and women to provide our Children to 93 00:03:34,870 --> 00:03:37,180 educate our Children with so much 94 00:03:37,180 --> 00:03:39,347 experience . It would be a shame if we 95 00:03:39,347 --> 00:03:41,710 did not tap into that potential . We 96 00:03:41,710 --> 00:03:43,766 also passed legislation last year to 97 00:03:43,766 --> 00:03:45,877 take care of our military spouses and 98 00:03:45,877 --> 00:03:47,821 their families , ensuring that the 99 00:03:47,821 --> 00:03:50,043 Department of Business and Professional 100 00:03:50,043 --> 00:03:51,766 regulation expedites licensing 101 00:03:51,766 --> 00:03:53,821 applications of active duty military 102 00:03:53,821 --> 00:03:56,520 spouses . And we also enacted a Purple 103 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,050 Star campus program that will allow 104 00:03:59,050 --> 00:04:00,994 certain schools that demonstrate a 105 00:04:00,994 --> 00:04:03,050 commitment to our military that will 106 00:04:03,050 --> 00:04:05,260 provide resources to our students and 107 00:04:05,270 --> 00:04:07,437 offer stewed and lead programs to help 108 00:04:07,437 --> 00:04:09,860 them acclimate to new environments . So 109 00:04:09,860 --> 00:04:11,749 all of this coupled with our toll 110 00:04:11,749 --> 00:04:14,000 relief in which we expect they will get 111 00:04:14,010 --> 00:04:17,970 close to an average of $400 savings on 112 00:04:17,970 --> 00:04:19,970 their toll um , purchases over the 113 00:04:19,970 --> 00:04:22,400 course of the year , we're excited that 114 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:24,580 we will be able to provide much needed 115 00:04:24,580 --> 00:04:27,340 relief in an array of areas . So on 116 00:04:27,340 --> 00:04:29,618 behalf of Governor Rhonda Santis and I , 117 00:04:29,618 --> 00:04:32,590 we thank you , we serve you , we honor 118 00:04:32,590 --> 00:04:35,050 you and we look forward to continuing 119 00:04:35,050 --> 00:04:37,090 to provide whatever assistance the 120 00:04:37,090 --> 00:04:38,868 state may need to offer in this 121 00:04:38,868 --> 00:04:40,950 particular venture , to our veterans 122 00:04:40,950 --> 00:04:42,894 that are here are military service 123 00:04:42,894 --> 00:04:45,006 personnel . Thank you , May God bless 124 00:04:45,006 --> 00:04:47,117 you and may God bless the great state 125 00:04:47,117 --> 00:04:47,060 of florida .