Joe biden. Joe biden thank you, sarge, thank you, deshaun, i thank you for your years of service and thank you for your continued commitment to supporting our students, veterans as they pursue their education. And thank you Hillsborough Community college for hosting us today. My wife jill is a Community College professor and ive known for a long, long time the Community Colleges she says are the secret, best kept secret in america in terms of our Education System and this is just one reason why. You help people take the next step in their lives to get the training and accreditation they need, including our vets, who after years of dedication to our country are ready to build civilian lives of meaning and of opportunity. Less than 1 of the population of our country chooses to serve our country in the military less military. Less than one percent risk everything to defend our nation, our values, and everything we hold dear. Them our 99 of us owe thanks, gratitude, and respect. My view, based on reports of interviews, President Trump has proven hes unfit told the office of the president time again but nowhere are his faults more glaring and more offensive to me at least than when it comes to his denigration of our Service Members, veterans, Wounded Warriors, the fallen. Quite frankly, it makes me very upset the way he gets in front of a camera and crows about how much he has done for veterans and then turns around and insults our Service Members and Fallen Heroes when the cameras off. Calls them suckers and losers. My son beau, who as a u. S attorney volunteered to go six months to kosovo to help them set up a criminal justice system, he did such a good job there, kosovo government named a highway after him erected a war memorial. And then he had to get an exemption because his attorney general of the state of delaware to go with his unit to iraq and he went for a year in iraq, came home with a bronze star. Hes gone now, but he was no sucker. He was a man like many of the people he served with, women and men who served with him, served in a way that they should be honored as heroes, not in some derogatory way. They didnt come home losers, they became home heroes, and i think its an absolute disgrace. Donald trump has no idea about the ideas that animate women and men who sign up to serve duty , honor, country. Thats what service and patriotism is all about. Duty, honor, country. As reported a very reliable source and confirmed by many major outlets that he said to a fallen father, a member of the service, the father the father of a fallen soldier who was himself was a member of the service while hes standing by to gravesite, he allegedly said, i dont get it, what was in it for them . What was in it for them . Donald trump doesnt seem to be able to conceive the idea of Selfless Service or being part of a cause thats bigger than yourself. Every day i carry with me a card, and ive been doing this for better part of 14 years, it is my schedule. On the back of it wherever the schedule ends, theres always a black box that i have here. It says daily troop update. U. S troops died in iran and afghanistan. 600 923. 6923. Every one of these fallen angels left behind a family left behind a community theres an empty seat at the table now. U. S. Troops wounded in iraq and afghanistan 53,192. Not over 53,000. Ive flown back on those c130s with caskets draped coming out of iraq and afghanistan, ive been there at Dover Air Base and those bodies come home. You know, and think of all the folks, and you all know it, coming home with unseen injuries. Tens of thousands come home with posttraumatic stress, Mental Health challenges. Have beenn, we criticized about this over the last 30 years, but i have said it. As a nation, we have many obligations, to our children, to the elderly, to the poor, to those in need, but i believe we have only one truly sacred obligation, to prepare and equip our troops that we send in harm s way and to care for them and their families when they return. Veterans security and dignity that they have earned, and it starts by protecting the and the v. A. Must be the premier provider of Health Care Services to remote to promote our veterans overall wellbeing. Eyond physical and mental it provides a community of understanding and support and facilitates accountability for health and wellbeing as a whole that is vital for successful outcomes. We need to be sure we are providing veterans with worldclass health care they deserve in every situation. That means hiring more doctors and medical personnel, professionals, to work at the v. A. , including position central to veteran health care, nurses and psychologists. They need the incentive to join the v. A. We need to pay them a Competitive Salary with the private sector. We also need to do more to build a pipeline of doctors and nurses, especially in rural areas. If you live far away from ava center, it is absolutely essential that you can see a doctor closer to home. That is right. During the obama administration, we signed the veterans access accountability act into law in 2014. President trump likes to say he passed the v. A. Choice, and just like Everything Else he is saying, it is a figment of his imagination at a flat live. Now, we need to keep working for the mission act, effectively and efficiently, so it works for our veterans to make sure they are held to the same high Quality Standard as v. A. Centers. We are going to make sure our Women Veterans and our lgbtq veterans get the service and respect they deserve from culturally competent providers. Critically, we are going to make sure that no veteran is locked out of treatment for conditions related to toxic exposure or traumatic brain injuries they experience in the line of duty. We made that mistake with agent orange. As a senator, i fought for decades to help Vietnam Veterans get access and help. We were able to expand on it during the obamabiden administration. Delayedt let this be again, denying access, because they could not prove a direct connection that you were exposed to agent orange. It is wrong. It is to be presumed if the ailment you have is caused by your exposure to agent orange that you get treatment. Tackle got to seriously Mental Health crisis that we have, the suicide academic claiming far too many of our veterans and Service Members. You know, one of the saddest things when my son came home iraq, he wasit back as attorney general, and the week before christmas, he came over to the house and said, dad, i do not know what i am going to do. There was a veteran deployed six times of my memory is correct a modern, upscale neighborhood, middleclass neighborhood. And to get up in the morning and get out, i think it was a dodge ram, and started down the street in front of his house, which was no sidewalks, saw a woman walking her dog, ran over her, killed her. Killed the dog. Put her in the back of the pickup truck, took her to 95, where there was the sand pile ,or emergencies, molested her put her back in the truck, came home, called the state police and said, i just killed someone. There was a voice in my head that set i had to kill someone that said i had to kill someone. Latest data suggests that almost 600 veterans a year just here in florida, devastating. There are no easy answers for this. And we can do so much better than we are doing now. We have an obligation to do so much better. We have to help our heroes understand that it is an honorable thing to do and take strength and reach out and ask for help if you are suffering from unseen wounds. Accustomed to not ask for anything, we have to end the stigma surrounding Mental Health treatment. Whenthey do reach out, they call the crisis hotline, walk into a va hospital, or visit a v. A. Center for counseling, we have to make sure that there is nobody turning them away. No one tells them they have to wait. Part of it is also making sure that veterans feel a sense of security and connection and mission with the civilian world, as they did on active duty. Better employment opportunities. Meaningful career trajectories. Education like the ones get here at the Community College, which translates into greater opportunities for our vets, not just put money in the pockets of forprofit outfits, because we have got to stop that. It all matters. It especially matters how their families are treated. Poet, wrote the these lines. Serve and only stand and wait. Husbands, wives, fathers. They serve every day. And unique challenges, that should never be a unique afterthought. It is a National Security imperatives. Fulfilling our promise to veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors is critical to ensuring we not only meet our obligations, but future generations continue to volunteer to serve. My wife, jill, she worked on this. She and Michelle Obama teamed up and started an outfit called joining forces, a nationwide initiative to drive concrete commitments to support Service Members, veterans, and their families and caregivers and survivors to help make sure teachers are equipped to better meet the needs of military children in their classrooms, to help bring down some of the barriers, because the vast majority, the vast majority of those kids in school have no idea, little johnny or mary or because hisried mommy or daddy is stationed in a foreign land. It makes it harder for military spouses to find good jobs and build careers. They have to change. Working with leaders, hiring our heroes. Employmenty spouses program. For example, make it easy to carry your professional credentials with you from one state to another when your spouse moves. The harrisbiden administration will keep pushing forward and make it easier for military spouses to fight meaningful careers, to assure that teachers know how to support military students in their classrooms, and to have improved support so much more than we do now. This is not a theoretical commitment. It is personal. Beau, deployed to iraq with the National Guard unit. That is when jill and i really learned what it means to be part of a military family. You end up praying every night for the safety of your child far from home in the middle of a war zone, facing unknown dangers. They areily gathering, missed. Every time the children ask why mommy or daddy is not there, it hurts. These are the challenges most americans never have to face. ,hese are the women and men their families. They are the absolute best our country has to offer. They are the backbone of america. Some of the most meaningful moments of my vice presidency, of those eight years, was at thanksgiving, we would host a thanksgiving meal for the wounded veterans at the Vice President ial residence. Daypent every christmas visiting the patients at walter reed hospital. I spent time with our Wounded Warriors in Trauma Centers all across the country and around the world. But do you know what the message is when i walk in and say, soldier, what can i do for you . Whether they are amputees or not, they pull themselves up and try to salute. They say, yes, sir. I want to go back to my unit. Can you get me back to my unit . Hearthat sound like the and grit and patriotism of a sucker or a loser . It sounds like heroism to me. It sounds like what patriotism is all about. Our military is the greatest fighting force in the history of the world, and that is not hyperbole. It is the gods truth. They deserve a commanderinchief who understands and respects their sacrifice. They deserve better then goes on now with the commanderinchief, and if i have the honor of ever serving as the next commanderinchief, i want every Single Member of the armed forces, the veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors to know i will never treat you with anything other than with the honor and respect and dignity deserve. I will always have your back. Our back. Ave had the countrys back. All, and may god protect our troops. Thank you. Am i here . How are you . Thank you, for your compelling remarks. Thank you to the Hillsborough Community college for hosting this event, and thank you to the viewers around the country who are watching today. I have the great honor of being not only a participant but a moderator today. I am the ceo. In 2004, my husband received military orders to naples, italy. As i prepared for the adventure, i realized moving would bring a myriad of challenges. There was a formal policy on base that prevented local military spouses from providing for professional jobs. I had come from the white house and realized quickly that my career was at a total standstill. Fast forward 16 years, and not only have we created jobs for almost 300 military spouses and veterans, many have moved many times, and we are also one of the largest womenowned Small Businesses in the tampa bay area and the second largest privately held Government Contracting form firm in the region. We received one of the largest awards in history. Former v. P. Biden thank you. That is because me and my cofounder and other affectional military spouses wanted to attain meaningful employment in naples, italy, years ago. We realize that as much as we could not hire all of the talented military spouses around the world, although we are still trying to. Now, part of the hiring our heroes program, to give back to this incredible population that had helped us grow, we also started home front rising, and annual Training Program to help military spouses get engaged in the process across the political spectrum. Four timesrces are more to be underemployed or unemployed. Is a staggering number. But hiring military spouses is not simply the patriotic or right thing to do. Hiring military spouses is good for our economy. It is good for individual businesses, and it is good for our force readiness. It impacts all of the other issues we will talk about today. Mental health, transition, quality of life all get better when military spouses are afforded the opportunity to contribute their intellect, ingenuity, and professional background to our communities. Mr. Vice president , thank you for what you and dr. Biden have done for all military families, with the joining forces initiatives profoundly affecting literary Spouse Employment and other military family issues. Thank you for inviting us here today. Thank you forden what your country has done. Look. You all know this, because your veterans, and many of you have spouses. I do not want to presume anything, but the fact is, you know, one of the things was, i found, particularly difficult when watching what happened during the heavy deployments back in iraq and afghanistan before i was able to get permission to bring home 150,000 troops was the significant force of that troop those troops were either reservist or National Guard, and they did not have the camaraderie if they stayed back on the base, at least of other people being in the same circumstance, and what i found was, as we traveled around the world and around the lack of a sense of being understood, what is happening, just being able to know that somebody else knows what youre going through, that sense of loss, even if everything is fine, even if your husband and wife is in good physical shape and safe if deployed, but this idea that you of thell taking care homework by yourself, or you are the only one going to the school play, or the only one there for the birthday, and no one is there. It does impact on family solidarity. It does impact on a sense of community that you have. And my wife was part of an organization in delaware called boots on the ground. I do not know if you are familiar with that at all, but what that was, and just in my small state of delaware, and if i am taking too much time, just tell me, because i will stop, but what i found is i remember calling ininlaw eau first snowstorm after b was deployed, saying, somebody is out there shoveling the driveway, and this was after a snowstorm, shoveling the driveway, and i did not call them, and they left a note saying, ask for your service. Thanks for your service. Thanks for your service. You find yourself in a situation where you have to show up for a mammogram or a follow up on something heavy with a health problem. Who takes care of the kids . What happens . Well, they started this whole thing in delaware. People would show up. They would just volunteer. They would give phone numbers and say, i will be there, and you know, but i want the people to understand it. It does help psychological health, the sense of community. You did not volunteer to serve to get thanks. You volunteer to serve because that is who you are. Youre not used to saying, thank me. I did something special. But it helps when people know what you have done and are just supportive of what you did. So i think it is a big deal what you have done, it is a major part of what jill is already, god willing, if we are elected, is starting. Reignite, joining forces again, as she and michelle have done. You. N thank haun, who ise des going to speak to us, as well. Former v. P. Biden promoted to major and got two bronze star, and he said, congratulations. Anyway. Especially the marine corps. It is an honor, and i know you hear that a lot, but i really truly mean that. When i got out of the marine corps, i decided to come here to the college and get my degree and went on and got my masters degree, so i have been around education ever since i got out of the military. Likely, they found out i was good with veterans, so i decided to come here. The veterans education is a big part of my life now, and i think that our current v. A. Is great, but one of my fears is that they may not be keeping up with the times and that they may fall behind in terms of evolving with veterans. As you probably know, there are a lot of veteranowned businesses now, that is because we have entrepreneurship programs, like the Hillsborough Community college. They have gotten to where they can have a veteran go from idea to absolutely starting themselves in months. After they have their company, a lot of them do not come back to , and oneeir education of the things we had mentioned is if there is a way where we can possibly get it to where they can maybe use the benefits that are not going to be used for education to fund their business if they do not come back to use it, so i am wondering if you in essence were thinking about that or about the via education. Another issue that you touched on in your speech is veteran suicide. As you know, we have all heard the turn term 22. There was a marine who went to a va hospital who was already getting assistance with health care and with Mental Illness and told them he was going to leave and commit suicide if they did not help him, and unfortunately, he walked out and committed suicide. I know people are talking about it, but it seems like it is still a big issue, so i appreciate what you said and how youre going to take action to try to stop this pandemic. Former v. P. Biden there is a couple of things, and let me know if i am telling you more than you want to hear because you know a lot. One of the things we are finding is i used to have a friend who was a great basketball player years and years ago back in the days when Providence College had those great teams with riordan and walker, allpro , if you are a basketball fan, peteis name was pete, and was not that interested in academics, but he was a smart guy. We used to have an expression. He said you have to know how to know. You have got to know how to know. I can take you to the library of congress, and if you do not know how to read the card catalog, it is a very little value to you. Thousands and thousands of books. Thing, and itme did not start off in the context of veterans, but i found the same thing with entrepreneurs. There is an awful lot of entrepreneurs, and you see what happens. A lot of entrepreneurs, and it started off with minority entrepreneurs, when given the opportunity are as successful as other entrepreneurs, and that is why barack and i started the program for giving money to state Small Business associations that they could and from outside the federal government attract private funding to help people get started. Well, when i read about your program down here, you provide the kind of help that teaches how to know how to know. They may not know that they need this particular thing, or they may not know how to get in contact with a lawyer to get the documents that are needed to be done. They may not know the detail because most of the big banks do not like lending to small operators. Done hereat you have is you, in fact, have provided for these young entrepreneurs and these military entrepreneurs , showing them the way. I do not mean taking them by the hand and say, come on now. They have great ideas, but they do not know the system as well. They have the idea, and they get the chance to have the infrastructure set up to be able to start whatever that entrepreneurial effort is, they can do well, but they do not know how, and that is why i was so impressed with what hillsboro does, you all here. And i do not know, and i will be very blunt with you, because it did not occur to me until we set up coming down here, and i learned about the program. I do not know how we can move, and i think it is a good idea, if they drop out of school to run that business, can they use those finances to promote their business, to get their business up and going . Can they use that funding . Is that when you are asking me . Desheun yes, sir, not a lump sum, but over the course of the four years. The servicebiden of these young women and men is not over, but we need their talent and leadership and experience. 9 11, the g. I. Bill hand, we on the one have to crack down on fraud of the forprofit outfits out there that are trying to take advantage and figure out how these vets can get access to training and placement, but also can they use it for their business. I have to give you an honest answer. I have not thought of it, but i promise you i will pursue it and get back to you and tell you if mechanically, that can be done, or is it better to go straight to what i have already set up, the Small Business enterprise proposal. For example he example, the money we put aside for entrepreneurial encouragement brought 30 billion from the private sector. That to 15 raise billion. This goes to the states now. 15 billion in sba to states. Somethinge close to like 150 billion dollars off the sidelines. That may be the better way of doing it and still preserve the ability to come back and finish that degree, because no matter what is said, you can still at night, if it makes sense, complete the degree. But i do not know the answer. I have not thought about it before to provide v. A. Benefits for the entrepreneurial enterprise you have underway, and i forget what the tuition here is. It is actually quite low here compared to other Community Colleges. But would you be able to use that . The other complication, i must tell you, is when elected, i promise you that we are going to for the votes to do it for anyone to qualify for the Community College across the board, so then thered would be no question about how would that work. You understand . We will have the woman who runs this to get in touch with you and see if we can work something out, and i will get back with you on what my position is, but i think it might be better to go through the existing program, but i will look at it. Former v. P. Biden desheun is doing amazing work here and in hillsborough county. Irmer v. P. Biden and how do go about getting a license . You have an idea that it does not undercut your new idea on i. T. Or your new idea, whatever. Because how you get there. Point me. Tell me what i need to do to get it done. Our next speaker. Hello. Former v. P. Biden hello, lieutenant. How are you . Lieutenant i wrote a little story to tell you about my military career. Thes born and raised in dominican republic. When i was 16, my family sent me to live with my aunt and uncle in california, and i had the opportunity for having an opportunity to have a better life. On the week of my 18th birthday, i joined the United States coast guard, and i served for 24 years. I started as enlisted and did 14 years as enlisted, and then i ,ad i became a lieutenant in mykept serving country. The highlights of my career are major in the caribbean and maritime effort in the wto in miami. Proud of myy military career. Issue that i have been talking to a lot of people, and they are very concerned about it, and it is Social Security. It is crucial. It is a Crucial Program for millions of hardworking americans, including veterans. Florida is home of the second most military retirees in the country. We have contributed to social withity our entire lives the expectation that we would become and if we disabled, Social Security will be there for us, but now, President Trump is threatening bydefund Social Security cutting the payroll tax. Thatny retired veterans depend on Social Security part of the reason, that is why we are supporting you, because you will protect Social Security, and i cannot imagine an alternative. That is why we are working so hard to make sure that we have you as president. Bothr v. P. Biden this is simple and complicated. Number one. You all know the way the Social Security system is funded, because you have been paying into it your whole lives, and it is essentially 6. 5 of your salary, and your employer pays 6. 5 , and that system is funded. It is complicated, but that is the essence of it. Way, whend, by the barack and i, president barack obama and i, got in office is that we inherited the most ofnificant recession short depression in american history. So we decided we had to do things to spur the economy and help economic growth. One of the things we did was to get money immediately in the hands of folks who had a job byll and a paycheck deferring their Social Security payment. Lawwe had written into the a Firm Commitment that the government, when the crisis was done, would make up the entirety of that, so there would be no diminishment of the amount of money in the fund to be able to pay. Now, president i do not want to sound well, i will just say it. The president has focused on the reason why the covid crisis has on onlybad has focused making sure the stock market stays up and to make sure it does not decline, because then it looks bad, and the economy for the people he represents. Passed legislation to provide for significant help for working families so that they would be able to, for example, have the ability to not be able to be thrown out of their apartments, and government would pay for that until the recession is over if they didnt ise the money, where there 20 Million People in america, an awful lot of latinos here in the state, because they have the 50 of the owed homes and find themselves in a position where 20 million americans are on the verge of worrying about being foreclosed on because they cannot pay a mortgage payment, and all of the money that is in housect that is in the with some republican support, and some republican supporting it in the senate, but mitch mcconnell, the senator from kentucky, does not want to bring it up to be voted on, and the president is unwilling to figuratively and literally unwilling to get off of the golf course and out of the sand trap. Have you ever heard in a crisis like this, the president has not called together the senate and house to try to settle something . I mean, for real. Has not done it. So he is trying to figure out ways in which he can, in fact i think it is important to know the context. Can say those people still have a job even though we have over 30 Million People receiving unemployment now, and that is about to dry up, too, is that those who get a paycheck will finally get their 6. 5 they were taking out of the paycheck, so it looks like they are going to get a pay raise. They will have money to spend, is not a bad idea theoretically, but he has told he said he wanted to make sure that the employer and Employee Stock paying into the system stop paying into the system, because that would give them more cash to do with their issues. But the problem is the actuary, Social Security, the professionals said if they do years, then three system will be totally bankrupt. We are talking about hundreds of billions of dollars here that would have to be made up. All of the things you paid into would be gone. So the president is not saying that. He is just going to defer that be done between now and after the election, so i guess february 1 or something. Dowould defer and say you not have to pay for that period your tax on for Social Security and medicare. Requiredem is, it is that the day after that exemption runs out, you have got to make it all up, so the Fourth Quarter of this year, no one pays into the Social Security trust fund, all that money has to be paid up in the Social Security trust fund in the First Quarter of next year. So people, particular in the military, are not going to know, and with military pay, youre going to have to pay, have to come up with, in the next quarter, twice the amount of money that was taken out of your paycheck before. Are you with me . I doubt that most people are going to take that money and be able to put it away and save it because they have such urgent needs, so it is going to be chaos. Now, a number of employers, and our moderator may know this, a lot of employers say they will keep paying in, because they do not want to get hit with a 400 thousand dollars or a milliondollar or whatever bill next quarter. Are you with me . All about i am making an assumption here, but it seems as though it makes no fiscal sense. It seems to be all about trying to make it look like he is doing something to help people in the middle of the covid crisis when unemployment continues to go up, and when you have so many people out of work. Now, i think it is like 16 million who have nothing at all, and to make it look like we are actually helping some people. The struggling area to the middleclass area. It would put money in their pocket now, and it would be, he is doing something to help me, and the one thing he wants be able toe wants to send out that 1200 check, because it has his name on it. He doesnt want to help states and localities with their deficits, deal with them. Little bit about this. When we hit the recession, president obama asked me to see if i could convince my republican friends to join us in 800t turned out to be an billion recovery package that would be distributed within 18 months and that so, in fact, we would not go into a depression. The heritage foundation, the conservative think tank, said it helped keep us from going over a cliff, and part of it was he gave me the authority to run at. I was able to provide 140 billion over that 18 months to state and local governments, because the State Government has to balance the budget. You have to have a balanced budget. You cannot run a deficit. When you have a deficit, it means you lay off School Teachers or the fire department, not the whole department, but Police Officers and hospital workers, etc. That, theoes consequence is he has to demonstrate hes got something out there. You are with me . I think that is what this is about, and i wish, and i really mean this, i wish he would in fact just say we are going to call a meeting in the white house, and we are going to stay here until we get a deal done, democrats and republicans. Now, apparently, there are a lot of republicans willing to get a deal, but there are 20 republicans, very conservative members, who say they do not want to spend any more money. So that is the hard part, getting the majority leaders in a spot, and i am talking too much specificity here, but i want you to understand what is not happening. There is answers. The house has already passed this legislation to make sure that you are still going to get your Social Security, make sure isicare is expanded, but he not expanding medicaid. Medicaid. Well, guess what . You have a lot of people losing their health insurance, and every other state out there, not every other but most other states under the Affordable Care the moneypay 100 of for medicaid, which takes care of the poor. But a lot of republican governors do not like medicare and medicaid and do not think the government should do it, so they do not want to take on that possibility, the 10 the road. It is all caught up in that. I hope that explains it, but i think it is a big mistake, and i think that we should at least come and the president has done this, which i think is a very bad idea, he should be honest with the public and say, but you are going to have to pay this back in the next quarter, so if you are out there trying to keep your family going here, and you are still in the military but are homebased, you have got to know that that is a little bit more money every paycheck, but i am going to have to double it going back. Long, but to take so i think it is important for people to understand exactly what is going on. You, mr. Vice president. That was extremely comprehensive. Former v. P. Biden i will try to be less comprehensive. That is because i came from a family were dead did not have a job, and we had to move, you know, it was about the next meal on the table, you know . Well, i am going to turn out to the reverend. Reverend thank you, and thank you, mr. Vice president , for being here today. Of thee Senior Pastor temple ame church and also a u. S. Army veteran. You hereted to have today and more excited to do everything i can to make sure you get elected and be the next president of the United States. But, mr. Vice president , i want to first state that your son, be is etched in our memory, and he was not a sucker or loser. He was the pit ami of sacrifice, and to this day, we still honor his memory and his sacrifice to his country and his community. Former v. P. Biden thank you. Reverend she was the a pit epitome ofas the sacrifice, and to this day, we honor his memory. In washington, d. C. , at walter reed hospital, i got the opportunity firsthand to see the disparities, unfortunately, of africanamerican veterans. Former v. P. Biden yep. Reverend and that is of interest to me, especially in the v. A. System, when it comes to africanamerican vets. We fight for things that should be ours, and we are among the first to volunteer to serve our country and community, so i am hoping you can put together, your team, to put together a plan to bridge that gap, that disparities that africanamerican veterans who have served their country honorably and deserve benefits to that point, i am proudly working with a veteran who is a member of my congregation. His name is mr. David hits. He has been retired for 28 years from the United States air force. A vietnam veteran. Because i get emotional. Orange,m veteran, agent and to this day, he is still fighting for benefits. Retirementter his after serving his country honorably. He is still fighting for benefits. His spouse are both disabled. They have a son that is taking care of the both of them, and they cannot get the benefits they need to make their ends meet. I think that is abhorrent, and i hope that, as president , you can do something to help expedite, bridge the gap, and help especially our africanamerican muchneeded the care that they deserve from the v. A. System. And veteran retooling. With all of the layoffs that covid19 has caused, we have got a lot of our veterans that are having to look for reemployment, and as a result, mr. Vice president , they need desperately to be retooled, and there is not very many v. A. Programs that can help them retool in this particular process that i am hoping, mr. Vice president , that you could and your team could put together something to help our veterans retool in todays economy. Well, look. Biden first of all, your parishioner is not alone. It does not make it any easier. When youre in a situation, you are alone. It is you. Ok . Number one. Number two, i see two pieces to what youre talking about. The first east is the gentleman you have referenced has been out 28 years and is still fighting for access to service and his medical needs being cared for, having been exposed to agent orange. A sponsor a long, long time ago. I got to the senate when i was 29 years old, 30 years old. A generation where the whole fight was about agent orange, and a few of you men may be old enough to remember that the argument was that in order to be able to get Veterans Benefits related to illness, you had to be able to show a direct causal relationship to that disease you may have and been exposed to agent orange. Well, science was not able to actually confirm precisely whatever it was, a brain injury or you got an autoimmune disease or whatever. It could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was caused by agent orange. Folksore, all of these were left out. I started with some others, eventually with a great friend, john, later on, and these programs say all you had to do was show that you were, in fact, exposed to agent orange. It fell on top of your head and millions and millions of tons of it. Whatever illness you have that is inexplicable related to your immune system, tumors, etc. Would be presumed to be a consequence of the exposure. So you shifted the burden from the individual soldier or marine to thet guardsmen military, to the government, to say, no, we have to pay for that. You have to provide the services. We have to provide all of the backup. You have to provide the disability payments, because you were exposed to it took a long time to get it done, and you may remember that when we finally, with barack, even though he was not around for that war, he strongly supported it, and we increased that legislation. V. A. In trouble, quite frankly, because all of a sudden, you had thousands of veterans now eligible for treatment at the v. A. Are you with me . But we finally worked our way through that. That is why i got to the point where one of the things she may remember from the iraq war and the afghan war is that an awful lot of our military we had more amputees per cap in these wars then we had since the civil war. And why . I. E. D. s, improvised devices, buried in the ground, and going by with a humvee or just going by with a vehicle and getting blown up, and some of them were dying, but what happened was there was an effort, there was a recommendation, by some in the that we could save a lot of lives, but they are very expensive, and the military wanted to spend the money on other needs they saw. I became a how can i say it politely, a royal pain in the neck to everyone on the floor, and i constantly went to the floor, saying we would be responsible for these deaths and amputations. We have something that can fundamentally change the effects on a soldier or sailor or anyone who is blown up with an ied with these new vehicles. And they saved thousands of lives. Thewhat happened was is president said it was just headaches, but traumatic brain injury is real. Significant physical consequences and psychological consequences, as well. And so, what was happening, i wanted to make sure we did not go through another period like we did in that fight to finally get coverage for people exposed to agent orange after all of those years. I didnt want to have to go back and have a debate, how do we make up for it . Canow, if, in fact, you demonstrate you have traumatic brain injury, you have a brain injury problem, and you were in an area of concussion, it is assumed it is because of that concussion. They do not have to go back and prove, i was there on this day, i was 300 yards from that i. E. D. , and this happened, and i got approved, and i would say that is precisely why that injury occurred, so they would not have to go through that again. But it takes me to the larger question you have. All ofout dealing with the things that africanamericans, military members who are veterans, what about the fact that they get left behind . And they do for several reasons. You are an if africanamerican, whether it is or youritary base offbase and a military veteran, covid, you are four times as likely to come down with covid and three times as likely to die than if you are white. That is because of a lot of preconditions that exist. If you are hispanic or latino, 3 1, but its 2 1, is still much higher because of other exposures that exist and your lack of ability to be in circumstances where your physical health is able to be taken care of because you have the insurance and the light for preventative stuff early on, so a lot of it has to do with everything from having diabetes to other problems that are complicated. That is why you see so many hispanic, and Asian Americans dying, because of preexisting conditions. So one of the things that we have to do is we have to focus and youreterans, talking about veterans now, africanamericans, who have been you have had that exposure, that exposure as to whether it is covid and or anything else, because they are in a position where they are more likely to be susceptible. But one of the pieces of that is that if you are an africanamerican veteran, the likelihood, although we have tried incredibly hard in our administration and significantly cut down the rate of unemployment of vets getting out, africanamericans, is that that whole thing, and to quote barack, there is still systemic racism. If joe and i apply for the job, and you have the same wall of occasions as i do, and your name to get the am likely job. It is just a fact of life. So what we are not doing a good job of is veterans and you probably have it here in your programs at school yet it seems like you are probably emphasizing it and dealing with it. , again, knowty to what to know, the ability to find jobs and connect people with jobs. That is what we spent a lot of time doing in our administration, providing a significant number of government jobs, with the federal government, because you can take care if youre a quartermaster, and you can sure take care of inning a Department Store the secondfloor of the Ladies Department or whatever. If you have been responsible for a couple billion dollars worth of tanks, you can sure handle a for, iution capacity dont know, fedex. You can do it. Theso trying to connect veteran retirement with helping to understand what their training in the military most qualifies them to be part of, to know where to start looking, to know where to try to connect people, and that is part of what i think the v. A. Has to do more of, not the health side of it, but the connections side. Again, my mother, and you probably do it already in your business, but people do not realize that i have the skill. That skill may not work very well for me to go and be a salesperson, but it may work very well for me to be a warehouse manager. It may be a place do you understand what i am saying . So what we will do is talk a little bit about, and i will get my people on the line with you, to be specifically helpful, and you may as well, from here, specifically helpful in the kinds of things that are already available that people do not know are available. Do you follow me . Theyou explicitly more helpful by the way, you know, white guys with High School Educations come out and are having the same kinds of problems, but not as bad. Not as bad. It is just worse for minorities, so we have got to and i am happy to go through with you in more detail what kinds of initiatives are available so you can help. For example, if i were still a senator, if i were still i could do it anyway. To get us in touch with your individual you are talking about and see if we can do a little bit of casework and guide them. That is one person. Larger than that, we have to expand the access to these programs that connect a veteran with their most likely area of employment, and they say they want to go and, i dont know, do whatever, but it may not be there skill that they acquired in the military. It might enhance that piece. Am i making sense . Ok. All right. Sorry. You asked me some easy questions here. Lauren i do not think anyone is going to ask you some easy questions, sir. There are some great programs out there, including nonprofit, that are out there, and it is a good thing, because we are getting better. The next person we have is elliott steel. Good afternoon, Vice President biden. My name is elliott steel, and i am a veteran, and both of my parents were veterans. We are the first internationally accredited clubhouse for people with Mental Illness. As we all clearly know, if someone experiences an injury, heart attack, or prosthesis, they go through physical therapy to learn to walk on an uneven sidewalk, get their selfesteem and selfconfidence back, and then they are successful, like returning to work and having a purpose in life. Before vincent house, veterans and other people with Mental Illnesses in florida did not have that opportunity. Clean, safe, is a Restorative Community that was built upon respect and dignity, something that people with Mental Illness recently rarely experience. In addition to the opportunity to practice work, participants, called members, can find a purpose and work through voluntarily running the clubhouse and relationships developed with staff and other members. As a veteran myself, i wanted to ensure veterans were included from the beginning, almost 18 years ago. We have veterans visit us weekly and participate. Many became members, and membership is for life. Since inception, our members have collectively earned over 7. 5 million in real jobs in the community. Many of these members were written off by their doctors, the department of vocational rehabilitation, their families, and in some cases, themselves as unemployable. Even more importantly, they have broken that cycle of perpetual patient. Recent one inhas grown pascoe county, having their ribboncutting tomorrow. Additionally, there are now 11 clubhouses in the state of over 300there are international clubhouses in more than 30 countries, 200 of them are in the United States. My goal, when you become president , is to assist your team in providing increased Mental Health funding to offer veterans and other people with Mental Illnesses the opportunity to become a member in a clubhouse in their own community. Just a short example of one of our many veteran members, a vietnam vet decided to go back to school. Honors,is masters with hes a certified addictions counselor. Today he does a weekly Double Trouble Program for our members, and double trouble is a 12 step program for people with Mental Illnesses and addictions. Thee is giving back to clubhouse. And i thank you for this opportunity to share with you vincent house. You, as. P. Biden thank , weveer would say reviewed a lot in the last decade about health and wellbeing. One of them we have learned is that the double addiction of Mental Health and substance we always thought that physical addiction to a substance caused Mental Illness. Not so. Other way around. Now, and isthat out not what you asked, but im just going to make the point of it though. One of the things we have to do, speaking of schooling, we used to, in our Public School system, have School Psychologists in a , andl, social workers as school resources. Now we only have one school. Sychologist for 1500 kids mental problems that start off fact,nxieties, in accelerate drug addiction. So by putting psychologists back in the school system, we can identify early an entire generation that is dealing with serious, serious uncertainty their state of security. For example, the generation between seven years old and 17 in terms of anxiety, because they see mom and dad splitting, they see this crazy thing of everybody is home, because of increased mystic violence, theres increased ofld abuse, a whole range things. One of the ways to get ahead of this, so theres not as many vincent houses that will be needed 20 years from now, is to catch this early, we find out when you have that and you put these 3, 4, and fiveyearold kids in school as opposed to in daycare, they increase by 58 , the prospect of going through 12 years of School Without running into addiction and or mental problems. Having said that, what you are talking about is incredibly consequential. When we pushed the Affordable Care act, we insisted that there be Mental Health parity. A literalu have itm disease, a disease says severe is if you broke your arm, your back, or your leg. It has to be treated the same way and accommodated by the Insurance Companies the same way you would if you walked in and said, my insurance covers a broken leg. The mentalover Health Treatment you get. In addition to that, we are so sure across the country, as you know, with community Mental Health centers, with access to Mental Health period, one of the things i call for is a multibillion dollar investment in Community Health centers. Secondly, making sure that we are in a position that nonprofits like you guys are a major part of the operation, gambitg people into this we have here. These are brave women and men, and out of england and other places, that have literally marched across the United States. I spent two days with them doing part of it. Look, iose was to say, was someone who did the following, but i have a Mental Health problem. I have posttraumatic stress, and i need help, because they wanted to show all those vets out there that in fact, you shouldnt be ashamed of needing Mental Health help anymore then you should be ashamed if you broke your arm are you need glasses or whatever it was. So one of the big things that we started to do was making some progress, and you know better than anyone, we made an effort in our administration to take the stigma off of seeking Mental Health assistance. Number one. Number two, what you are doing is providing the community for people who have gone through , and nowircumstances they know, im not alone, im not the only one that this happened to. I shouldnt be ashamed. Aa, the 12 its like step program, whatever. And every once in a while when they fall back, you say no, come on back, you can do it. Old overusedhat phrase, it takes a village to raise somebody. To deal with somebody dealing with both a Mental Health problem or an addiction problem problem, takes a village. Youve got to have support, and the support that is most helpful most of the time or people who are in recovery. Mean Mental Health recovery as much as addiction recovery. And by the way, this whole notion of dealing with the idea vets are doinge an active military are dying of than all the veterans, all the military that have been killed in wars or conflicts since 9 11. Think of that. More people are dying by suicide, mostly with getting access to a gun and blowing their brains out, then died in conflicts, and military conflict since 9 11. Thing, thatad, sad since only 1 of the population went to fight anyway, and of that 1 , there is this percentage to an act or committing suicide on a daily basis. , every day. Its not me, it doesnt affect me, you dont know until you know somebody happens to, or happens to somebody that is your neighbor. With a numberdeal of things. When we were dealing with mental said it had towe be treated with parity with every other health problem, but issue,d traumatic brain , we boosted funding by 76 in our administration. Said, Mental Health, jobs, and community ties, its not enough just to do one of them. There has to be someplace where i say im back, i belong, i know what im doing. We have to expand access to telehealth as well. A lot of people live in communities that are low, and they have these needs of just getting on the computer, looking at and talking to a doctor what you knowu more about than most. The most important thing to me weit relates to the v. A. , have to make it more competitive. Nd make people want to there is a shortage of psychiatric nurses and a shortage of psychiatrists and doctors and psychologist. Something that we should be encouraging in terms of how we provide access to universities and funding for people to get these degrees. On ike if we were short we would be out there saying we need to have engineers out there are going to figure how to get them. I know thats not a complete answer, but one thing ive observed, anyway, in a number of these facilities that i visited related to the military, half of tn literallygure touching this that. Im not joking, just touching. Im here, we are here, theres a way. Despondency, and i think this is true, im not sure of my source, so i want to be clear, correct what i say if i am wrong. There is an assessment by the community writ large that we are in a period of greater unease, with a combination of covid, approaching 200,000 people dead, dying, the0 aday with depression if we dont figure out how to get this thing going again and open safely, all those parents at home trying to figure out how, my kids school is not open and im making seven dollars an hour, if i stay home i lose everything, if i dont stay home, who takes care of my the anxiety that the American People are feeling is extreme. So we are going to have to focus on this and there will be real fallout from this. Wehink its important that level with the American People. I noticed the president was quoting roosevelt and churchill. That doesnt surprise me if he says he is the best president for black since abraham lincoln, i guess he thinks that, but anyway, the point is that iisevelt, when world war started, after pearl harbor said its going to get worse and worse and worse, until he gets better and better and better. And the American People can handle anything, if you give it to them straight from the shoulder. , not leveling without tough things are going to be coming the American People have never stepped up never failed to step up to what had to be done, but thats not happening now. I am ironically more optimistic about the prospects of dealing with the problems weve talked about today, as well as so many other problems we have right now than i have ever been in my whole career, and you say why would you say that when i just talked about all these difficulties . Ill tell you why. Because the american public, the blinders have been taken off. Theyve all of a sudden seen a helluva lot clearer. The reason i was able to stay sequestered in my home is woman was able to stock the grocery shelf, or a young hispanic is out there, 60,000 of them acting as First Responders and nurses and doctors, or all of a sudden people are realizing, my lord, these people have done so much, not just black, white, acrosstheboard, have done so much for me. We can do this, we can get things done. , i thinkhe irony is its the vehicle by which were going to able to create more good paying jobs. We are going to be able to provide for Significant Health care. Since the great flew back at the , where soecentury many people died worldwide, is that people are figuring out that we are all in this together. We are going to get through this, if we just level with one another. Just tell the crew tell the truth, particularly now. All of a sudden people are focusing an awful lot on global warming. You dont have to tell florida about global warming. Look what is happening just west of here. The lowest in terms of sea level as any state in the union. The president talks about how suburbia is going to be ruled by immigration, or whatever the heck he is saying right now. Theyre going to get burned out of their neighborhoods. These floods are wiping out entire neighborhoods. So people are sort of saying, science matters. ,hey dont know, nor do i necessarily, know all the science. Our health is at stake and theres things we can do. There are things we have to do to deal with all these problems. It provides employment, it provides good paying jobs because theyre making windmills but i just think there is a gigantic opportunity. Ill conclude by saying i was asked by a foreign leader to defined america. Said one word, think about it, possibilities. The United States of america is the only region in the world ist has said Anything Possible if we set our mind to it, do it together. Ready tohe public is get engaged. Providing significant opportunities to people, education matters, health care matters. Having access to health care is a right and not a privilege. Nicking sure you have access to employment making sure you have access to employment. The blinders have been taken off. We can get a lot done. More. we have one mr. Vice president , its an honor to be here with you, and thanks for the opportunity to be at this roundtable. More properly, its a ill getar table, but into what i want to talk about. Im a proud descendent of lebanese immigrants. I grew up in a small Copper Mining town in arizona. I played football at the air force academy. We met in 2016. I graduated in 1981, primarily special operations. I deployed to the desert eight different times, beginning in fewrt storm, and i asked a hundred amassed a few hundred hours of combat time. Up thousands of hours in afghanistan without one accident and still one of the most highly decorated units in the air force reserve. After 30 years of wearing the uniform, retired in 2016 as the Vice Commander of the air force reserve command. Incidentally, my wife has served for 25 years in the air force. , and she thinks you and dr. Jill are awesome. The air force brought me of drop me a board in 1985, and i called it home ever since. As a resident of florida and military retiree, im concerned that oil drilling in the gulf will negatively impact luke perry operations. In 2006, congress recognized importance of restricting drilling in the eastern gulf of mexico and a portion of the central golf. Congress enacted the gulf of Mexico Energy security act, which is set to expire in june of 2022. Until last week, the current president proposed leases once the moratorium expired. As an election ploy, he is now announce he will support an executive order. I hope informed voters realize the executive order will be lifted if donald trump is reelected. Its essential to our National Security. This is the largest range in the continental United States, it provides more uninterrupted surface and airspace than all the lower 48 states combined. These ranges allow us to develop and test conventional weapons and ordinance in a safe, environmentally conscious manner. Failing to extend the eastern gulf moratorium will impact military readiness, preparedness, and will ultimately threaten our national defense. The 20 military installations in the state of florida rely on the ability to have ready access to the golf ranges. The economic impact, to paraphrase our current president , is huge. 2018 defense spending accounted billion, 915,000 jobs in the state of florida. Lastly, we cannot afford to allow drilling near our beautiful florida coastlines. It creates a potential for of bp magnitude oil spill, which would destroy coastal economies as well as marital military training and testing. We need a president who will protect our environment, especially when it impacts National Security. We also need a president who will honor and support our men and women who don. Vice president biden, you and dr. Jill have a record of taking care of our military and their families and know firsthand what its like to have a Family Member serve in the greatest military the world has ever known. We need a president who wont tolerate russians paying bounties to kill american troops. We need a president who will use war as a last resort, not use military as a personal security force. We need a president who will unify this nation, not divide it. We need a president who will rebuild alliances with our friends and not cozy up to evil dictators. These are not partisan or political issues, but issues of patriotism and love of country. We need a change on november 3. Thanks. General, asbiden you probably know, ive been a significant supporter of the relative to the base capacity that you have for testing. Otherwise youve got to go way exercises,anks are where ive been as well. I believe you are absolutely right, the president made it clear he was going to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling. On, people who we focused not only on the Environment Impact of that happening, what that would be, especially since when we dont need fossil fuel, what we need is more renewable energy. But i strongly support, i can guarantee you if im resident, there will be no offshore drilling, and i extend the it should be think basically a permanent moratorium, but particularly as it relates to, and it frightens people as i talk about a testing area. They say i did know they are out there testing, shooting live ammo and things. You have to find someplace to do it. And its not doing the environmental damage that putting a well down there may do. So i guarantee you, i havent changed my opinion from the time i supported the moratorium in the first place. I think we should try to make it permanent, absent the ability to that no longer is there the need for that kind of practice, which i dont see happening in the near term, in terms of being able to fly those missions and understand exactly how you train all these young women and men to be able to protect us. So i strongly support your position, im not just saying it. You probably know that has been my position for a long time. Positione are not in a to deal with having to deal with the military side of it, i think it is a mistake environmentally. Especially at this time, we should be investing our money in renewal capacity renewable capacity, not only tomorrow for fossil fuels, but making sure we est in the things that the water is getting a helluva lot warmer off the coast and in the caribbean and its getting awful warm also out west. So i completely agree with you, and since i already made a closing statement, thank you for what youre doing and thank you for your service. You guys are amazing. They did Amazing Things in iraq and afghanistan and they still do. The president den has met and talked with putin six times and still hasnt met mentioned the bounty on the heads of americans, and the recent ramming of american vehicles in syria and injuring american soldiers. Not even mentioning it. Lauren i cant tell you how much we all appreciate the time you have taken today, really. I think i speak for all six of us here, your commitment to the military is undisputed, and we really appreciate the time youre taking to address these issues. So thank you. Look, im. Biden running for president as a democrat, im not going to be a democrat president. Ill be in american president. Thing weve always had bipartisanship on is support for the military. Think about it. There have been extremes in both , thees, but support sacrifices they make, and i can tell you, if im elected, im going to spend as much time, for people who vote for me as those that didnt. So thank you very much. And ill get back to you on what we talked about. I show up. So thank you so very much, appreciate it. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] announcer President Donald Trump and former Vice President joe biden are set to debate tuesday, september 29. Biden supports Cutting Police funding, and he has pledged to end the cash bail. Sleepy joe proudly accepted the endorsement of the procriminal, antipolice portland district a policy of has releasing a rioters, vandals, and criminals without charges. He lied to the American People. He knowingly and willingly lied about the threat it posed to the country for months. He had the information. He knew how dangerous it was. While death and disease ripped through our nation, he failed to do his job on purpose. It was a life and death betrayal. Announcer watch live coverage of the first president ial debate tuesday, september 29 on cspan at 9 00 p. M. Eastern and watch all debate coverage on cspan. Org debates. Quickly find all past president ial and Vice President ial debates from cspans video library, and theres a link to our campaign 2020 website with candidate information and election results. Cspan. Org debates, or listen live on the free cspan radio app. Cspan your unfiltered view of politics. Washingtonspans journal. We will discuss policy issues that impact you, and coming up wednesday morning, California Democratic congressman Jared Huffman will join us to talk about the wildfires out west and climate change, and then Florida Republican congressman Francis Rooney talked about the Peace Agreement between israel, the united arab emirates, and bahrain. Be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, texts, and tweets. Coming up live on the cspan networks wednesday, the u. S. House returns for general speeches at 9 00 a. M. And at 10 00 a. M. For legislative business with work on bills related to childcare, federal education grants, and election technology. On cspan two, the Senate Returns to debate the nomination of Todd Wallace Robinson to be United States district judge for the Southern District of california. A cspan3 at 10 00 a. M. , Senate Appropriations subcommittee looks at how the department of health and human servicesis human continues to respond to covid19. At 2 30 p. M. , the Senate Energy subcommittee examines several Land Management bills that include firefighting and force management. Announcer tuesday evening, joe biden spoke at an hispanic heritage month event in kissimmee, florida, an area affected by the drop in Leisure Travel caused by the coronavirus. Also speaking at the event, and singerongoria ricky martin. Mr. B
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