veterans Archives - The Florida Capital Star

Commentary: DOD Must Strengthen Support for Veterans

March 25, 2024 RealClearWire

Veterans have positively impacted the success of our nation since its inception. Our nation’s service members make up every aspect of our society and represent every ethnic group at some level. Military service is highly regarded by the vast majority of our nation. For many, it provides a chance to grow, transform and serve something greater than themselves. Countless veterans continue their service to their country as leaders in business, government, and their communities. Their inherent leadership skills coupled with a time-honored ethos make them first-round draft choices for any organization.

Although many veterans find the path to the next chapter of their life a rewarding and exciting time, too many struggle, often because civilian and government organizations have little to no real understanding of military service’s attributes. Some of our nation’s most successful businesses have active recruitment of veterans and veteran resource groups in their companies. This isn’t sentimental – they have benefitted from that investment. Many more could benefit from a more in-depth understanding of what veterans truly offer.

Commentary: A Call for All Americans to Help Stop Veteran Suicides

March 19, 2024 RealClearWire

Later this month will mark a year from a day that shocked the Veteran community. On March 27, 2023, I along with many Americans were saddened to learn of the unfortunate passing of Navy SEAL Veteran Douglas “Mike” Day.

States File Brief in Lawsuit to Force VA to Cover Gender Affirming Surgery

February 3, 2024February 2, 2024 The Center Square

A group of states filed a friend of the court brief supporting a transgender veterans group that filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seeking gender-confirmation surgery for 163,000 transgender veterans.

The Transgender American Veterans Association lawsuit, filed last month, seeks an order that the Department of Veterans Affairs act on the group’s 2016 rule-making petition for gender-confirmation surgery.

Trump Announces Plans to End Funding for Homeless Hotels and Focus on Veterans

November 3, 2023 The Center Square

Former President Donald Trump said he would end the funding for homeless immigrants in hotels if elected president.

“Under crooked Joe Biden, the U.S. government has spent nearly $1 billion to house illegal aliens and foreign migrants in expensive, luxury hotels courtesy of you, the American taxpayer, and they want to spend billions and billions more,” Trump said in a video message posted on his social media platform. “In many states, we are running out of hotel space because the rooms are all booked up with illegal aliens living in a very large way on the American taxpayers’ dime.”

Florida Pays $100 Million to ‘Hometown Heroes’ Who Relocate to State

June 21, 2023June 20, 2023 The Center Square

Florida has provided over $100 million in down payment and closing cost assistance for nearly 7,000 veterans, active-duty service members, nurses, teachers, first responders and law enforcement officers as more Americans continue to relocate to the Sunshine State.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature created the Hometown Heroes Housing Program to help those who serve their country and their communities to be able to afford to live where they serve.

Nearly 40 Percent of Veterans Reported Concerns About Being Able to Pay Medical Bills

March 28, 2023 The Center Square

A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics found that nearly 40% of veterans reported concerns about being able to pay their medical bills.

Overall, the report found that 12.8% of veterans aged 25-64 had problems paying medical bills, 8.4% had forgone medical care and 38.4% were somewhat or very worried about being able to pay their medical bills if they got sick or had an accident.

Biden Budget to Fund ‘Transgender’ Treatments for Veterans

March 11, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

The Biden Administration’s proposed budget for 2024 includes funding for genital mutilation surgeries and hormone treatments for veterans who think they are “transgender.”

As the Daily Caller reports, the budget proposal comes after the Department of Veterans Affairs was ordered to lift a 20-year ban on such transgender procedures in June of 2021, thus allowing such treatments to be covered by Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.

Audit of Florida Veterans’ Nursing Homes Finds Staffing and Procurement Issues

January 23, 2023January 22, 2023 The Center Square

The State Florida Auditor General released this week the results of an audit into the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, which analyzed the department’s nursing home staffing, time and attendance records and followed up a 2019 audit.

Numerous Programs Exist to Assist, Recognize Florida’s 1.5 Million Veterans

November 17, 2022November 17, 2022 The Center Square

Calling Florida the “most veteran-friendly state,” Gov. Ron DeSantis says state agencies and partners are committed to caring for its 1.5 million veterans through a range of programs and resources. Throughout Military Family Appreciation Month, Attorney General Ashley Moody is also highlighting the state’s efforts to protect them from scams targeting those in the military.

“Florida’s veterans have made countless sacrifices to protect our freedoms, and in return we are working hard to ensure they have the resources and support they need to be successful and take care of their families,” DeSantis said. “My administration will continue to invest in our veterans in the same way that they made sacrifices to invest in the freedom of our nation.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis Announces Plan to Recruit and Retain Public School Teachers, Calls Florida ‘The State Where Woke Goes to Die’

August 18, 2022August 17, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced a plan to recruit public school teachers from other sectors of the community and retain effective teachers who can apprentice new recruits.

In a press conference Tuesday, DeSantis discussed three proposals he is presenting for Florida’s 2023 legislative session, all of which seek to recruit “the best and brightest” teachers in the state’s public school classrooms.

Biden Signs Funding Bill for Veterans Exposed to Toxins

August 11, 2022August 10, 2022 The Center Square

President Joe Biden signed the veterans health care bill known as the PACT Act Wednesday, expanding health care benefits for veterans exposed to toxins.

After a short struggle between Senate Democrats and Republicans, the PACT Act has been signed into law and will offer benefits and services to more than five million veterans exposed to toxins during their time of service.

Music Spotlight: CreatiVets

November 9, 2021November 8, 2021 Bethany Bowman

CreatiVets is one of the most important non-profits I have come across. It shows first-hand how music and art can help to heal our wounded veterans.

Facebook Buys up the Outstanding Invoices of Minority-Owned Small Businesses

September 14, 2021September 13, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Facebook is spending $100 million to buy up the outstanding invoices of small businesses owned by women, racial minorities, veterans, disabled people and LGBTQ+ people, the company announced last week.

The Invoice Fast Track Program allows certain “small, midsize and diverse-owned businesses” to submit outstanding invoices to Facebook. The tech giant then buys the invoices, giving the business cash immediately, and the business’ customers pay Facebook instead.

The program is designed to help “diverse-owned” businesses improve their cash flow and hire more employees, according to the program’s description.

Commentary: Conservatives and Republicans Must Reclaim Memorial Day

May 30, 2021May 29, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Veteran cemetery with table set for lives lost who served America

In the face of the Far Left’s attempts to rewrite American history through the now-discredited 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory, Republicans and conservatives must reclaim the key dates and events in American history and there is no better place to start than Memorial Day 2021.

Memorial Day was created not as a “holiday” or an excuse for corporate merchants to advertise sales, but as a solemn commemoration of the dead of both sides in the American Civil War.

In that context Memorial Day commemorates a number of constitutional conservative values, not the least of which is the inviolability of the Constitution itself.

Commentary: Celebrating Our Heroes on Armed Forces Day

May 15, 2021May 14, 2021 Florida Capital Star Staff

Every third Saturday in May, America comes together to celebrate Armed Forces Day in honor of the brave men and women who serve in the U.S. military.

May 15, 2021 is the 71st anniversary of the establishment of Armed Forces Day. This commemorative holiday was established by President Harry Truman in 1950 following the passage of the National Security Act in 1947.

At the end of World War II and the onset of the Cold War, the United States Congress and the Truman administration recognized that an overhaul of our national security, intelligence, and defense apparatuses were needed for America to defeat the expanding threat of communism. The National Security Act established the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and the Department of the Air Force. It also unified and restructured the U.S. military by moving the War Department, Navy Department, and Air Force under the direction of the new Department of Defense.