Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 9-18-20

Feature
Joe Biden Meets With Local Vets In Town Hall Setting
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Feature Writer
Democratic Presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden was in Tampa on Tuesday, Sep- tember 15, 2020 to meet with local veterans in a town hall setting. This was Mr. Biden’s first appearance in Tampa since being nomi- nated earlier this summer. The event was held at Hills- borough Community College (HCC) in a socially distant en- vironment.
The media and others were able to attend virtually, along with the very diverse audience of veterans. The Biden Campaign is making stops in communities with close ties to local military bases.
The event began with Mr. Biden making a few
preliminary remarks. He gave many thanks for the courage and sacrifice of both active military and veterans. Con- sidering the recent insensitive remarks credited to the cur- rent president, and his oppo- nent Donald Trump, Mr. Biden began with a vigorous defense of the military. He spoke about wounded war- riors and the bravery of fallen soldiers. He also fondly re- called his late son, Beau’s distinguished service record and voluntary enlistment into the military while Attorney General for the state of Delaware. He strongly de- rided the President’s com- ments while reminiscing about the duty and honor in service. Mr. Biden also com- mended military families who will “always have an empty seat at the table.”
The meeting continued
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks in Tampa.
with Mr. Biden sharing his many planned initiatives to care for returning military and their families, including education and restoring the trust of the Veterans Admin- istration (VA).
He stated that “the VA should be the community
center that returning soldiers need, in addition to physical and mental healthcare.” He also shared, if elected, will hire more doctors and nurses and pay them more competi- tive salaries.
Mr. Biden says his goal would be to ensure that no veteran is locked out of med- ical care. He also wants to track and assist servicemen with repeated service tours that desperately need mental and/or suicide counseling.
Mr. Biden also ad- dressed military spouses in his remarks, promising to continue to support the ef- forts of firms like WWC Global, who assist military family members find employ- ment in the U. S. and abroad.
There were concerns ex- pressed about education for veterans and if the existing educational services available are at the correct level. Mr. Biden expressed that he felt the infrastructure for entre- preneurship is solid in Tampa. HCC’s Veterans Training program is a pro- gressive move to address these issues. The Veterans Entrepreneurship Training Symposium at HCC is coming up on November 7, 2020.
This event is designed for veterans, active duty person- nel, spouses and civilian busi- ness partners who are interested in starting a busi- ness or growing an existing business. Tackling the unem- ployment and lack of oppor- tunity that some veterans face, he addressed, that if a veteran did not use benefits for academic pursuits, maybe those benefits could be used toward business infrastruc- ture.
Other issues he addressed were social security concerns and explained the ‘payroll tax holiday.’ Mr. Biden ex- plained that “although it looks like employees are get- ting more money until holi- day tax expires in December, that cash that is not going into Social Security may cause problems in terms of funding down the line. He also explained that all the taxes would be due to be paid back in early 2021. If they are not paid, then the risks to so- cial security are even greater.
Army Veteran, Glenn Dames, Jr., pastor of Allen Temple AME Church, spoke about disparities between African American veterans
and white veterans. The pas- tor recounted seeing dispari- ties in medicine, “when all too often, Blacks are the first to volunteer.”
Rev. Dames asked that Mr. Biden work on a pro- gram to assist disabled veter- ans in the community and bridge the gap in care. He also brought up the need for re-training vets, with COVID and the other economic is- sues causing job loss.
Mr. Biden shared his plans to changing the re- quirements for wounded or exposed vets to get help.
The panel returned to mental health of vets. The founder of Vincent’s House requested that Mr. Biden promise to fund the “Club- house Model,” which is built on the belief that people can recover from mental illness and lead successful and meaningful lives in the com- munity by focusing on build- ing relationships and working to have a successful recovery.
Mr. Biden stated that he was looking into early inter- vention programs that could happen before someone needed Vincent’s House. He returned to education by say- ing that children that go to school instead of day care, often do better in academics and socially.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a great bene- fit for mental health and Mr. Biden states that he is advo- cating over a billion dollars in Mental Heath aid.
Mr. Biden last addressed a permanent moratorium on offshore drilling to uphold the stability of shorelines, es- pecially in Florida.
The Democratic nominee for president closed the meet- ing by urging people to help him continue the work and he and President (Barack) Obama started. He stated that we are in a period of un- precedented unease with COVID, social isolation and anxiety. He urged people to vote for him so that the coun- try can face these crises di- rectly.
Mr. Biden said he is more optimistic because ‘the blinders have been taken off for the American public’. Pro- gressive movements have opened people’s eyes to the struggles of people of color and Americans are growing closer together.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2020