The D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, happened 77 years ago yesterday and was one of the most important military operations to the western Allies’ success during World War II. By the end of June, more than 850,000 US, British, and Canadian troops had come ashore on the beaches of Normandy.
KEY FACTS
- Operation Overlord—commonly known as “D-Day”—was the largest amphibious invasion in history, deploying more than 160,000 Allied troops on air, land, and sea.
- D-Day marked the beginning of the end of German rule in France. Two and a half months later, Paris was liberated.
- As important as D-Day was to Allied victory, it came too late to change the course of the Holocaust. As the Allies were coming ashore, Hungarian Jews—the largest remaining community of Jews in occupied Europe—were being deported and murdered.
RPOF CHAIRMAN JOE GRUTERS MESSAGE
Governor DeSantis signed the state budget for fiscal year 2021-2022. The budget totaled $101.5 billion and includes $169 million in tax relief. The Governor vetoed $1.5 billion in total spending, including $1.35 billion from federal funds received under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
“While other states advocated for never-ending lockdowns during the pandemic, Florida followed the science and led the nation in ensuring there were opportunities for Florida families to go to school, go to work, and provide for themselves and their families,” Governor DeSantis said.
The Florida Leads budget exemplifies Florida’s continued resolve and powerful economic foundation. It establishes Florida’s position as a nationwide leader in education, protecting the environment, creating a resilient economy, and ensuring public safety. And it accomplishes all of this while maintaining strong fiscal reserves and lowering taxes to make sure Florida families benefit this year and for decades to come.
Highlights of the new budget include:
- Focusing on fiscal responsibility and providing tax relief to Floridians, leaving $9.5 billion in reserves and implementing a tax package which cuts taxes by $169 million.
- Funding schools by increasing the base student allocation by $53 per student, adding $120 million for mental health initiatives and spending an historic $550 million to continue raising the minimum K-12 teacher salary to the goal of $47,500.
- Protecting the environment with record investments for Everglades restoration and water resources by dedicating more than $625 million for these causes, plus $152 million to protect prized properties and waters in Florida, including $102 million for the Florida Forever Program, and $50 million for Florida’s award winning state parks. In addition, the budget contains federal funding of up to $500 million for the Resilient Florida program to fight sea level rise.
- Making key investments in transportation and infrastructure, using resources to ensure continued job growth, workforce training, affordable housing and rural economic development. Investments in the Florida Department of Transportation total $10.3 billion.
- The Florida Leads budget dedicates over $2.5 billion toward mental health and substance abuse prevention for children and adults.
- Supporting military, veterans and their families with $28 million for Florida’s military presence and families, including the Florida Defense Support Task Force, the Defense Infrastructure Program, armory maintenance, military base protection, Florida National Guardsmen seeking higher education degrees and scholarships for children and spouses of deceased or disabled veterans. Additionally, the budget includes up to $50 million for two new National Guard armories in Zephyrhills and Immokalee.
- Investing $37.5 million in cybersecurity, so state agencies can improve information technology security measures and controls statewide to help protect Florida against the ongoing and evolving nature of cyber threats that can compromise critical state resources and sensitive information.
Legislation
Republican leaders and Governor DeSantis are protecting women and girls from being unfairly and dangerously forced to compete against biological boys in sporting events. Governor DeSantis signed SB 1028 creating the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” preserving fair opportunities for female athletes to demonstrate their skills in athletic competition.
Any athletic team or sport that is designated for females may not be open to students of the male sex, based on the student’s biological sex listed on the student’s official birth certificate. The law applies the requirements to interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic teams or sports that are sponsored by public schools, colleges, or universities.
This is a popular law. Multiple polls have shown that 60 to 70 percent of Americans believe that biological males should not be participating in women’s sports.
“As a father of two daughters, I want my girls, and every girl in Florida, to compete on an even playing field for the opportunities available to young women in sports,” Governor DeSantis said. “Women have fought for decades to have equal opportunities in athletics, and we have to prevent those opportunities from eroded as is happening in other states. It’s common sense. Many thanks to Senator Stargel and Representative Tuck for their thoughtful work on this bill to ensure fairness in women’s sports.”
Florida Update
Cheaper prescription drugs may be on the way to Floridians struggling with ever-increasing health care costs.
At the direction of Governor DeSantis, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration filed an Amicus brief in support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ final rule implementing Section 804 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, to facilitate the importation of prescription drugs, based in part off Florida’s 2019 importation concept paper.
In 2019, at President Donald Trump’s direction, HHS was tasked to work diligently with Florida to fully implement provisions of the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act related to the importation of Canadian prescription drugs.
“Today’s filing reinforces Florida’s position — that the lawsuit is another desperate attempt by Big Pharma to prevent the importation of safe and effective prescription drugs from Canada,” Governor DeSantis said. “Floridians have been waiting long enough for lower prescription drug prices, and it is unnecessary to keep them waiting. I look forward to the dismissal of the suit and the immediate approval of Florida’s plan by the federal government.”
The Biden administration subsequent to the filing signalled that it will agree to Florida’s efforts.
Governor DeSantis Documentary
An awesome documentary of Governor DeSantis’ principled leadership through the Covid pandemic has been produced by the Epoch Times and American Thought Leaders. It’s a behind-the-scenes look in the words of Governor DeSantis, his advisors and others that the mainstream media would never dream of doing.
ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHLEY MOODY
Ashley Moody is fighting for Florida jobs and the nation’s energy independence by challenging President Joe Biden’s unlawful executive order that cancelled construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The AG is joining attorneys general from 22 states in an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to block Biden’s unconstitutional and unlawful attempt to cancel the Keystone Pipeline.
Moody said, “Minutes after taking the oath of office, President Biden signed an unlawful executive order reversing an Act of Congress and eliminating Florida jobs. His order, halting construction of the Keystone Pipeline, is not only a jobs killer, it risks our nation’s energy independence and national security — we all saw last month how quickly losing access to just one pipeline can cause chaos and uncertainty in a large portion of our country.
“I recently met with Congressman Neal Dunn, who has been speaking with Floridians in his district who lost work because of Biden’s reckless order. We must help these Floridians get back to work.”
CONGRESSMAN BILL POSEY
On Thursday June 3rd twenty-five graduating high school seniors in Florida’s 8th Congressional District were awarded the 2021 Congressional Medal of Merit by Congressman Bill Posey. These distinguished students were nominated for the Congressional Medal of Merit by their schools in recognition of their academic excellence, commitment to their communities, civic involvement, and other achievements. The award ceremony was held at the Brevard County Government Complex in Viera.
“I congratulate and commend these extraordinary students for their leadership in the classroom and in their community,” said Congressman Posey. “These bright young people are the future of our great country, and this award helps ensure their hard work and accomplishments do not go unrecognized
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY RECIPIENTS:
Joshua Navarro, Indian River Charter High School; Zayna Shaikh, Saint Edward’s School; Andres Ruiz, Sebastian River High School; and Tristan Trax, Vero Beach High School.
HAPPENINGS
