00:00I support ending these forever wars, including this disastrous war in Iran, which has already
00:07led to 18 deaths among our service members, including Isabella Gonzalez, our fellow Texan,
00:15who was just 19 years old.
00:17This has been a disaster top to bottom, and I'm sure some of you have read the reports
00:23from the USS Abraham Lincoln, where service members, crew members have been at sea for
00:30250 days straight.
00:32Before we begin, I do want to acknowledge the helicopter crash at Fort Hood.
00:37The two service members who lost their lives grew up not too far from here.
00:42I know their loss is felt deeply by this community.
00:46I'm grateful for their service and their sacrifice, and I'm grateful to this community for welcoming
00:52me today, even as you grieve.
00:56This community means a lot to me.
00:57My brother-in-law served as an Army doctor at Fort Hood, and it is so good to be back
01:05in
01:05this community.
01:08Texas is home to more veterans than any other state in the country, and I am incredibly proud
01:14of that.
01:15I'm also incredibly motivated by that because our veterans, our service members, our military
01:22families deserve so much better.
01:25Too many of our veterans are returning home to a country that is unprepared to help them
01:31transition to civilian life.
01:33Too many of our veterans face a complicated web of bureaucracy instead of an easy network
01:41of services.
01:41And too many of our veterans are going hungry or homeless because of it.
01:48Today, we are announcing our comprehensive plan for veterans and military families across
01:55this state.
01:56First, we have to expand mental health care for our veterans.
02:00In Texas, 500 veterans die by suicide every year.
02:06That is unacceptable.
02:08We have to improve education about care options for our veterans.
02:13We got to expand telemedicine options for our veterans.
02:16And we need to ensure that we are expanding the mental health care workforce so that we
02:23can reduce wait times and ensure that every veteran gets the care that they need.
02:29Second, we must support the VA.
02:31At its best, the VA is a model for how to care for our veterans.
02:36I will fight to fully fund the VA and fight back against any effort to privatize it.
02:44Third, we have to improve transitional services for our veterans.
02:49And my plan calls for reforming the military to civilian transition services and funding better
02:58services for at-risk and homeless veterans.
03:01And then we have to take care of our Gold Star families.
03:04And I will support the Love Lives On Act to ensure that the surviving spouses of fallen service
03:13members don't lose their benefits because they remarry.
03:16And lastly, I support ending these forever wars, including this disastrous war in Iran, which
03:25has already led to 18 deaths among our service members, including Isabella Gonzalez, our fellow
03:32Texan, who was just 19 years old.
03:35This has been a disaster top to bottom.
03:39And I'm sure some of you have read the reports from the USS Abraham Lincoln, where service members,
03:46crew members have been at sea for 250 days straight.
03:50Some of them are attempting to jump overboard rather than endure another day of a seemingly
03:55endless tour of duty.
03:57Our service members, our veterans, our military families, they love this country.
04:04It is time for this country to love them back.
04:07Texas is home to more military veterans, more military retirees and families.
04:17Patriotism means being voluntold to go to Korea, earning a Purple Heart when you were 16 years
04:25old because the government told you you had to go fight a war in another land.
04:31We have Purple Heart veterans.
04:33We have Army Gulf War veterans.
04:37We have Vietnam veterans.
04:40We have women veterans.
04:42All of us who may not originally be from Texas, but we chose Texas because we love God.
04:51We love country and our patriotism runs deep.
04:58But I'm disappointed to know that our veterans, we've been given what I like to call the bait
05:04and switch.
05:06Many of us served 20 years plus for our countries, went to wars in foreign lands.
05:14We lost pieces of ourselves, and we would gladly do it again because we believe so heavily in
05:22the mission, but we're faced with not having comprehensive medical treatment access.
05:30There's a war on THC products in Texas that many veterans depend on to cure ailments like PTSD, Parkinson's
05:42disease, the effects of burn pits.
05:48I'm the mother of a 19-year-old Marine.
05:54I'm the wife of an Army Infantry Purple Heart combat veteran.
06:02And James stands committed with our veteran community of Texas to make sure that we're
06:09not left behind anymore.
06:11We're not going to have to worry about where our food's coming from.
06:14We're not going to worry about whether or not the VA will accept us.
06:18We're not going to have to worry about not being able to maintain our homes because now
06:25the VA is going to be changing their ratings.
06:27Many of the people you see up here are disabled veterans, 100% disabled.
06:33And some are 100% disabled and have not even gotten the honor of receiving a proper rating.
06:43This all stops when we have fighters like James Tallarico fighting for us in the Texas Senate.
06:53Military City, USA, Texas, all of our military, what we're experiencing right now is unprecedented times.
07:01We're coming upon other wars that we thought were already done and over, we're witnessing
07:06our grandchildren and now our sons go to a war that we thought that we already fought.
07:14But we're ready because you got the right ones at the right time.
07:17Texas veterans, we wear our combat boots, boots on the ground all the time.
07:21And we are rolling out our text vet scorecard in collaboration with Texas State Representative
07:28and soon to be Texas Senator James Tallarico's comprehensive veterans platform.
07:36So without further ado, I'd like to turn it over to Mr. Mark.
07:49Mark Blankenship, I'm a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, and I'm a proud veteran and lifelong
07:54Republican.
07:55Having said that, even though I've been a lifelong Republican, I always haven't voted along strict
08:01party lines.
08:02I've always voted for the person with the highest integrity and highest moral character, which
08:08is Representative Tallarico.
08:10I'm standing here today with my fellow veterans and Representative Tallarico because taking
08:14care of the people who serve this country should never be a partisan issue.
08:19We may not agree on every policy or every election, but we should be able to agree that our commitment
08:24to our service members begins the moment they put the uniform on and continue long after they
08:29take it off.
08:30That means making sure our men and women in uniform have the resources they need and we keep
08:35our promises to them when they return from all corners of this planet.
08:41Veterans deserve access to quality health care, good jobs and the benefits they earn, and they
08:47deserve leaders who are willing to fight for those things.
08:50I support Representative Tallarico's plan because it puts veterans and their families first.
08:56Politics have become far too divided, but supporting those who served is one place where Republicans,
09:02Democrats and Independents should always be able to stand together.
09:05I am proud to do that today and I'm proud to say that I'm voting for Representative Tallarico
09:10for the U.S. Senate.
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09:19Download the One India app now.
09:22Bye.
09:23Bye.
09:24Bye.
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