Biden visits the new Fort Liberty and Nash Community College during NC trip

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden paid a visit to Fort Liberty, the former Fort Bragg, Friday afternoon to announce and sign an executive order that will boost job opportunities for military and veteran spouses whose jobs are sometimes disrupted by their partners’ deployments.

The order directs agencies to develop a federal government-wide strategic plan on hiring and job retention for military spouses; bolstering childcare options; improving data collection on military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors in the federal workforce and private sector, and other actions.

The first lady said in a previous call to reporters that the order came about from discussions through the White House’s Joining Forces initiative, which looks to support families, caregivers, and survivors of members of the U.S. military. 

“We can’t ask our service members to choose between love of country and their love of family,” she told the crowd at Fort Liberty.

“The executive order establishes the most comprehensive set of administrative actions in our nation’s history to support the economic security of military families, veterans, spouses, caregivers, and survivors,” President Biden said. “The actions have boiled down into three main goals: more flexibility, more support, and more resources.”

He said the executive order encourages all federal agencies to do more to retain military spouses through flexible policies like granting leave when their partner has a PCS (Permanent Change of Station) and improving remote work opportunities for military spouses, including when they’re stationed overseas.

It also calls for more support for military-connected families changing duty stations.

“If you’re certified in one state, and you are military, you should be certified in every other state when you move to that state,” he said.

Finally, it gives more resources to access dependable and affordable childcare with the implementation of the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, which will allow military families to receive a pre-tax benefit for daycare, preschool, and summer camps. It also focuses on providing resources for military spouses that are entrepreneurs, like new funding options, including grants and loans.

It’s estimated that more than 16,000 military spouses work within the federal government.

Fort Bragg officially became Fort Liberty a week ago with a redesignation ceremony.

The United States Department of Defense announced on Jan. 5 that they would be implementing name changes for military installations across the country.

According to a press release issued by the DOD, the complete report included the commission’s plan to remove the names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America. 

Fort Bragg was named in 1918 during the Jim Crow era after Confederate General Braxton Bragg, known for owning slaves, his bad temper, and for having lost most of his battles, making him one of the worst-regarded generals of the Civil War by many historians. 

Before they visited Fort Liberty, the Bidens met with students and toured training facilities at Nash Community College in Rocky Mount to discuss the president’s agenda, Investing in America.

The historically black community college received $23.7 million to train students for clean energy jobs from Biden’s $1.9 billion coronavirus relief package. 

The visit to the Tar Heel State comes as the NCGOP kicks off its state convention in Greensboro. Presidential candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice-President Mike Pence, and former President Donald Trump, are among the speakers, with DeSantis speaking Friday night, Pence Saturday at noon, and Trump Saturday night.

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