President Biden, first lady visit Fort Liberty to announce executive order to help military families

As the 2024 election heats up, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited North Carolina on Friday and announced a new executive order that could have significant economic benefits for military members and their families.

The Bidens arrived at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro around 11:30 a.m.

They then traveled to Nash Community College (NCC) in Rocky Mount for a tour and talked with staff and students about how the workforce training programs are improving job prospects for community college graduates in North Carolina.

"We're here today because we believe in y'all," Joe Biden said at NCC. "We're in a position where things ahead of you are, thanks to the training you're going to get and investments we've made, are going to be good paying jobs all across North Carolina."

Around 3:45 p.m., the two took the stage at Fort Liberty.

Joe Biden didn't comment on the recent name change from Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty, but made sure to joke that when the president dials 911, the call comes to Fort Liberty.

"When we brought these stories back to Joe, he listened," said Jill Biden. "He understands that we can’t ask these service members between love of country and their love of family. He knows that supporting military spouses is a National Security Imperative."

The new order is focused on helping military spouses and families with their well-being and economic security, specifically aiming to help with access to childcare and assisting military spouses with finding and retaining quality careers despite the travel often involved with a military life. The order accelerates the implementation of a dependent care flexibility spending account. The account will give military families the option to get a pre-tax benefit for daycare, summer camp and other opportunities and resources.

"This new executive order establishes the most comprehensive set of administrative actions in our nation's history," Biden said. "It's to support the economic security of military families, veterans, spouses, caregivers and survivors."

After speaking, Joe Biden signed the order.

"It's now the law," Joe Biden said as he closed the folder with the document.

The Joining Forces initiative has been in the works for more than a year. hoping to improve the hiring and retention of military families, spouses and caregivers in the government workforce – and the private sector as well.

The executive order calls for a strategic plan and government-wide standards for more accessible remote work options.

Jill Biden says she developed the plan after traveling to visit and listen to the struggle of military families and spouses.

"Imagine a spouse on a base. She’s self-assured and accomplished, with not one but two masters degrees. She tells you how proud she is of her husband. The more she talks, the more you can see cracks in her confidence. She misses the work she had to leave behind last time her family moved," said Jill Biden.

And even when a military spouse settles somewhere new and finds another new job, it may not be in the career they've worked so hard to build.

"At bases across the country, I’ve heard this story more times than I can count," said Jill Biden. "Moving from base to base again and again, losing sleep, parenting while their spouse is deployed, worried the person they love may not come home."

She said the military families told her what they need, and this initiative aims to help them: Asking agencies to make it easier for spouses to utilize telework, administrative leave, and other resources. The initiative also aims to help entrepreneurs with costs associated with moving their businesses to new locations.

"We can't ask service members to choose between love of country and love of family," said Jill Biden.

In a statement, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Biden's spending is to blame for rising inflation, saying "Biden has created crisis after crisis, leaving American families to suffer the consequences, but he doesn’t care."

Joe Biden said he had no comment on the indictment of Donald Trump.

Where will the Bidens travel in NC on Friday?

The Bidens will start their day in the eastern part of the state, landing at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro around 11:30 a.m.

They'll then travel to Nash Community College in Rocky Mount for a tour at 1 p.m., where they will discuss how workforce training programs are preparing students for jobs in North Carolina.

Then around 3:30 p.m., the President and first lady will arrive at the newly renamed Fort Liberty, where they will meet with service members and their families.

Drivers around this area, Rocky Mount, and Goldsboro should be prepared for traffic today as the Bidens travel through the area.

Drivers around Rocky Mount, Fort Liberty, and any of those airports should be prepared for traffic today as the Bidens travel through the area.