U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville warned, “Left-wing activists have fundamentally shifted higher education to become a vehicle to further their political agenda,” in a speech on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday.
“American higher education became the envy of the world,” Tuberville said. “Our colleges and universities produced new research, technologies, and medicines — and molded the talented minds to use these new developments to make our country a better place. But this trend is changing. Left-wing activists have fundamentally shifted higher education to become a vehicle to further their political agenda — and now they’re set on [forcing] American taxpayers to pay for the overpriced indoctrination and taking athletic opportunities away from those who have worked so hard to compete.”
“Let’s start with the price tag associated with higher education,” Tuberville continued. “The cost of attending college has skyrocketed. But these institutions have done little to ensure their value has increased along with their price, the increase of tuitions and bloated school administrations continually drive budgets and tuition bills up. President [Joe] Biden recently decided to throw gasoline on this fire by attempting to use executive authority to — as he calls it — ‘forgive’ student loan debt for millions of Americans.”
Tuberville criticized President Biden’s plan to forgive billions in student loan debt.
“His plan will forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt for Pell Grant recipients who make $125,000 or less a year, and $10,000 in student loan debt for all others under the same salary cap,” Tuberville said. “Think about that: a college-educated person making a six-figure salary would essentially get a $10,000 handout from hardworking Americans, the majority of whom did not go to college themselves and are struggling to provide for their families thanks to soaring inflation driven by Democrats’ reckless spending. Despite the administration’s attempts to convince the country they are focused on fighting inflation, this debt transfer scheme will do the exact opposite.”
Tuberville expressed his concern that student loan forgiveness will do nothing to reduce the cost of college education.
He also spoke out against a Biden administration rule that would allow biological males to compete in athletics against actual women and girls.
“This fiftieth anniversary of Title IX was in June,” Tuberville said. “But, this anniversary comes at an important and challenging time for female athletes. Their ability to train and compete fairly is under attack from activists and this current White House.”
“In July, the Department of Education published and proposed a rule to change how Title IX is implemented in order to better align with the administration’s progressive agenda,” Tuberville continued. “These proposed changes would require schools to allow… biological males to compete in women’s sports. Last week, I submitted a public comment to Secretary [Miguel] Cardona that clearly and strongly condemns this new proposed rule… The change to Title IX would be a monumental setback for the generations of women who have benefited from the law over the last fifty years.”
“Instead of making our colleges more expensive and less fair, Congress should be focused on reforms that get to the root of the cause,” Tuberville stated. “Our country cannot thrive without allowing young adults to freely and fairly learn, grow, develop, and create — on and off the field. We must protect that fair playing field while encouraging college students to take responsibility for their own actions and financial decisions — something all of us here in Congress should learn to do as well.”
Tuberville has represented Alabama in the United States Senate since January 2021 and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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