Tommy Tuberville urges Congress to ‘protect freedom’ from Covid-19 lockdowns

0
74
Tommy Tuberville on the Senate floor

As the 118th Congress begins, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville urged his fellow legislators to address the serious and deadly consequences of COVID-19 lockdown measures on Americans’ health and the country’s educational system. In a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Monday, Tuberville laid out the rise in excess mortality rates and decrease in academic success during COVID-19 lockdowns. Tuberville called on Congress to vote to end the federal COVID-19 emergency declaration and vow to never again use such dangerous lockdown measures.

“It’s high time we take a look back at the devastating impacts some of the federal and state government policies in response to COVID-19,” Sen. Tuberville said. “Most importantly, we have to focus on education. We have to look at the toll the lockdowns have taken on our country’s youngest citizens. Unfortunately, like many issues in D.C., the COVID crisis was weaponized for some political gain. The government misused emergency measures to grow its control over Americans’ daily lives. Hopefully, those days are over.”

“The excess rate is a term used to describe the number of deaths above historical norms, or how many Americans died than we would typically expect to pass away during any given year,” Tuberville explained. “According to data from the CDC, the number of non-COVID excess deaths reached almost 100,000 people in 2020 and 2021. The hundreds of thousands of non-COVID excess deaths during the pandemic can be mainly attributed to shocking increases in accidents, overdoses, and death from alcoholism and homicide. And those causes disproportionately impacted minorities and low-income Americans, the same groups lockdowns were often billed and made to protect.”

“In total, excess deaths among young adults throughout the pandemic were 27 percent higher than they should be, according to historical trends,” Tuberville said. “It does not take a scientist to draw the connection between lockdowns and all the excess deaths that we’ve had the past three years. Not only were Americans kept out of gyms, parks, churches, social settings, and family gatherings — they were forced to skip routine doctor visits, surgeries, and in-person medical treatments out of fear. And fear was the main weapon used against the American people. As a result, mental and physical health plummeted.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American life expectancy dropped .9 years in 2021 and 1.8 years in 2021 to 76.1 years – the lowest level since 1996 after decades of gradually increasing American life expectancy.

“Today, our schools are facing a shortage of teachers, months of instruction still missing, [and]a mental health and behavioral crisis among our country’s students,” Tuberville added. “As someone who spent decades as an educator and a coach and fostered the potential of young adults, I am committed to ensuring we never inflict the damage on our school-aged kids again.” “We must be the barrier between the American people and tyranny because tyranny [and]orders — like COVID lockdowns — are dangerous. As we get to work this Congress, I hope all of my colleagues join me in recognizing the tough realities I have just laid out…We have to commit to defending freedom in every circumstance.”

New end-of-year testing showed a significant drop in test scores and learning for elementary school-aged children in the United States. The decline in reading and math for 9-year-olds was the largest in decades. Math scores dropped even more among Black students. The declines were sharpest among students still struggling with basic math skills and simple reading. The gaps between the haves and have-nots increased. Some students will never be able to recover from the months of limited or no instruction.

Tuberville is still in his first term representing Alabama in the United States Senate. Tuberville was elected in 2020 after a long successful career coaching football.

To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.