U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis recently wrote Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to register their grave disapproval of a decision by the Biden Administration to eliminate federal funding for hunter education and archery programs in public schools. This letter was in direct response to schools contacting the Senators to inform them of the defunding due to the Administration’s interpretation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) – signed in 2022 – that included language prohibiting funding from providing “training in the use of a dangerous weapon.”
Today, July 31, the Biden administration confirmed to Fox News Digital that it is withholding funds for these schools. As the article states, the Department of Education’s, “funding decisions were based on the plain text interpretation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA).” Obviously, that “plain text” has been interpreted in a specific way by the Administration, because nobody would otherwise describe hunter education as “training in the use of a dangerous weapon.”
Senators Cornyn and Tillis addressed this misinterpretation in their letter, stating that it was neither the legislative intent of the Congress nor a plain reading of the text that leads to the conclusions drawn by the Administration. After today’s confirmation, the Biden administration is obviously sticking with its defunding plan to eliminate hunter education and archery programs, affecting hundreds of thousands, if not millions of young people, nationwide.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance is looking into our legal options on this matter, and we will keep you informed as things progress. This is not the first time the Biden Administration has worked to crater our hunting traditions, and we do not expect it to be the last.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance
Working in all 50 state legislatures, the Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing, trapping and recreational shooting – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public and youth education, legal defense in state and federal court and research to guide the decision-making process of all involved. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance as www.sportsmensalliance.org, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
