Last week, I reported that the gang of goons in Biden’s Department of Education took take aim at key federal funding earmarked under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 for schools with hunting and archery programs, cutting monies sent to schools teaching kids in the fundamentals of these activities.
In that post, I noted that I would be participating in my first archery tournament this weekend. The tournament was aimed at generating money toward scholarships for young archers to take lessons. I am delighted to report there was plenty of win for the kids, my archery team, and myself this weekend.
I began taking archery because learning new things is a wonderful way to stay young….even if it is young in spirit. However, I have picked up many valuable life lessons over the past year. Perhaps the most important is the following: You can’t win if you don’t take the shots.
Therefore, as we head into what will be a very intense election season where we will be confronted with media and political power brokers doing everything to undermine our determination to effect change, we have to continue to be willing to show up and take the shot. We might miss the mark. However, there is no victory unless the arrow is nocked, the aim is taken, and the bowstring is released.
In this case, archery and hunting organizations are taking aim at the Department of Education’s ridiculous interpretation of the weapons rules. The message is from the Easton Foundation, which hosted the scholarship tournament in which I participated:
Last year, Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA). The intended goal was to protect America’s children and reduce threats of violence across our country. The very carefully crafted language was NEVER intended to impact long-standing and successful educational programs like those involving archery and hunter education.Yet, the Department of Education recently determined that long-standing in-school hunter education and archery classes, including the National Archery in the School Program, are no longer eligible to receive federal funds under the BSCA. This misinterpretation could impact millions of American children enrolled in those programs if not corrected.We’re asking you to join the effort to gain a corrected interpretation and continue federal funding for archery classes and hunter education. We know that your voice will add to the mounting pressure upon the Department of Education to honor the true intention of the BSCA and restore program funding that benefit millions of young people.
If you are interested in challenging the current interpretation of BSCA, please click HERE and help us score a victory for the bureaucrats at the Department of Education.
Interestingly, there is some evidence that the push-back efforts are already being successful. A group of 66 House Republicans is calling on the Department of Education to reverse the ruling.
The lawmakers — led by GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Education and Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C. — penned a letter Friday morning to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, criticizing him for his agency’s recent guidance. In the letter, they argued such courses are longstanding and promote safety.”These scholastic programs are where millions of kids learn safe and responsible firearm handling and storage, and this egregious, irresponsible overreach by your Department will have far-reaching negative consequences,” the Republicans wrote. “Eliminating this funding through executive ‘interpretation’ of law flies in the face of congressional intent.””Your actions to advance a radical Far-Left anti-gun agenda are not only an abuse of executive power but eliminate the opportunity for kids to learn important skills, safety, and life lessons,” the letter continued.
The concern about the Department of Education’s inanity also impacts Democrats.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) sent a letter to the Department of Education on Wednesday raising concerns it is blocking funds for hunting and archery classes….The senator says this runs counter to the spirit of the bill and hurts his state, which has “long offered shooting sport and hunter safety classes that play an important role in teaching safety and personal responsibility to students.”“Outdoor recreation is foundational to our western way of life and any reduction of federal support for these educational programs is unacceptable,” said Tester, who is up for reelection next year.
The bureaucratic-media-entertainment complex is invested in dispiriting regular Americans from winning at every level, especially over the next 18 months. Showing up and doing the work is the only way to win.
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