Biden admin holding funds from schools that have hunting and archery programs
National Archery in the Schools Program's Tommy Floyd and 8th-grade NASP student Kimber Collins on the need to protect archery programs in schools and how these programs benefit students.
A Kentucky eighth-grader and a national scholastic archery organization leader spoke out after Fox News confirmed the Biden administration will withhold funding for elementary and high school shooting sports, which it considers the proper interpretation of a 2022 gun safety law.
Following the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in the wake of mass shootings in Florida, New York and Texas, the Biden administration confirmed it has interpreted the law to prohibit such funding.
The Education Department, under Secretary Miguel Cardona, said it believes the law means funding earmarked for scholastic shooting sports under a 1965 public education law should be blocked nationwide.
The development was met by concern from National Archery in Schools Program President Tommy Floyd, as well as a young archer from rural Kentucky.
BIDEN ADMIN WITHHOLDING KEY FUNDING FOR SCHOOL HUNTING, ARCHERY PROGRAMS
Tommy Floyd, Kimber Collins, and Fox News correspondent Rich Edson (Fox News Channel)
"I started in fourth grade around four years ago, and archery means everything to me," Kimber Collins told Fox News' America Reports' on Wednesday.
"I love it. I shoot every day," said Collins, who hails from Jenkins, a town on the other side of Pine Mountain from Wise, Va.
Collins was recently named the "top female archer" in the National Archery Schools Program competitions, according to the Hazard, Ky., CBS affiliate.
"It's the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I fall asleep," she told "America Reports."
Tommy Floyd, president of the in-school archery program, said shooting sports are more than just firing guns and slinging arrows, but that they are sports that build teamwork and focus, with an emphasis on safety.
"We know that shooting sports, especially what we do with the National Archery in Schools Program, is good for kids," he said.
TOP REPUBLICAN MOVES TO REVERSE BIDEN ADMIN BLOCK ON SCHOOL ARCHERY, HUNTING CLASS FUNDING
"Not only do we have a 21-year impeccable safety record, but we're committed to… growing the shooting sports for all the attributes that are bestowed on the students that participate."
Collins agreed with Floyd, saying archery takes a lot of focus and hard work to become proficient.
"I know every shot I shoot will make me better in the long run," she said.
When asked her response to the news that Cardona's agency will withhold funding for her sport, Collins lamented the prospect:
"I hope they don't. I mean -- all throughout my life, it's what I do."
The Department of Education explained in a previous statement to Fox News its funding decisions were based on its plain-text interpretation of the BSCA:
"The prohibition went into effect immediately on June 25, 2022 and applies to all existing and future awards under all ESEA programs, including [21st Century Community Learning Centers]. The Department is administering the bipartisan law as written by Congress."
Suzanne Nossel, the CEO of PEN America, said in a statement that removing books from school libraries teaches students that they are dangerous. (iStock)
According to a report in Forbes, the Biden administration's interpretation of the gun safety law as prohibiting scholastic shooting sports may worsen the mental health crisis among the nation's youth – claiming that nixing such activities that take students into the outdoors will increase anxiety and depression.
The outlet also reported some of the "bipartisan" supporters of the original law are upset with the executive branch's interpretation, with Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas sending a letter to Cardona suggesting the Education Department wrongly determined the intent of the law.
"We were alarmed to learn recently that the Department of Education has misinterpreted [it] to require the defunding of certain longstanding educational and enrichment programs—specifically, archery and hunter education classes—for thousands of children, who rely on these programs to develop life skills, learn firearm safety and build self-esteem," the letter read.
One Republican has already taken action to reverse the interpretation, with Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee drafting the Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act, which would clarify the 1965 ESEA allows such programs to be funding-eligible.
Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.
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