The Education Department “has been more than a little tone-deaf” about federal funding of school archery programs, Sen. Martin Heinrich said. | Mark Schiefelbein/AP PhotoDemocrats last year hailed the passage of the first gun safety legislation in decades. Now, several of them are tearing into the administration over the measure’s effect on … school archery programs.
“The Department of Education is just over their skis on this and has not been channeling congressional intent,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich . The agency “has been more than a little tone-deaf on this and not as responsive as I would like to see.” But rural state lawmakers say they fear an overzealous reading of the law. Those who worked on the bill say the dangerous weapon prohibition was intended to ensure schools didn’t use the funding to arm teachers with guns, a controversial proposal some have put forward to respond to school shootings.
“This is the sort of stuff that makes people who would be inclined to support the policy say, ‘but I can’t trust the administration,’” said Sen. Thom Tillis , one of the chief negotiators on the bill. “I’m frustrated with this. This was not an easy bill to get bipartisan support on.” An Education Department spokesperson said the administration “will continue to offer technical assistance to help Congress address this statutory language issue.”
Sen. Chris Murphy , one of the chief negotiators on the gun safety bill, acknowledged the administration is reading the letter of the text correctly but called it an unintended consequence that should be repaired.