DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) – Alabama Republican U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville spoke with members of the media Wednesday, going over topics such as policy accomplishments in the 117th Congress and thoughts on the upcoming vote for a $1.7 trillion spending bill.
Tuberville cited priority commitment to improving conditions for American veterans and touted the passing of legislation regarding information clarity on G.I. Bill benefit transfer forms, including a bill currently heading to President Joe Biden’s desk.
“I encourage President Biden to sign the legislation as soon as possible. Once signed into law, my provision will ensure eligible dependents are not barred from education benefits due to an easily fixable error,” said Tuberville. “It may seem like a small fix, but it will make a big, big impact.”
Tuberville went on to discuss the upcoming vote on the omnibus. The legislation packages several individual funding bills into one vote. Congress last week passed an extension of funding until December 23rd to give members more time to discuss what to include in the omnibus.
“Negotiators released a top line number yesterday, and it comes in at a whopping $1.7 trillion this year,” said Tuberville. “We received a bill which has more than 4000 pages at 1:30 a.m. yesterday morning.”
“Though the omnibus funds the increase in defense spending that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) calls for, I’m not happy with the amount of funding included (for) left wing programs and priorities.”
Tuberville called out issues with Democratic lawmakers. His concerns center around expanded funding sizes and last minute budget suggestions.
“Congress should be responsible enough to draft budgets with time to spare and only spend what we can afford. Just as Americans do every day.”
Touting success during the 117th Congress, Tuberville boasted about the Supporting Families of the Fallen Act which passed in both chambers of Congress in October. That legislation increased veterans and service members’ maximum life insurance benefits amounts for the first time since 2005. He also cited the drafting of this year’s NDAA, which he said secured “dozens of wins for Alabama.”
Tuberville mentioned successful work as well as a member of the Senate’s Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, which he said work went into protecting “rural communities by cutting burdensome regulations for local governments and standing up for local agricultural producers.”
Other policy topics Tuberville hit on included advocating for school choice on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, going after Chinese dignitaries by calling for banning all Chinese Communist Party members from obtaining visas for vacation and business related travel in the U.S., and his office’s focus on defending the “principled, conservative values Alabamians voted for, like champion the sanctity of life and religious freedom.”
In a Q & A section of the call, Tuberville was asked about the January 6 committee’s formal referrals for legal action against former President Donald Trump, saying that “all this will work itself out” and that he expects the committee to be dissolved with the upcoming 118th Congress.
On the topic of outgoing Senator Richard Shelby, Tuberville praised his retiring colleague for the work his has done and his mentorship.
“He’s brought a lot of money, infrastructure to the state of Alabama, but he’s spread it around from education to military to manufacturing,” said Tuberville. “Alabama owes a lot to Senator Shelby, but he also owes a lot to the state of Alabama because people supported him for a long time.”
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