U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, recently introduced legislation targeted at providing continued federal funding for Native American students at certain institutions, including Fort Lewis College.
This legislation will ensure that our countrys pledge to Native American Indians is kept, Tipton said in a written statement from his office. Without increasing federal spending in any way, this bill will ultimately save Colorado taxpayers money, lifting the weight of a federal mandate from their shoulders.
House Resolution 3040, known as The Native American Indian Education Act of 2011, is similar to a bill introduced by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., earlier this year. It is aimed at providing federal funding for in-state and out-of-state Native American students.
The bill shifts the financial weight of Native American student tuition from states to the federal level allowing the director of the Office of Management and Budget to draw from unobligated federal funds.
It saves Colorado taxpayers money, Josh Green, Tipton press secretary, said. It puts it back on the federal government, where it belongs.
The legislation specifies that monies cant be drawn from the unobligated funds of the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Education.
In 1910, land was deeded for what is now Fort Lewis College on the condition that the school provide free tuition for Native American students.
Reach Reid Wright at [email protected].
