On May 20, Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) joined together to reintroduce the Native American Indian Education Act in the U.S. Senate. I am pleased that this important effort to support the future of the Native American Tuition Waiver program at Fort Lewis College is moving forward.
Over the past few years that we have been working on federal assistance for the tuition waiver program, I have made frequent trips to Denver and Washington, D.C. to help the cause. I, along with former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, have met with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to educate and advocate. What I hear over and over from both Republicans and Democrats is how impressed they are with Colorado and Fort Lewis College for the century-old commitment to providing educational opportunities to Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
In the previous session of Congress, we had over 50 co-sponsors to the legislation introduced in the House of Representatives and Senate, and this year we aim to add more. Thank you to Senators Gardner and Bennet for their hard work in the Senate, as well as Representative Scott Tipton for introducing this legislation in the House of Representatives.
Protecting the Native American Tuition Waiver program at Fort Lewis College is one of my top priorities, and I will continue to work to see this get done.