WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined Newsmax ‘Greg Kelly Reports’ to discuss the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine, emphasize why Space Command belongs in Huntsville, and recall his personal experiences when speaking about the need for schools to be reopened. Excerpts can be found below and the full interview can be found here.
On the Importance of Taking the COVID-19 Vaccine: “I had the opportunity to visit yesterday and today with General Perna, President Trump’s appointee to run Operation Warp Speed, and as I told him, I think they are doing a great job. It’s a miracle what we’ve done – being able to get the vaccine in 8 or 9 months…The people in charge of this have done outstanding.”
“Take the vaccine. We still have people that won’t take it for some reason…marketing is going to be a big part of this in the coming weeks because there’s going to be people that we have to sell the fact that you have to take this vaccine.”
On Space Command: “I was called by the Secretary of the Air Force – they did their due diligence, they looked at 6 locations. The main thing about Huntsville is we have all the infrastructure…all the cybersecurity, the protection of Redstone Arsenal, all the things that go along with missile defense is in Huntsville. It was a natural fit. It’s going to save the American taxpayers millions and millions of dollars because putting it there – we don’t have to build from scratch.”
On Workforce Development: “I’m an educator, I’ve been in education all my life. We have to get kids invested in other things where they can make a living when they get out instead of just sitting behind a computer. Get them invested in something early in life, whether it’s grade school or junior high or high school, where they can use their hands – be a builder, a construction worker, a pharmacist. Get them out there where they can get out in our workforce and, number 1, make a great living for themselves and raise a family, but also be productive in the greatest country on the face of the Earth.”
On Reopening Schools: “Of all the important things that we have in our country, education to me is number one. Education is the key to freedom. We have these kids that are at home, they are getting into trouble. We have huge mental health problems – it’s a disaster. Teachers are first responders. They went to school, got educated, to be teachers to help young men and women. You’re not just a teacher – you’re an educator. You’re a coach. You’re a mentor. You’re a counselor. You’re also a mom and dad to kids away from home for 6 or 7 or 8 hours.”
“They get most of what they learn in life – now, they learn moral values, hopefully, at home – but what they get at the schools, whether it’s athletics or in the classroom, they learn leadership, they learn everything to become a responsible citizen in the United States. We’ve got to open up.”
“In the state of Alabama, our teachers are at work educating our kids and in a lot of other states. But unfortunately, in a lot of the bigger cities, they’re not doing it.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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