{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.britt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/photos-u-s-senator-katie-britt-delivers-remarks-at-tuskegee-universitys-homecoming-convocation-receives-honorary-doctorate/", "PHOTOS: U.S. Senator Katie Britt Delivers Remarks at Tuskegee University\u2019s Homecoming Convocation, Receives Honorary Doctorate", "2025-11-03", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "Senate", "AL", "Katie Boyd Britt", "B001319", "www.britt.senate.gov", "britt", "https://www.britt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) recently delivered remarks during Tuskegee University\u2019s Homecoming Convocation. She also received an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree from Tuskegee\u2019s Board of Trustees.\n\nNorma B. Clayton, Chair of Tuskegee\u2019s Board of Trustees, Senator Britt, Dr. Mark A. Brown, CEO and President of Tuskegee University, and Richard T. Jones / Photo: Stefan Smith\n\nExcerpts from Senator Britt\u2019s remarks are below, and her full remarks can be viewed here.\n\nSenator Britt noted, \u201cIt\u2019s fitting for this week\u2019s theme to be \u2018Tuskegee\u2019s Renaissance Era\u2019 appreciating rich history, but recommitting and looking forward (to the) renewal, innovation, transformation that will come. The history and legacy here in Tuskegee is evident. You can feel it when you drive on to campus, right? So when I was traveling the state campaigning, I came here and it was undeniable what I felt when I met with students, met with faculty and met with the administration here at Tuskegee. It\u2019s one of the reasons that I made a commitment that day to always be your partner, because I believe you don\u2019t just represent the future, you all represent the now \u2026.\n\n\u201cThe incredible standards that you all said are evident in Doctor Brown, your first alumnus serving as the President. The work that he\u2019s doing, the energy you feel here on campus\u2014this is the only university in the nation to be designated as a National Historic Site by the U.S. Congress. As a proud member, myself, of the HBCU Caucus in the United States Senate, I not only remind my colleagues that we have more HBCUs than any other place in the nation, but that we have the best,\u201d she continued.\n\nAfter highlighting Tuskegee\u2019s history and legacy, as well as how its students today are making a mark on the college\u2019s future, Senator Britt offered advice, saying, \u201cOne thing I can guarantee you is that the world will knock you down, it happens. And what you have to do, and what we need you to do, is to stand back up. Because as the first female elected in the state of Alabama to serve in the United States Senate, I am well aware that the world does place limitations on us. And if I stood up here and told you anything different, I wouldn\u2019t be being honest with you. But what I have found in life, that it is the ones that we place on ourselves that do the most damage.\n\n\u201cSo believe in what is possible. Know that these men and women are pushing you to stretch to your limit, because they know that God has a purpose and a plan for you. And everyone\u2019s skills and gifts and talents that the Lord has given you are different, but it is incumbent upon you to use them to continue to build off of the incredible legacy that we have here and contribute to the continued success of this incredible institution. It is an honor to be here with you all today. It is an honor to have gotten this doctorate and to officially be part of the Tuskegee family,\u201d she concluded.\n\nSenator Britt speaks to Tuskegee University students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members / Photo: Stefan Smith\n\nDr. Brown and Chairwoman Clayton present Senator Britt with an honorary LLD / Photo: Stefan Smith\n\nDr. Brown introduced Senator Britt prior to her remarks, saying, \u201cToday, we continue to benefit from the political savvy of a modern-day political tycoon, a congressional leader, and public servant to her community\u2014Senator Katie Britt. Senator Britt has served her community in every imaginable way \u2026 And she does so with courage, intellect, grace, and I believe, myself, driven and shaped by her faith and her upbringing in Enterprise, Alabama \u2026 She has consistently championed families, advanced economic opportunity, and upheld the dignity of public service. Beyond her professional accomplishments, the Senator is grounded by faith and family \u2026\n\n\u201cSenator Britt\u2019s actions, as a friend of Tuskegee, it\u2019s not just talk. She has successfully launched the successful Aviation Science Program in our College of Engineering as a result of her support. Ma\u2019am, your instrumental support and $6.7 million is transforming the future of flight education and honoring the proud legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen \u2026\n\n\u201cMother Tuskegee remains grateful for your actions, and pride and gratitude for your extraordinary contributions to public service, your lifelong commitment to Alabama\u2019s people, and your embodiment of Tuskegee University\u2019s enduring value of leadership, integrity, excellence.\u201d\n\nSenator Britt, Wesley Britt, Dr. Brown, Mrs. Gwen Brown, and Tuskegee University aviation students / Photo: Stefan Smith\n\nSenator Britt has championed efforts to strengthen Tuskegee University\u2019s aviation education. Last year, following Senator Britt\u2019s efforts to secure $6.7 million in funding, Tuskegee announced its plans to launch a new flight school degree program. Senator Britt also directly secured $5.29 million to expand the program in the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act which has advanced in the Senate.\n\nEarlier this year, following the announcement that Alabama\u2019s Tuskegee Airmen had been temporarily removed from the U.S. Air Force\u2019s basic training curriculum, Senator Britt intervened immediately to ensure this Alabama and American history was restored. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth thanked Senator Britt for pointing out the \u201cmalicious compliance\u201d and acted swiftly to reinstate the Tuskegee Airmen to Air Force curriculum.\n\nSenator Britt also took immediate action when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) briefly suspended the 1890 Scholars Program, which provides federal scholarships to agriculture students at 1890 Land-Grant Institutions. Her support prompted USDA to reopen applications just one week later.\n\nAlabama is home to the most historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the country\u2014Senator Britt remains a champion for our 1890 institutions that promote career opportunities for students in critical fields like agriculture, food science, and natural resources. Later in the year in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, Senator Britt secured $60 million to fund the 1890 Scholars Program going forward.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.britt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/photos-u-s-senator-katie-britt-delivers-remarks-at-tuskegee-universitys-homecoming-convocation-receives-honorary-doctorate/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8312489371746778, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}