Statement by ACE President Ted Mitchell on Final Passage of Respect for Marriage Act and Need to Accomplish More in Lame-duck Session
December 08, 2022

​"We applaud Congress for acting in a bipartisan manner to safeguard the ability of all Americans to marry the person of their choice. Of course, that basic right, the legal right to marry the person you love, should never be in question again in our nation.

Higher education stresses the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion to our students and campus communities every day. It is unfortunate that the need arose for federal lawmakers to codify protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. But it was vitally important to take action and do so now. We could not leave millions of our fellow citizens in a state of fear and uncertainty over their ability to live their lives freely and as they choose.

But lawmakers should not stop here during this lame-duck session. It's far overdue to act to provide Dreamers with permanent legislative protections. And now is also the time to pass the largest possible increase to the maximum Pell Grant to expand access to higher education. The final weeks of the 117th session of Congress are an opportunity to accomplish much that will positively affect the lives of millions of deserving individuals in our country."

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