In a rare show of overwhelming bipartisan support, 424 lawmakers on Capitol Hill approved a bill safeguarding federal funding for archery and hunter safety education programs.

The Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act, introduced in the House as H.R.5110 by U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn) earlier this month, swept both chambers of Congress on Monday night, earning an upvote from all but nine lawmakers. Of those nine, eight didn't cast votes, while one, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) – with a history of supporting anti-gun measures – specifically voted against the bill. 

Green's proposal amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to clarify that the "prohibition on the use of Federal education funds for certain weapons does not apply to the use of such weapons for training in archery, hunting, or other shooting sports."

The clarification to the half-century-old law was needed after the Department of Education arbitrarily moved to slice away federal dollars for such programs in schools after a bureaucratic interpretation of the often menacingly complex Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was rushed through Congress last June. 

"I’m grateful for the overwhelming bipartisan support this bill garnered in the House, the Senate, and across the country," said Green in a statement on Wednesday. "Both sides of the aisle agree that shooting sports and archery programs in schools contribute to the well-being and development of students. The passage of this bill in the Senate within a day of its passage in the People’s House is proof of that. The tremendous benefit of sports and extracurricular activities, especially those that get kids outside, cannot be overstated." 

The measure now proceeds to President Biden's desk.

Pro-2A advocates cautioned that the writing may be on the wall for anti-gun lawmakers. 

"Just because 208 Democrats voted for this measure does not forgive their past and future support for restrictive gun control legislation," Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Chairman Alan Gottlieb told Guns.com. "Evidently, Democrats are beginning to realize the gun issue will not play well during the 2024 campaign, and that Biden’s attempt to cut off funding for school shooting sports could bring lots of angry sportsmen and women to the polls next November. They are trying to distance themselves from this extremely anti-gun-rights administration."