This week is the start of official qualifying period for many elected positions for state office. One person who has announced his campaign was in town for a conference. Gubernatorial candidate U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) addressed Venezuela, federal funds fraud and his vision as governor during an event at the Alabama Forestry Association’s Public Policy Seminar.

Tuberville served as the breakfast keynote speaker for the event at the Gulf State Park Lodge.

The former Auburn head football coach said it was time for a shift in how students approached college. He said it was embarrassing when college graduates couldn’t afford to pay off their student loans and leave school “woke.” After meeting with college presidents, he believes colleges and universities need to be evaluated.

“They've been indoctrinating kids, and they don't teach a damn thing,” he said. “So, it's time we get back to teaching.”

Tuberville said the State also needed to evaluate K-12 and develop a workforce development program at the high school level.

Another issue he is looking into is fraud with federal dollars. He said fraud was occurring in every state, including Alabama. While he did not specify how fraud is impacting Alabama, he said there needed to be more oversight.

“We have fraud in our state,” he said. “We're getting ready to stop it. We're getting ready to put in parameters that, number one, if it starts to happen, we're going to catch people, because money that people make needs to stay – more of it needs to stay in your pockets, needs to stay in your business. It doesn't need to be squandered by the federal government. That's what's happening.”

While talking to reporters, Tuberville addressed the controversial West Alabama Corridor project, which will cost Alabama taxpayers $730 million. Tuberville said that was an example of a project that needs federal funding.

“Obviously, they looked at it, and they feel like they had the money to do it,” Tuberville said. “You know, I wish we would have put a little federal money into it because if you don't do something federally, at least some federal money, they're not going to do any upkeep on it, and that road is going to need a lot of upkeep over the years.”

If elected, Tuberville said his administration would seek answers on the project, the Mobile Bayway Bridge and the construction of two new megaprisons.

Following the event, Tuberville said he would head to Hoover to officially qualify for the governor’s race before going back to Washington, where he said he would speak directly to President Donald Trump about the situation in Venezuela. Tuberville said he wanted to see Venezuelans rebuild their country and allow those in the United States to go back home.

“So, this is just a good start,” Tuberville told reporters. “I don't know what's going to happen when Maduro. He's done, but we need to give the people of Venezuela an opportunity to build their country back because it was one of the richest countries in the world, and it's one of the worst as we speak.”