House Draft 302(b) Allocations for FY14
The House Appropriations Committee this week released their draft FY14 302(b) allocations which suggest devastating cuts for programs with funding allocated under the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-Education) including Career Technical Education (CTE). Each Committee receives a single 302(a) allocation and divides it up among its subcommittees through 302(b) allocations. The 302(b) allocations establish a cap on spending for each of the appropriations bills.
The House draft 302(b) allocation would cut funding 18.6 percent below the FY13 sequestration levels for Labor-HHS-Education, leaving the U.S. Department of Education with an overall cut of more than $12 billion. It is unclear at this time how the proposed cuts would impact individual programs including CTE.
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Ranking Member on the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, is strongly opposed to the cuts and has called on Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) to hold a full committee markup of the subcommittee’s draft FY14 bill.
While the Senate is unlikely to agree to the levels proposed by the House, our staff will continue to monitor the bill. We are working closely with the Committee for Education Funding, a coalition of education advocacy groups including NASDCTEc, to urge the House Appropriations Committee to reject these proposed cuts.
Senator Merkley Introduces STEM Bill Including CTE Grants
We previously reported that Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) has been working on a bill, the STEM Education for the Global Economy Act, that would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to help improve instruction in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects.
Senator Merkley recently introduced the bill which would also provide grants for CTE in middle schools and high schools. Senators Mark Begich (D-AK), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Al Franken (D-MN) co-sponsored the bill. The CTE grants would seek to:
- Increase collaboration between education institutions and employers
- Develop and enhance programs of study
- Assess how well CTE programs meet workforce needs
Access the text of the bill here.
Kara Herbertson, Research and Policy Manager