Late last night the House introduced the long-term appropriations bill that will fund government programs through the end of FY11. Programs funded by the Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations subcommittee received a total of $157.7 billion. This equates to a $5.5 billion, or 3.36%, cut from fiscal year 2010 levels. This is also $13 billion, or 7.6 percent, below the President’s FY11 budget request.
While we do not have specifics on the exact cuts to Perkins, according to this chart released by the House Appropriations Committee, “Career Education†was cut by $138 million (see page 7). It is unclear at this time if that reduction is from Tech Prep and the Basic State Grant, or just from the Basic State Grant. As soon as further details have been released by Congress and the Department of Education, we will update you.
The House is expected to vote on the bill TOMORROW, after which the Senate will take up the bill.
CALL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
It is crucial that you contact your Members of Congress TODAY to urge them to maintain funding for CTE!
- Call the Senate at 202-224-3121 and the House at 202-225-3121. Ask to be connected to your Members’ offices.
- Once connected to the Member’s office, ask to speak to the staffer that works on appropriations or education issues.
- Tell them to vote against the continuing resolution because cuts to CTE and Perkins will hurt CTE students in every state. Insert concrete examples and data from your state about how students and programs will be impacted by losing this money. Make the case, where appropriate, that cuts will hurt the state’s economy.
If you have any questions or to update NASDCTEc on your contact with Congress, please call Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager, at 301-588-9630 or email her at [email protected]
Tags: advocacy, appropriations, budget, Congress, federal legislation, funding, Perkins