Congress « Advance CTE Blog

Secretary Duncan Discusses ESEA Blueprint Before Congress

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

duncan-arne-sec_-of-ed_-3-09 This morning, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan testified before both the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee about the Department of Educationâ€™s blueprint for reforming the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

The Senate hearing began with Chairman Tom Harkin (IA) stressing the importance of preparing students for both college and careers, and the importance of a well-rounded curriculum. Ranking Member Michael Enzi (WY) took that notion one step further in stating that students must be ready for college and career without the need for remediation, as it is important to the strength of our economy. Secretary Duncan agreed that few other issues speak to the long term prosperity of our nation than education.Â Later in the hearing, he stated that all students need some postsecondary education â€“ 4 year, community college, trade school or â€œvocationalâ€ education â€“ to get a good job after high school, but many do not graduate ready for college or a career. To that end, the Administration has set a goal for all students to be college and career ready by 2020.Â This goal replaces the previous Administrationâ€™s goal of proficiency in math and reading by 2014.

Senator Enzi also highlighted the need for high school reform in ESEA because too many students are dropping out or graduating without the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in college or the workplace, suggesting that perhaps career academies could be one vehicle to help add relevancy to studentsâ€™ learning. Secretary Duncan stated that high school reform is a part of the Departmentâ€™s ESEA plans and that programs such as dual enrollment will allow students to experience college while in high school.

Duncan also suggested that because of the lack of math and science teachers, ESEA should incentivize individuals to enter these areas by paying these teachers more. He also supported the idea of allowing individuals from industry to use alternative certification to get into the classroom as another way to increase the number of well qualified teachers in these subject areas.

At the House hearing Chairman George Miller (CA) saw the blueprint as a strong roadmap that Congress can work from to bring about system wide change in elementary and secondary education. Ranking Member John Kline (MN) suggested that for reauthorization Congress should not start from NCLB, but begin with a blank slate, using the blueprint as a jumping off point.

In response to a question from Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (TX) about dropout factories and the impact of middle schools on student achievement in high school, Secretary Duncan stated that both the funding proposal for teachers and leaders and the School Improvement Grants will help students in middle school be better prepared to succeed in high school.

Finally, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT) expressed concern about the impact of competitive funding on state education budgets, particularly in 2011 after the last batch of ARRA funds are distributed coupled with the state budget crises that will not be able to supplement that funding.

By admin in Legislation
Tags: career academies, Congress, dual enrollment, federal legislation, NCLB/ESEA, Public Policy, Secretary Duncan

Congressional Leaders Urge Inclusion of SAFRA in Reconcilliation Bill as They Mull Cuts

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, joined House Majority Whip James Clyburn and Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra at a press conference this morning to address the need to include the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) as part of the reconciliation bill. The Congressmen said that they believed attaching the bill to health care legislation in reconciliation would garner more votes for health care passage. The House passed SAFRA this fall, while the Senate is being held up by health care.

This press conference comes in the wake of new analysis last week by the Congressional Budget Office showing that SAFRA would save $67-billion over 10 years by ending the bank-based system of distributing student loans. This projection is $20 billion less than President Obamaâ€™s estimates.Â As a result, Congressional Democrats have reportedly begun private discussions about cutting down the $87-billion SAFRA bill.

The President’s American Graduation Initiative became part of the House passed SAFRA bill and would fund grants for community colleges and area CTE schools to expand their academic and training programs, enhance linkages, and create innovative programs.Â Funding would also be available for facilities modernization.

The Congressmen declined to say what would be cut from the bill, with Rep. Miller telling the The Chronicle of Higher Education: “That’s a matter of discussion between Senator Harkin and myself and the leadership. I’m not going to answer the question because I’ve got to sit down with them.”

By admin in Legislation
Tags: community colleges, Congress, federal legislation, postsecondary, Public Policy

Local Jobs for America Act

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, Rep. George Miller, announced H.R. 4812, Local Jobs for America Act yesterday along with Reps. Keith Ellison and Phil Hare, Elizabeth Kautz, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and Â RonaldÂ Loveridge, president of the Â National League of Cities.Â The goal of the bill is to create or save one million jobs, preferably local jobs that will increase the demand for small businesses and help spur recovery.Â Included in the proposal is $23 billion to help states support an estimated 250,000 education jobs, as well as $500 million for 50,000 on-the-job training slots to help private business expand employment.

â€œJob cuts by local communities threaten to derail Americaâ€™s economic recovery,â€ said Miller. â€œLocal communities are having to choose between raising taxes to sustain essential services or firing more workers. We should not ask students to forgo a year of education or tell families that their safety will be compromised because local governments have to lay off teachers and police officers. This bill will quickly create local jobs that we can count â€“ and jobs that we can count on.â€

By admin in Legislation
Tags: Congress, federal legislation, Job training

Senate ESEA Hearing: The Importance of World-Class K-12 Education for our Economic Success

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held the first in a series of hearings focused on reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), titled â€œThe Importance of World-Class K-12 Education for our Economic Success.â€Â Committee chairman, Senator Tom Harkin, in his introductory remarks emphasized that the United States has fallen in many educational categories relative to the rest of the world.Â For example, college completion rates of U.S. students have fallen to 12^th in the world, and this country has fallen from 3^rd to 15^th in the number of scientists and engineers produced â€“ an area vital to our increasingly technological world. Ranking member, Senator Michael Enzi, stated that our economy depends on skilled workers and that some training and education beyond high school is needed to earn a family sustaining wage. We are threatened with a deficit of skilled workers, which impedes our ability to lead the world in global competitiveness.

Witnesses included:

Andreas Schleicher, head of the Indicators and Analysis Division, Education Directorate, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, Paris, France
Dennis Van Roekel, president, National Education Association
Charles Butt, chairman and CEO of H-E-B, San Antonio, Texas
John Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable

In his written statement, Mr. Van Roekel stated that we live in a rapidly changing world, and â€œour public school system must adapt to the needs of the new global economy. Every student will need to graduate from high school, pursue postsecondary educational options, and focus on a lifetime of learning because many of tomorrowâ€™s jobs have not even been conceived of today.â€

Mr. Castellani provided the Business Roundtableâ€™s ESEA recommendations in his written testimony.Â Included in these recommendations was to engage students by â€œdemonstrating that standards based curriculum has real world applications in acquisition of knowledge and increased opportunities for career exploration and exposure.â€

While none of these witnesses mentioned CTE, certainly their recommendations and concerns could be met in part by the the work being done in CTE.

By admin in Legislation
Tags: Congress, federal legislation, global competition, NCLB/ESEA, Public Policy

Deficits of $1 trillion per year expected over the next decade

Monday, March 8th, 2010

New preliminary analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released on Friday projected that President Barack Obama’s budget would lead to annual deficits averaging nearly $1 trillion for the next decade. These estimates are larger than the budget shortfalls expected by the White House. According to CBO, annual deficits under Obamaâ€™s budget plan would be about $976 billion from 2011 through 2020, while the Obama administration estimated that its budget would result in an average annual budget shortfall of $853 billion for the next 10 years. The reason for the discrepancy is that the Obama administrationâ€™s estimate expects more tax revenue.

The CBO and the White House agree on the amount of government spending over the next 10 years — about $45 trillion — but CBO expects Obama’s policies laid out in his budget will bring in $35.5 trillion in tax receipts, while the White House expects $37.3 trillion. CBO expects less tax revenue due to slowed economic growth over the next decade.

President Obama recently created a bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform consisting of lawmakers and experts who are tasked with making recommendations to Congress by the end of the year to balance the by 2015. Democratic congressional leaders have pledged to hold votes on the commission’s recommendations after the mid-term elections.

By admin in Public Policy
Tags: budget, Congress, president, Public Policy

Senate Passes Jobs Bill 70-28

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

After invoking cloture on the jobs bill on Monday, which would prevent a filibuster, the Senate passed the bill yesterday in a vote of 70 to 28. Thirteen Republicans joined 55 Democrats and two independents to vote for the bill, with Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska the only Democrat to vote against it.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged that there is still work to be done: â€œWe need to do more and we understand that. The road to recovery is a very long one. Todayâ€™s progress is a small step forward but an important step forward.â€ Democrats must now reconcile the differences between the $15 billion Senate bill and the much larger $154 billion House jobs bill.

Next on the jobs agenda, Senate Democrats intend to introduce a travel and tourism promotion bill that would create 40,000 new jobs in the service sector and 240,000 other jobs. Reid said he would also propose a Federal Aviation Administration bill that would create â€œthousandsâ€ of jobs.Â Democrats will also advance a package of short-term extensions of expiring tax credits, increased federal Medicaid assistance to states and a small-business assistance bill.

By admin in Legislation
Tags: Congress, federal legislation, Public Policy

Letâ€™s Get Vocal About WIA Reauthorization

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Yesterday, I met with a staffer on the House Education and Labor Committee, which oversees the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). He reinforced what we have suspected for some time now â€“ reauthorization of WIA is being held up by healthcare as resources, time and attention are directed towards that monumental piece of legislation. He reviewed NASDCTEcâ€™s WIA recommendations prior to our meeting and suggested that the best thing our members could do now is to contact their Congressman and urge them to reauthorize WIA. Tell your Congressman why WIA is important to your state, give timely and results-oriented examples, and tell them your state cannot wait any longer!

You can contact your Senators and Representative via email, or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202)224-3121 and ask for your Senators’ and/or Representative’s office. If you call, remember that telephone calls are usually taken by a staff member, not the member of Congress. Ask to speak with the aide who handles the Workforce Investment Act.

By admin in Legislation
Tags: Congress, federal legislation, Job training, Public Policy, WIA

Bipartisan Reauthorization of ESEA is on the Agenda

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Democratic and Republican members of the House Education and Labor Committee announced plans today for a bipartisan reform of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).Â Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), along with Ranking Member John Kline (R-MN), Rep. Dale E. Kildee (D-MI), chairman of the Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education, and Rep. Michael N. Castle (R-DE), the senior Republican on that subcommittee, issued the following joint statement:

â€œToday, weâ€™re announcing a bipartisan, open and transparent effort to rewrite No Child Left Behind â€“ a law that we all agree is in need of major reform. It will start with a series of hearings in the coming weeks to explore the challenges and opportunities ahead as we work to ensure an excellent education is available to every student in America. With a real commitment to innovation, we invite all stakeholders who share our serious interest in building a world-class education system to email us their suggestions.â€

The House is expected to schedule hearings on ESEA throughout the spring, with the first hearing to be held on February 24 focusing on charter schools.Â The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is also rumored to be setting their schedule of hearings on ESEA for March.

The House Committee will also be accepting comments from stakeholders regarding ESEA reauthorization at [email protected]. The deadline to submit your comments is March 26.

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
Tags: Congress, federal legislation, NCLB/ESEA, Public Policy

Senate Plans Cloture Vote on Jobs Bill Next Week

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

As we told you last week, the snow in Washington, DC and the scheduled Congressional recess have pushed movement on the Senate jobs bill to next week.Â When the Senate returns on February 22 they are expected to begin with a cloture vote on the bill.Â Cloture is a parliamentary procedure that allows the Senate to vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill, and thereby overcome a filibuster. To invoke cloture three-fifths of the full Senate, normally 60 votes, must vote to invoke it.

Senator Reidâ€™s proposed jobs package includes two programs that affect education:

Under the â€œPayroll Tax Forgiveness For Hiring Unemployed Workersâ€ provision, qualified employers would be exempt from paying the Social Security payroll tax for the remainder of 2010 for certain newly hired employees (those who have been unemployed for at least 60 days). A â€œqualified employerâ€ includes any employer which is a public institution of higher education (as defined in section 101(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965).
The â€œElection to Convert Tax Credit Bonds to Build America Bondsâ€ provides qualifying issuers a direct payment from the Treasury for a portion of the interest paid on bonds for certain school and energy projects. This provision would allow qualifying issuers of tax credit bonds the option of issuing tax credit bonds under current law, or utilizing the direct subsidy Build America Bond structure for bonds issued after the date of enactment. The federal subsidy would equal 45 percent of the borrowing cost (65 percent for qualifying small issuers). The proposal is estimated to cost approximately $2 billion over ten years.

By admin in Legislation
Tags: Congress, federal legislation, Job training, Public Policy

Senate Jobs Bill Stalled

Friday, February 12th, 2010

As we noted last week, the Senate has unveiled their agenda for creating jobs and spurring economic growth, which they had hoped to begin voting on this week. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid proposed a $15 billion jobs package that will “create jobs immediately”, after rejecting a larger bipartisan bill proposed by Democrat Max Baucus of Montana and Republican Charles Grassley of Iowa, senior members of the Senate Finance Committee. However, two massive snow storms hit Washington, DC this week causing the federal government to shut down for four days and preventing Senate staffers from reporting to work, thus delaying votes on any bill.

In light of the scheduled Congressional recess next week,Â Reid has said that the Senate will not take up the legislation until the week of February 22.

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
Tags: Congress, federal legislation, Job training, Public Policy

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