We have reported in the past on the serious and looming threat of sequestration and its potential devastating effects on federal funding for CTE. The Budget Control Act of 2011 created the “Super Committee” of Members of Congress who were tasked with creating a plan to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal budget in the next 10 years. Their failure to reach an agreement triggered a provision in the law that will institute a 9.1 percent automatic across-the-board cut to all discretionary programs on January 2, 2013. To avoid these cuts, Congress will have to either amend the Budget Control Act or come to an agreement on cuts in specific areas.
If sequestration goes into effect in January, federal funding for Basic State Grants would be cut by over $100 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013. Estimates show that a cut of this size could prevent 1.4 million students from receiving quality CTE programs and may result in a loss of as many as 1,450 jobs. It is also unclear what impact sequestration will have on advance funded programs like Perkins. It could create a similar situation to that of the 1.5 percent cut to advance funded programs in the temporary continuing resolution that was passed by Congress last fall for FY 2012. Though that situation was ultimately resolved, the looming threat of immediate cuts to Perkins (as well as IDEA and Title I of ESEA) in the middle of the 2012-13 school year is a serious concern that we have expressed to the Administration and Congress. ACTE and our partners in the education and workforce training community will continue to fight to prevent these cuts. Please consider signing this petition from the Committee for Education Funding and tell Congress to stop these devastating cuts to education!
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