The House Appropriations Committee has announced that they will postpone the markup—the committee hearing where a bill is debated and amended—of the House Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill, which includes funding for Perkins. We reported earlier this week that the committee markup is one step in the long path toward a final FY 2014 funding amount for Perkins. The committee has not announced Information on the rescheduling of the markup and has not released the text of Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, which was reportedly almost complete.
Earlier this month, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that funds Perkins at $1.1 billion for FY 2014—equivalent to the pre-sequestration level! Unfortunately, the House overall FY 2014 funding level for Labor-HHS-Education programs of $121 billion is $28 billion, or almost 19 percent, below the current level. This is going to make it extremely difficult for any programs to receive adequate funding.
Congress will have to pass some kind of funding measure before the end of September, so it’s very important that your Members of Congress continue to hear from you on the importance of investing in CTE. Federal support for CTE is already far below what is necessary to meet the needs of local CTE programs and the students they serve. Since 2010, Perkins funding has been reduced by over $100 million, with an additional $58 million cut through sequestration for the 2013-14 school year. With the threat of deeper cuts still to come, we need your help to ensure the best funding allocation possible for Perkins. Let Congress know that it is time to make investing in CTE a priority!
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