On Wednesday, December 16, Members of Congress finalized and released an omnibus appropriations bill to fund the government for the rest of FY 2016. Thanks to a budget agreement reached earlier in the fall, the new funding bill will restore many of the threatened cuts to education and workforce development programs that would have occurred under lower budget caps, and provide small increases overall to both the Departments of Education and Labor.
In a victory for CTE, the omnibus provides level funding for the Perkins Basic State Grant, ensuring funds will continue to flow to programs next school year! In addition, the bill proposes level funding for the Perkins National Programs line item, which provides critical research and technical assistance projects benefitting the field. Earlier this year, Congress had proposed cutting the National Programs section of Perkins, so the fact that these funds were restored is a testament to the value of CTE!
You can access a chart showing other education program funding levels here. Both the House and Senate are expected to vote on the bill on Friday. To ensure there is time for this to occur, Congress has passed another continuing resolution through December 22 that will keep funds flowing and avoids the potential of a government shutdown.
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