DC Digest: February 1-7

Last week, the Senate finally approved its organizing resolution, allowing Democrats to assume full control of the chamber and new committee chairs to be seated. Both chambers of Congress also approved a budget resolution containing reconciliation instructions, which will make it easier for Democrats to move forward with an additional COVID-19 relief package. You can read a primer on reconciliation here. In recognition of CTE month, Congressmen Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA), Co-Chairs of the Congressional CTE Caucus, introduced a resolution that recognizes February as National CTE Month. The resolution emphasizes the important role of CTE in economic recovery, as well as highlights the value of CTE programs for all learners. Here are some other notes from last week:

• More Department of Education Political Appointees: The Department of Education announced 13 more political appointees last week. These 13 appointees will lead various aspects of the Department during President Biden’s term. There are still no political appointees that have been announced for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education.
• HELP Committee Hearings for Education and Labor Secretary Nominees: On February 3, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, held a hearing on the nomination of Miguel Cardona as the U.S. Secretary of Education. During the hearing, several Senators emphasized the importance of CTE, and in interviews leading up to the hearing, Cardona highlighted the importance of CTE and the important role community colleges are going to play for post-COVID-19 economic recovery. A separate HELP Committee hearing was held for Marty Walsh to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Labor. In his confirmation hearing, Walsh emphasized increasing equity and inclusion in the workforce, and collaboration with both the Commerce and Education Departments to provide more on-the-job training efforts, among other things. Read the full blog here. 
• Chair and Ranking Member of HELP Committee Formally Announced: On Wednesday, the HELP Committee announced that Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) will officially serve as the Chair of the Senate HELP Committee and Richard Burr (R-NC) will serve as the Ranking Member of the Committee during the 117th Congress. 
• New Project to Gather Data on Schools Reopening: The Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences announced a new project “NAEP 2021 School Survey," which will collect both national and state data to understand the impact of COVID-19 on students and the status of in-person learning. This project is aimed to help safely reopen schools for in-person learning.

Comments

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