This week in Washington included a lot of CTE-related news items, which you can read about below! Beyond happenings in CTE, Washington was focused on debt limit conversations, negotiating on potential immigration changes, debating and passing a bill on oil and gas reserves and assigning more Members of Congress to committees. The Senate left Washington yesterday without formalizing its committee assignments, so we will continue to monitor the key players on relevant committees as they are named. Next week, both the House and Senate will be in town. It is soon to be a busy time for CTE as CTE Month arrives on February 1! Here are the biggest updates of the week:
- ACTION ALERT: Ask Your Senators to Cosponsor the 2023 Senate CTE Month Resolution: The co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus, Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Todd Young (R-IN) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), are once again leading the Senate’s annual CTE Month resolution marking February as CTE Month. These senators are currently circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter asking their colleagues to cosponsor the resolution. CLICK HERE to ask your senators to cosponsor this year’s CTE Month resolution.
- ACTE Launches 118th Congress Freshmen Advocacy Guide: Every two years, a new crop of federal policymakers enters Congress for the beginning of the next congressional session. ACTE has developed this resource to help you effectively develop relationships with new Members of Congress and urge them to support policies that will help advance high-quality CTE for all learners. Read the guide here.
- PELL Act Introduced by Education and Workforce Committee Leaders: On January 25, House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), along with Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), introduced H.R. 496, the Promoting Employment and Lifelong Learning (PELL) Act. Specifically, the bill would create a Workforce Pell Grant to expand Pell Grant eligibility to high-quality, short-term programs, require detailed return-on-investment outlooks for these programs and increase reporting requirements for the Department of Education. This bill is a competitor to the JOBS Act, which has yet to be re-introduced in the 118th Congress and is an ACTE priority.
- Education Secretary Cardona Prioritizes CTE in Major Policy Speech: On January 24, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced a new Education Department initiative called “Raise the Bar: Lead the World” in what was called a “major address” at the Department’s headquarters. Read more about the speech here.
- Secretary of Education Tours CTE Programs at Francis Tuttle Technology Center: Following the announcement of the new “Raise the Bar: Lead the World” initiative, on January 27, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona toured programs and spoke with Information Technology, Broadcast Production and 3D Design students at Francis Tuttle Technology Center in Oklahoma City, OK. The Secretary spoke in a roundtable session with the students about the ways in which Francis Tuttle is preparing students for successful careers through CTE. Read more about the visit here.
- Election Watch: Key House Freshmen of the 118th Congress: As the 118th Congress gets underway, ACTE has created a list of some of the freshmen members in the House of Representatives with established connections to education or education policy, based on publicly available information. Several of these new Members of Congress have discussed CTE-related issues and priorities in their campaigns. Read more about these new Members of Congress here.
- House Education and Workforce, Appropriations Committees Begin Member Assignments: Throughout the last two weeks, the respective House Republican and Democratic Steering Committees have named some of their choices to serve on the House Education and Workforce and Appropriations Committees. House members who have been named to the Education and Workforce Committee can be found here and here. House Appropriations Republican Subcommittee members can be found here. More decisions coming soon!
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