This week, Congress was once again focused on trying to complete the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 appropriations process, and another continuing resolution (CR) was needed to avert a government shutdown. Reportedly, congressional leaders have almost finalized six of the twelve FY 2024 funding bills, but they were not ready by today’s original March 1 deadline. Instead, Congress voted on a new CR that results in funding for these six bills now expiring March 8. The remaining bills are now set to expire on March 22. The Labor-HHS-Education bill has not yet been finalized, but Congress is hoping to finalize the remaining six bills before the March 22 deadline, so stay tuned! In other news this week:
- ACTE and Cardozo Education Campus Host Annual CTE Month School Visit: On February 27, ACTE celebrated CTE Month with Cardozo Education Campus in D.C. alongside staff from the Department of Education’s Office of Career and Technical and Adult Education, Capitol Hill and other partner organizations.
- Lawmakers Include Pell Grant Change in CR: Included in the CR was a technical fix to the way the Department of Education calculates the amount of financial aid a dependent student qualifies for each year under the Pell Grant program. This change addresses a potential shortfall that could have been triggered by the original provision. The CR also adds $7.7 billion in mandatory funding to support Pell Grants. Not all Members of Congress were supportive of the change, however, with House Education and Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott issuing a statement in opposition.
- Secretary Raimondo Delivers Update on CHIPS and Science Act: U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo delivered a policy address on the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act, stating that new investments would put the U.S. on track to produce 20% of the world’s logic chips by 2030. Companies that produce advanced semiconductors have also now requested over $70 billion in federal subsidies, about twice as much as there is available.
- Biden-Harris Administration Releases Resources to Support Early School Success: The Department of Education released guidance for how states, local educational agencies and schools can utilize Title I funding to expand access to high-quality preschool for younger children in settings such as schools, Head Start and community based organizations. This also notes the need for educational equity.
- US, Japan Launch Workforce Development Exchange: The Department of Labor’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Brent Parton, visited Japan to facilitate technical exchanges on workforce strategies for advanced manufacturing and the semiconductor sub-sector in the two nations.
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