Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly (405-5) in favor of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 5587)— comprehensive legislation that would reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins).
Upon last week’s passage, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) applauded the vast showing of bipartisan support in the House, while still noting that the legislation’s proposed definition for a secondary CTE concentrator must still be fixed as the process moved forward.
With attention turning to the Senate, the leaders of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee scheduled a markup of their forthcoming Perkins reauthorization bill for September 21st. Unfortunately as committee members worked towards a final draft, bipartisan negotiations stalled and the markup was postponed.
The main reason cited for this delay was attributed to continued disagreements over “secretarial authority” and proposed prohibitions language that would limit the U.S. Secretary of Education’s oversight of Perkins.
This week HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) issued a statement saying, in part, that he believes “Congress should be able to finish its work on Perkins this year,” while reiterating his concerns related to secretarial authority. A spokesperson for Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) released a similar statement saying that, “Senator Murray has been working with Democrats and Republicans toward a bipartisan bill to reauthorize Perkins CTE, and she is hopeful that this can continue and get done as quickly as possible.”
Yesterday, Advance CTE and ACTE issued a statement of their own encouraging the Senate to move forward with Perkins reauthorization in a bipartisan manner. As Congressional consideration of Perkins continues, Advance CTE will continue to work with staff on the Hill to ensure the best possible bill is produced from this process.
Be sure to check back here for more updates and analysis.
Steve Voytek, Government Relations Manager