July 14, 2008

In Late June, the House Appropriations Committee abruptly ended the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations “mark-up” when Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-CA) proposed a “substitute” amendment that would have replaced the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill with the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. As the days pass, it is more unlikely that the Appropriations Committee will meet again before Congress adjourns for the year on September 26, 2008.

ACTE will be meeting with Chairman David Obey’s (D-WI) staff to discuss the fate of Rep. John Peterson’s (R-PA) amendment that would increase Perkins Basic State Grants by $20 million. The status of the amendment is uncertain due to the abrupt end of the “mark up” in June. ACTE is still encouraging members to contact their Congressional Representative to ask for his/her support for an increase in Perkins funds through the amendment sponsored by Rep. Peterson.

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed their version of FY 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill; however, without a House companion bill it is unlikely that the Senate version will be addressed on to the floor of the Senate.

The Department of Education has released the full Senate Committee and House Subcommittee numbers that have been allocated. Career and Technical Education is on page 12. (Note: the House full Committee activity referenced in the first part of this article is not referenced in the Department of Education charts. This information only includes the status of House and Senate activity that has been formally approved to date.)

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