CTE Caucus Leaders Introduce Resolution Declaring CTE Month

On January 17, 2008, Representatives Brian Baird (D-WA) and Phil English (R-PA), co-chairs of the Congressional CTE Caucus, introduced a House resolution supporting the goals and ideals of national Career and Technical Education Month. The resolution, H. Res. 930, emphasizes the importance of career and technical education in preparing a well-educated and skilled workforce in America, and encourages educators, counselors, and administrators to promote career and technical education as an option to students.

In a related press release, Rep. Baird stated, “In 2006, I joined Congressman English in founding the CTE caucus in hopes of creating awareness about the increased need for career and tech programs that will better prepare and train America’s growing workforce. The month of February will help call attention to the importance of these programs and help students realize the vast career opportunities that lie at their fingertips.”

Visit ACTE’s Web site for more information about CTE Month and the Congressional CTE Caucus.

Busy Agenda Ahead for Congress

The House returned to regular session after the holiday break on January 15, with the Senate following on January 22. Both chambers face a busy few weeks as work for 2008 begins in earnest.

The first major policy event will be the President’s State of the Union address, which will be given on January 28 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. This will be President Bush’s final State of the Union speech, and he is expected to discuss priorities for the remainder of his administration. Be sure to tune in to hear about new initiatives that may impact career and technical education.

The State of the Union will be followed one week later by the release of the Administration’s budget request to Congress on February 4. This budget request will set the stage for congressional funding discussions for Fiscal Year 2009 (2009-2010 school year), and with the recent focus on the state of the economy and an economic stimulus plan, there are likely to be fewer resources proposed for domestic programs like education and workforce development. ACTE will distribute information about the President’s budget proposal as soon as it is available.

In the midst of these events, Members of Congress are also attempting to move forward on a variety of pieces of education-related legislation unfinished in 2007. The first item on the agenda appears to be the Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization. The Senate passed its HEA bill in 2007, but is now waiting on the House of Representatives to complete its work. It is rumored that the House plans to consider its bill, H.R. 4137, early in February, clearing the way for a House and Senate conference to work out differences between the two bills. Visit ACTE’s Web site for more details and the latest updates on the HEA reauthorization process.

House Holds Social Security Hearing

On January 16, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security held a hearing to discuss the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions negatively impact anyone who works in a public sector job and does not pay into Social Security for that job, but anticipates the Social Security benefits from another job they or their spouse held.

The panel at the hearing ranged from Social Security Office personnel to retired school teachers. You can view each panelist’s testimony on the House Ways and Means Web site. ACTE is a member of the Coalition for Active and Retired Employees (CARE), whose mission is to have the WEP and the GPO provisions struck from the Social Security Act..

Visit ACTE’s Web site for more information regarding the Social Security WEP and GPO offsets.