ACTE Legislative Alert: Ask Your Representative to Sign Perkins Funding Letter and Your Senators to Oppose Budget Cuts

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March 13, 2006

What: Last Thursday, Reps. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), and John Spratt (D-SC) started circulating a bi-partisan “Dear Colleague” letter to their fellow Representatives urging their colleagues to join them on a letter in support of preserving funds for Perkins programs. This letter will be sent to Representatives Ralph Regula (R-OH) and David Obey (D-WI) who are Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the House Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education Appropriations Subcommittee. This Tuesday (March 14) is the deadline for signatures. So far 56 Representatives have signed on (see names below), about half the number that signed on last year. It is critical that a large number of Members sign the letter to show the strong congressional support for Perkins and career and technical education (CTE).

Action Needed: Please call your Representative today and:

(If your Representative has not signed the “Dear Colleague” letter.) Urge them to sign the Velazquez/Boehlert/Spratt “Dear Colleague” letter supporting funding for Perkins programs.
(If he or she has signed the “Dear Colleague” letter.) Thank them for their support and ask what information you can provide to help them make the case for the need to maintain CTE funding.
Inform them how Perkins is working well in your community. Tell them that CTE makes positive investments in America’s future by providing relevant learning experiences for students at both the secondary and postsecondary levels, effective and proven links to skills-building and enhanced academic opportunities and improved employment outcomes; and that employers in your local area continue to need well-trained workers with good skills to compete in the 21st century economy.

The following Representatives have already signed on the letter: Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Barrow (D-GA), Howard Berman (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rick Boucher (D-VA), Robert Brady (D-PA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Ben Chandler (D-KY), Donna Christensen (D-VI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Jim Davis (D-FL), Lincoln Davis (D-TN), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), John Dingell (D-MI), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Bob Etheridge (D-NC), Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Barney Frank (D-MA), Mark Green (R-WI), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Tim Holden (D-PA), Timothy Johnson (R-IL), Dale Kildee (D-MI), Ron Kind (D-WI), Randy Kuhl (R-NY), Jim Leach (R-IA), Sander Levin (D-MI), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jim Marshall (D-GA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Jim McDermott (D-WA), James McGovern (D-MA), John McHugh (R-NY), Michael McNulty (D-NY), Michael Michaud (D-ME), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Major Owens (D-NY), Ron Paul (R-TX), Mike Ross (D-AR), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Robert Scott (D-VA), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Adam Smith (D-WA), Bart Stupak (D-MI), Mark Udall (D-CO), David Wu (D-OR), and Don Young (R-AK). For more information on federal funding for CTE, and on the recent Senate Dear Colleague, please visit http://www.acteonline.org/policy/legislative_issues/funding.cfm. A final copy of the Senate Dear Colleague letter can be found here http://www.acteonline.org/policy/legislative_issues/upload/Senate_DearColleague_FY07.pdf.

The Threat: This week, the full Senate is scheduled to debate its version of the FY 2007 budget resolution, with the House likely to take action in late March or early April. While the bill that was passed by the Senate Budget Committee last week by a 11-10 party-line vote assumes $1.5 billion more for the Department of Education over what the President requested, the overall amount assumed for education and employment and training (function 500) in FY 2007 ($76.1 billion) is actually $3.8 billion less than the $79.9 billion provided in FY 2006.

The budget resolution sets the total dollars to be available for all the services funded by the federal government. While the budget resolution does not make decisions about individual programs, if the total is set too low, the budget resolution will force appropriators to cut programs in order to meet the amount budgeted under the budget resolution.

Action Needed: It is extremely important to have your state members tell their Senators not to set the funding totals so low that harmful cuts are inevitable. If Congress fails to increase the total amount budgeted for education, employment and training, and social services, appropriators will have no choice but to cut many key programs in order to meet the funding levels outlined under the budget resolution.

As part of a broad national effort to increase funds available for these critical programs, the national Coalition for Human Needs is sponsoring budget call in days (Tuesday and Wednesday THIS WEEK) to ensure that Senators hear from their constituents around the country in a coordinated effort.

What To Do: Tomorrow and Wednesday (March 14-15), please dial 1 (800) 459-1887 to be connected to both your Senators.

Urge your Senators to:

Oppose any budget resolution that will force harmful cuts in education.
Support amendments (Sens. Harkin and Specter are likely to co-sponsor such an amendment) that would increase FY 2007 funding for education, training, employment and social services.
Support efforts to increase the overall allocation for the Labor, HHS, Education subcommittee. (This subcommittee handles funding for the Perkins program).

Please encourage others in your state to call their Senators as well.