Each year, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) lead a “Dear Colleague” letter to be sent to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting robust funding for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins) in the FY 2023 Labor, Health, and Human Services appropriations bill. Committee members view these “Dear Colleague” letters as a critical part of the process because they show the breadth of support a specific program has, making this letter’s success critical. These senators have begun circulating the letter to their Senate colleagues to obtain additional senators to sign on.
The president’s original budget request for FY 23 was disappointing, but only represents a starting point in what will be months of negotiation in Congress. Your advocacy these past few years has been critical to securing increases in Perkins funding; we need your help again to secure an increase for Perkins that is more reflective of the needs of the CTE community than the Administration’s request and ensures that CTE can continue to serve as a critical part of our economic recovery and meet urgent workforce needs.
The current list of signers already includes: Brown, Sherrod; Cantwell, Maria; Cardin, Ben; Carper, Thomas; Casey, Bob; Cortez Masto, Catherine; King, Angus; Markey, Edward J.; Menendez, Robert; Merkley, Jeff; Murphy, Christopher; Ossoff, Jon; Reed, Jack; Schatz, Brian; Van Hollen, Chris; Warnock, Raphael G.; Whitehouse, Sheldon; Wyden, Ron.
ACTION NEEDED:
- CLICK HERE to ask your senator to sign the “Dear Colleague” letter supporting robust funding for Perkins CTE in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill if they are not already on the list! The deadline for sign-ons is COB on Friday, May 20, 2022.
You can send a message directly using the ACTE Action Center. Additionally, if you have a direct contact in your senator's office, such as from a meeting with a staff member during NPS or at another time, we urge you to call or email directly. You can also call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and an operator will connect you to your requested Senate office. Please contact your senator today!
