This week in Washington was a quiet one for CTE-related items. While the House was in recess, lawmakers were focused on announcing their first few committee hearings, determining further committee assignments, and holding conversations about the debt limit and potential environmental and tax legislation. The Senate is also out of session, returning Monday, January 23. We expect its focus to be on assigning senators to committees and announcing the first few hearings of the 118th Congress when it returns. As Washington kicks into high gear during the next few weeks and months, it will be a busy time for CTE advocates, so stay tuned for more news and resources to come! Here are your key updates this week:

• House Determines Committee Balances, Names Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs for the 118th Congress: On January 16, House Republican Steering Committee leaders named their picks to join several top House committees, informally known as “A-list” committees. A list of Members joining the A-list committees can be found here. House Appropriations subcommittee chairs, known as the “cardinals,” were also named. Read more here.

• Department of Education Awards Grants to Support Postsecondary Students: Secretary Cardona has announced 38 grant awards totaling over $30 million to colleges and universities from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), which aims to improve higher education opportunities and outcomes for students from underrepresented communities. The grants will support postsecondary institutions, including many community and technical colleges, in advancing innovative and evidence-based strategies to better support their students, address students' basic needs, launch open textbook programs, improve campus resources for veterans and create opportunities for violence-impacted youth. Read more about the awards here.

• Department of Education Awards Grants to High-Need Communities: The Department of Education has announced awards totaling more than $35 million for the Promise Neighborhoods and Project Prevent grant programs. Promise Neighborhoods grants provide coordinated support services and programs to students from low-income backgrounds at every stage of their education from early childhood through their careers. For fiscal year 2022, four new grants totaling $23 million will focus on the implementation of services in neighborhoods that have not yet received support through the program. Read more about the grants here.

• Department of Education Releases Candidates for 2023 Presidential Scholars: The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program honors some of the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors, including those chosen as candidates for Presidential Scholar in CTE. View the complete list here.

On January 16, House Republican Steering Committee leaders named their picks to join several top House committees, informally known as “A-list” committees. These include the House Appropriations, Energy and Commerce, Financial Services and Ways and Means Committees. The ratios of Democratic to Republican members for each committee were agreed upon by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

A list of Members joining the A-list committees can be found here.

House Appropriations subcommittee chairs, known as the “cardinals,” were also named.

Most notable for CTE stakeholders, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) was named as the chair of the Labor-Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, which has appropriations jurisdiction over education and workforce development programs through the Departments of Education and Labor. Rep. Aderholt replaces Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) as the lead Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee Republican. You can view a full list of appropriations cardinals here.

The first full week of the 118th Congress has wrapped up. With Members of Congress now sworn in, focus is shifting to organizing committees and beginning work on legislation. In particular, there is already a lot of conversation over fiscal year 2024 funding levels and the debt ceiling. The Senate remains out of session until January 23, and the House will return to Washington on Monday, January 16.

ACTE will soon publish a resource on engaging in advocacy with freshmen Members of Congress. As the 118th Congress is getting underway, it is an important time for CTE advocates to begin getting to know these new members and think about developing relationships with them!

• Updated: Investing in CTE Yields Big Returns: ACTE has updated its fact sheet about the economic benefits that CTE programs have for learners and communities across the country. The Investing in CTE map shows just a sampling of CTE's financial impacts across different states and localities. View the graphic here.

• House Republicans Advance Rules, Committee Chairs: After Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was finally elected Speaker of the House early last Saturday morning, the new Republican majority in the House turned to other organizing activities necessary for the 118th Congress. Read more here.

• House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans Begin Oversight: New House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has begun several promised oversight activities. Read her letter to Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona here.

• New Proposed Income-Driven Student Loan Repayment Plan: The Department of Education has released a proposal to reform the existing income-driven student loan repayment plan. The plan would amend the terms of the Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) plan to offer $0 monthly payments for any individual borrower who makes less than roughly $30,600 annually and any borrower in a family of four who makes less than about $62,400. The regulations would also cut in half monthly payments on undergraduate loans for borrowers who do not otherwise have a $0 payment in this plan. The proposed regulations would also ensure that borrowers stop seeing their balances grow due to the accumulation of unpaid interest after making their monthly payments.

• Statement from Senate Appropriations Leaders on Appropriations Bills: Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), the Senate Appropriations Committee’s new Chair and Ranking Member, issued a joint statement on their bipartisan commitment to funding the government and passing the Senate’s appropriations bills through regular order. Read the full statement here.

• Department of Labor Awards Grants to Support Justice-Involved Young People: The Department of Labor has announced the award of $33 million in Growth Opportunities grants to programs in 11 states. Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, the second round of grants will enable 13 organizations to help justice-involved young people develop leadership skills, offer mentorship and provide education, training and paid work experiences.

Prior to the end of the 117th Congress, language similar to the Military Spouse Licensing Relief Act was passed via the Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022, H.R. 7939, and signed into law on January 5. The new law will require states and territories to recognize professional licenses, such as teaching licenses, for the spouses of active-duty military personnel who have been relocated to a new base. This is a significant victory for CTE educators, programs and learners near military bases who are impacted by teacher shortages.  

Rather than having to restart the licensure process, which may dissuade a teacher from remaining in the profession, they can now present their existing license and military orders. They must be in good standing with the issuing licensing authority and have actively used the license within the prior two years. In the case that a state or territory already has an interstate licensure compact in place, the teacher must abide by the requirements set by the compact, where applicable.  

This is an important step in ensuring that teachers can remain in the classroom no matter where they move. ACTE also supports a broader effort, the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, which aims to have all states and territories recognize out-of-state teacher licenses without placing unnecessary burden on the licensee. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these efforts, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Zach Curtis (zcurtis@acteonline.org). 

ACTE has updated its fact sheet about the economic benefits that CTE programs have for learners and communities across the country. The Investing in CTE map shows just a sampling of CTE's financial impacts across different states and localities:

• Five years after earning a CTE credential in Ohio, on average, individuals receive a more than 220% return on investment.
• Iowa Community College alumni employed in the Iowa workforce generate $4.8 billion in added income for the state’s economy.
• Secondary CTE concentrators in Massachusetts, on average, make $3,359 more in annual earnings seven years after graduating high school than non-CTE concentrators.

Please share this infographic, along with ACTE's other fact sheets, with fellow CTE advocates, the media, policymakers, and students and families to communicate the many benefits of CTE.

After Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was finally elected Speaker of the House early Saturday morning, the new Republican majority in the House turned to other organizing activities necessary for the 118th Congress. First, Republicans approved a rules package that will govern the House of Representatives this Congress. These rules included the concessions that Speaker McCarthy made in order to receive enough votes from conservative Republicans. The rules package, which passed along party lines, makes many significant changes to House procedure, including:  

• A single Member can now call a “motion to vacate,” which calls a vote to oust the Speaker of the House.  
• All bills must be limited to a single subject with tight restrictions on overriding this requirement, which could make it harder to combine bills or attach smaller bills to larger legislation.  

Agreements made by Republicans outside the rules package could threaten education funding, including the Perkins Basic State Grant, in fiscal year (FY) 2024. Speaker McCarthy promised to write FY 2024 appropriations bills at no more than the overall FY 2022 funding level, with most negotiators noting that these cuts will come from non-defense spending rather than defense discretionary funding. If this does occur, this would mean a total of $130 billion, or 8%, would be cut from the federal budget, endangering all education and workforce programs.   

In addition, Republican leaders have also moved forward on selecting committee leaders for the 118th Congress. On January 9, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) was selected by the Republican Steering Committee to lead the now-renamed House Education and Workforce Committee. Foxx, who has served both as ranking member and chair of the committee, was selected over Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), who also formally ran for the position.  

Rep. Foxx says that she will heavily focus on oversight over President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan and China’s influence on college campuses. Foxx will also continue her work on reforming the student loan system, as proposed in the REAL Reforms Act which was introduced last year. Further, she has vowed to advance legislation that would require public disclosure of school curricula, budgets and spending, mandate parental access to teachers and school boards, regulate issues pertaining to transgender students and counteract teachers’ unions.  

The Republican Steering Committee also selected Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) to become chairman of the House Small Business Committee, which significantly focused on CTE in the 117th Congress. Williams has worked on CTE legislation during his career, including advancing the Supporting Small Business and Career and Technical Education Act, which passed the House last year. ACTE publicly endorsed this bill.  

For any questions regarding legislation in the 118th Congress or suggestions for federal policy solutions to CTE issues, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Zach Curtis (zcurts@acteonlien.org).  

As we begin the new year, the bulk of the focus has been on the vote for Speaker of the House. The swearing-in progress for House Members and other proceedings of the 118th Congress in the House were temporarily halted until Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was finally elected speaker early Saturday morning.

The U.S. Senate did return to Washington on January 3 to swear in its new members, but Senate now remains out of session until January 23. As we await more news from Washington, here are some key updates:

• Election Watch: Introducing the New Senators-elect: In the 118th Congress, seven new senators-elect will take office. While we will learn more about their education and workforce development priorities as the 118th Congress kicks off, several of the senators-elect have discussed CTE-related issues and priorities in their campaigns. To help CTE advocates prepare to meet these new senators, here is a preview of their public statements and/or plans for education as they begin their service.

• Reflecting on the Accomplishments of Senator Portman and Representative Langevin: Former Congressional CTE Caucus co-chairs Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) have departed from their offices to begin their well-earned retirement. The two public servants have dedicated large parts of their career to advancing the needs of CTE learners, educators and systems, earning them each an ACTE Lifetime Achievement Award this year. Learn more about their accomplishments here.

• 2022 Year-in-Review Legislative Update: As the new 118th Congress organizes, ACTE’s Public Policy team looks back at 2022 and the final year of the 117th Congress with a summary of CTE-related federal policy activities in 2022, and a preview of what to expect in 2023. Read the update here.

• Military Spouse Licensing Relief Act Signed into Law: The Military Spouse Licensing Relief Act – endorsed by ACTE – was included in H.R. 7939, the Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022. This bill passed both chambers and was signed into law in December 2022. This is a significant victory for CTE teachers and military families. Read ACTE’s statement endorsing the bill here.

• Committee Leadership Update: Sen. Bernie Sanders has been informally announced as the new Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and it is still expected that Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) will serve as Ranking Member of the HELP Committee.