Yesterday, Congress passed a stopgap continuing resolution (CR) to provide temporary funding for the federal government through December 11. The House passed the bill (319-108) on Wednesday, with the Senate following suit (78-22) a day later. This CR will continue current funding levels for Perkins and other education programs until a long-term agreement for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 can be reached.
In July, the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations subcommittee released an FY 2015 funding bill that would increase the Perkins Basic State Grant to $1.123 billion (up from $1.118 billion in FY 2014)! However, neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives will be able to pass a Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill before the end of the fiscal year, so the short-term CR is necessary to keep the federal government running past September 30.
Following the passage of the CR, Congress adjourned until November for the midterm elections. ACTE has called on Congress to complete its work on a full-year appropriations bill that includes an increase in Perkins funding. With so much uncertainty about the future of funding for CTE, this is an important time to reach out to your Members of Congress and let them know that investing in CTE can’t wait!
http://ctepolicywatch.typepad.com/blog/2014/09/congress-passes-short-term-funding-bill-for-perkins.html