SENATORS RALLYING TO SUPPORT PERKINS
Senators Burns (R-MT), Clinton (D-NY), Collins (R-ME) and Durbin (D-IL) are circulating a ‘dear colleague’ letter to their colleagues asking for their support in protesting the President’s request for the elimination of funding for vocational technical education. Once the signatures are collected, the letter will be sent to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee.
Impact on Occupational and Employment Information
Determining funding is a two-step process. First, the Budget Committee sets funding ceilings for broad functions. The funding ceilings for each functional area are transmitted to the Appropriations Committee to divide among individual programs. If you think of the entire federal budget as a pie, Occupational and Employment Information and other education programs fall under a slice called Function 500. The larger the Function 500 piece of pie is, the more funding that can be provided to specific programs such as vocational education, job training and health care. Conversely, the smaller the slice of pie, the less money there will be for individual programs.
The President’s budget that was released in January would cut Function 500 programs by nearly $5 billion. Additionally, the budget also contains a specific recommendation for the elimination of vocational-technical education including Occupational and Employment Information. While not binding, it does send a clear message to the Republican Leadership that education, workforce development and human service programs are not a priority for this Administration.
The bi-partisan dear colleague letter would counteract that message by clearly stating the vocational-technical education IS a priority for the Senate and that the Budget Committee should consider it a priority when creating funding limits for Function 500.
The fact that this effort is bi-partisan is extremely important! However, we need to get every Senator possible to sign on to this letter.
Be a Five Minute Advocate:
Please take the following four steps to help ensure funding for vocational-technical education.
1. Contact your senators (other than Burns, Collins, Durbin and Clinton) this week.
Call and ask to speak to the staffer who handles funding for vocational education.
Hagel--202.224.4224 Nelson--202.224.6551
Or fax a letter to the senator.
Hagel--202.224.5214 Nelson--202.228.0012
Or send an email.
Hagel
http://hagel.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
Nelson
http://bennelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
2. Let the Senator know that you are a constituent and that you are extremely concerned about the President’s recommended cuts to education and workforce development programs, especially vocational-technical education (Perkins).
3. Explain what is funded in your district with the monies from the Perkins Vocational-Technical Education Act and that it is imperative that the Budget Committee preserve funding for this critical program.
4. Request that the Senator sign on to the “Dear Colleague” letter in support of vocational-technical education.
For your convenience, you can download a copy of the Burns-Clinton-Collins-Durbin dear colleague letter and the solicitation letter being sent to the Senators asking for their support.
The Senators listen to the input from constituents and specific examples of the impact of funding changes are very helpful in getting support. Five to ten contacts tends to get the Senators' attention; however, fifteen or more contacts tend to get response and action.
I have attached copies of the Dear Colleague letter that is being circulated and a sample of the letter that Senators Hagel and Nelson can send to the Senate Budget Committee Chairs.
If you have any questions, please call or email and I will try to answer your questions. Schools budgets are being squeezed from all levels of government; hopefully we can get some changes in the squeeze at the Federal level.