[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 100 (Monday, July 19, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8425-S8426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ENZI (for himself, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Dodd, Mr. 
        Alexander, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. 
        Murray, Mr. Reed, and Mrs. Clinton):
  S. 2686. A bill to amend the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical 
Education Act of 1998 to improve the Act; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Carl D. 
Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2004. The 
Perkins Act is a central part of a combination of federal education and 
training programs that provide opportunities for lifelong learning to 
our workforce. The Perkins Act, together with the Workforce Investment 
Act, the Higher Education Act, and other federal education programs, 
provides the resources that are needed to help adequately prepare 
students of all ages for jobs in high-wage and high-skilled 
occupations. In this technology driven, global economy, everyone is a 
student who must adapt to the changing needs of their jobs and the 
workforce by continuing to pursue an education in their chosen field. 
In turn, Congress must ensure that education and training are connected 
to the needs of business, including small businesses, now and into the 
future as well.
  It is my hope that this body will take the necessary action to 
reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act. 
The Act is an essential part of a combination of federal education and 
training programs that will strengthen our workforce and enable America 
to compete--and succeed--in the global economy.
  At a hearing held on June 24, 2004, before the Health, Education, 
Labor and Pensions Committee, members heard testimonies from leaders in 
career and technical training emphasizing the importance of constant 
training, retraining and upgrading of the skills today's jobs require. 
Many students leaving high school or college and entering the workforce 
find that they are unprepared for life because they lack the skills 
they need to succeed in the workforce. This country created over 1 
million new jobs since January. That's great news. Unfortunately, the 
complaint heard from employers is that there are too few skilled 
workers to meet their needs. We have a strong interest in making sure 
this is corrected. The Perkins Act, along with the Higher Education and 
Workforce Investment Act would provide both strong academic and 
relevant job skill training to promote and sustain the long-term 
competitiveness of this country.
  A unique aspect of the Perkins program that addresses the needs of 
the changing workforce is that it targets funds to both secondary and 
postsecondary schools. This unique aspect also provides a good platform 
from which we can better coordinate workforce preparation policy and 
training with an emphasis on lifelong learning. It is essential to 
facilitate a sequence of career or technical education courses that a 
student can complete before they even get to college, and that they can 
continue at the postsecondary level, whenever they decide to go on. Dr. 
Michael Rush, the Idaho Division of Professional-Technical Education, 
Boise, ID, Administrator, used the example of student Chelsie Lea 
Marier in his testimony to stress this point. He said Chelsie 
took professional-technical classes in welding, auto technology, 
mechanics and power technology at her home high school, Meridian High. 
As a high school senior, she enrolled in an automotive collision repair 
program at the Dehryl Dennis Technology Center. During this time, 
Chelsie took advanced placement academic classes and was President of 
her Skills-USA chapter. She is now enrolled in the auto body program at 
the College of Southern Idaho, and she intends to continue her 
education and become an auto collision forensics investigator. She is 
an excellent example of how linking academic and technical skills 
attainment can lead to success in the workforce.

  In order to strengthen schools programs at both the secondary and 
postsecondary level that meet local workforce needs, provisions in the 
Perkins Act must include the participation of business, including small 
business. In my home state of Wyoming, a career and technical education 
instructor by the name of Ted Schroeder is doing a lot of what I've 
just described. He has met with the local Chamber of Commerce in Rock 
Springs, WY, to identify workforce needs and matched his programs with 
industry standards to meet those needs. When the local business 
community suggested they needed students with computerized accounting 
skills, he took on the task of designing curriculum to help his 
students acquire the skills the businesses had requested. His efforts 
are a good example of what

[[Page S8426]]

Perkins funds are intended to accomplish. It is my hope that we can 
increase the successes of the Perkins program, just like Ted has done 
in the community of Rock Springs.
  I'm pleased to have worked with the Members of the Committee and 
stakeholders on a bipartisan bill that will improve the Perkins Act to 
better meet the needs of students, workers, and business. The 
legislation I am introducing today, with my colleagues Senators Gregg, 
Kennedy, Alexander, Dodd, Jeffords, Bingaman, Murray, Sessions, Reed 
and Clinton, will help strengthen the Perkins program by improving 
accountability, involving businesses in career and technical education 
programs, emphasizing challenging academic instruction, and advancing 
the field of career and technical education by linking those programs 
to advances in industry.
  This legislation would also encourage greater collaboration between 
state agencies responsible for education and workforce activities. This 
legislation requires state agencies to work together on identifying the 
needs of the workforce and designing curriculum to match those needs. 
It also emphasizes the needs of nontraditional students and other 
lifelong learners, who are returning to school for the first time, or 
those who are seeking additional skill training.
  This legislation also continues to emphasize the need to introduce 
women and girls to high skill, high wage jobs. It is important that we 
help expand the vision of our students to ensure they consider all the 
options that are available to them, not just the ones that fit general, 
and sometimes erroneous, conceptions.
  I hope our bipartisan efforts will continue to produce results as we 
move the bill through the Senate and into Conference. I do not wish to 
see another piece of bipartisan legislation lost in the legislative 
limbo of election year politics. An important step that the Senate must 
take is to appoint conferees to finish the reauthorization of the 
Workforce Investment Act. That program offers the resources that are 
needed to help adequately prepare more than 900,000 unemployed workers 
find work each year. It passed the Senate unanimously, both in 
Committee and the floor. Conferees must now be appointed before the 
August recess. It we are going to help workers in this country, we must 
send this important legislation to Conference so that it will 
ultimately reach the President and be signed into law.
  I cannot stress enough the importance of federal initiatives like the 
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act and the 
Workforce Investment Act to keep American workers and businesses 
competitive. The Perkins Act can help close the gap that threatens 
America's long-term competitiveness. It is essential that we take 
advantage of the opportunity we have during this reauthorization 
process to improve the link between education and relevant academic and 
skills preparation. By so doing, we will create a pathway to prosperity 
for American workers and businesses alike, that both will make good use 
of for years to come.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is a privilege to join my colleagues, 
Senators Gregg, Enzi, Dodd, Jeffords, Bingaman, Murray, Reed and 
Clinton in introducing the bipartisan reauthorization of the Carl 
Perkins Vocational Education Act. We have worked closely with leaders 
of the secondary and post-secondary vocational education community to 
make important improvements in this important program in current law. 
Among the key issues we addressed are the more effective integration of 
academic and technical education, the use of funds for secondary and 
post-secondary programs, the Tech Prep Programs that form the bridge 
between the high school and college training programs, and the need for 
students to have access to good information about emerging and existing 
job opportunities in high-wage, high-skill and high-demand careers.
  Since passage of the original Smith-Hughes Act in 1917, the Federal 
Government has recognized the importance of good preparation for 
technical occupations. Over the years, we have made a series of 
revisions in the law to reflect the growing importance of combining 
academic learning with technical skill learning in order to meet the 
changing needs of American business and industry.
  This bill is an example of how we can work well together when we 
focus on good policy. I look forward to action on this bill in our 
Labor Committee before the recess, and to its enactment into law this 
year.
                                 ______