[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 102 (Friday, July 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 250, CARL D. 
     PERKINS CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. JOHN F. TIERNEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 27, 2006

  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the conference 
report for the Perkins vocational education program.
  I am pleased to see that Tech Prep was maintained as a separate 
authorization from the state grants program.
  Tech Prep is a program of study which begins in high school, 
continues at a postsecondary institution and culminates in an associate 
degree, two-year certificate, apprenticeship, or further postsecondary 
study in a career and technical field.
  Tech Prep in my home state of Massachusetts serves 12,865 secondary 
school students and 3,450 post-secondary students. One hundred and 
forty secondary schools, 45 post-secondary institutions and 180 
business and industry members partner together to help provide a smooth 
transition from secondary school to post-secondary education.
  These are not idle statistics but real students who may transition 
into high-skill, high-wage technical fields for which there is an 
escalating labor market demand. These academically and technically 
prepared graduates of Tech Prep programs are critical to the economic 
growth, productivity and internal competitiveness of the United States.
  Regrettably, the House bill eliminated the separate funding stream 
for Tech Prep programs and merged the funding into the Basic State 
Grant. Such a move could have led to a loss of federal funding for--and 
reduction of congressional focus on--this important program.
  My democratic colleague Ron Kind and I sought to restore and retain 
the integrity of Tech Prep because we--and a number of concerned 
education groups--feared that the language in the House version would 
have led to a loss of funds for Perkins overall and could have impacted 
existing Tech Prep partnerships and innovation in career and technical 
education.
  I am pleased that the conference report rejects the House bill's 
position and maintains Tech Prep as a separate title in the law.
  I am also pleased that the Congress has stood up to the 
Administration and soundly rejected the President's proposal to 
eliminate vocational education.
  I would like to thank Chairman McKeon, Ranking Member Miller, as well 
as Senator Enzi and Senator Kennedy for their cooperative work on this 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill before us today. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting its passage.

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