[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16132-16137]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




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

  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 946, I call up 
the conference report to accompany the Senate bill (S. 250) to amend 
the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 to 
improve the Act.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 946, the 
conference report is considered read.
  (For conference report and statement, see proceedings of the House of 
July 25, 2006, at page H5773.)
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) 
and the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) each will control 
30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon).


                             General Leave

  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the conference report to accompany S. 250.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this conference report and ask my 
colleagues to join me in doing the same. The Carl D. Perkins Career and 
Technical Education Improvement Act will strengthen and improve career 
and technical education to help ensure academic success for students, 
whether they are pursuing postsecondary education or other venues.
  Let me begin by recognizing Education Reform Subcommittee Chairman 
Castle and thanking him for his hard work and commitment to improving 
educational opportunities for students participating in career and 
technical education.
  In January of 2005, he and our committee's former chairman, Majority 
Leader Boehner, introduced a bipartisan bill that was overwhelmingly 
backed by the House. I commend him for his leadership in crafting that 
reform legislation and for reaching across the aisle in the process. It 
is because of his work then that we are presenting such a strong 
conference report to the House today.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank my committee's senior 
Democrat, Mr. George Miller, for his work and to recognize and thank 
our additional House conferees, Mr. Souder, Mr. Osborne, Mrs. Musgrave, 
Ms. Woolsey, and Mr. Kind. Their efforts over the past year have made 
this conference report a reality.
  Career and technical education is fundamental to our efforts to 
improve academic achievement at all levels so our Nation remains 
competitive in the face of a rapidly changing global economy. Each 
year, millions of students enrich their secondary and postsecondary 
educational opportunities through participation in career and technical 
education.
  Nearly all students, about 97 percent in fact, leave public high 
school having taken some career and technical education. Furthermore, 
nearly half of all high school students and one-third of college 
students are involved in career and technical programs as a major part 
of their studies.
  In short, it is a priority for millions and this conference report 
honors our commitment to them. The conference report before us will 
help States better utilize Federal funds for secondary and 
postsecondary career education programs, increase accountability, and 
emphasize student achievement and strengthen opportunities for 
coordination between secondary and postsecondary career and technical 
education.
  In 1998, reforms made to the Perkins Act were aimed at increasing the 
focus on both technical skills and rigorous academic knowledge and 
helped us move further away from the school-to-work model. Our goal in 
this Congress was to build on that success.
  Our principles at the outset of this reauthorization effort were 
straightforward, and I am proud to say that more than a year later, 
they are unchanged. The pillars of this conference report are: we're 
maintaining a focus on rigorous student academic and technical 
achievement; we're protecting the role of States and local communities 
and asking for results in exchange for the money we are already 
spending at the Federal level; and we are seeking more opportunities 
for coordination between secondary and postsecondary career and 
technical education.
  There are growing concerns across the country about the performance 
level of our high schools. The fundamental question remains, Are we 
preparing our young people to succeed in a globally competitive world? 
The legislation before us today helps us address that question, and 
speaks to the new realities of a changing economy and workplace.
  Mr. Speaker, this conference report is a solid piece of reform 
legislation that is worthy of our support. I encourage my colleagues to 
join me in supporting it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Woolsey) will control the time of the gentleman from 
California (Mr. George Miller).
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise also in support of this conference report. It has 
been more than a year since we passed H.R. 366, the Carl D. Perkins 
Career and Technical Education Act. I am certain people were actually 
starting to think that this day would never come. But here we are, and 
we are here in a bipartisan posture.
  You see, Mr. Speaker, miracles can happen. Then-Chairman Boehner and 
now-Chairman McKeon and Subcommittee Chairman Castle need to be thanked 
and honored for getting us this far. But most importantly to me, I want 
to thank the hard work of the committee ranking member, Congressman 
George Miller.

[[Page 16133]]

  Having voted for H.R. 366, which passed the House almost unanimously, 
I believe that today's conference report significantly improves the 
bill.

                              {time}  1245

  Particularly pleasing is that this bill not only has expanded math, 
science, and technical programs, it also has continued and strengthened 
the Perkins Act commitment to preparing women and men for occupations 
that are nontraditional to them, to ensuring access to career and 
technical education for special populations who face unique challenges, 
and to preparing those students for careers that will lead them to 
self-sufficiency.
  In this competitive global economy, Mr. Speaker, we can't afford to 
waste the potential of any of our people, so these provisions will help 
to ensure that this does not happen.
  When this bill was in committee, I offered an amendment to ensure 
that States had sufficient administrative funding to carry out their 
increased responsibility under the bill. My amendment was not included 
in the House bill, but it is in the conference report.
  Finally, the conference report improves accountability for and 
integration of strong academic measures and programs for career and 
technical education. It is important, however, to note that although 
Congress has rejected the President's proposals to eliminate career and 
technical education, we must do more. We need to provide our schools 
with the resources they need to carry out these programs. That means we 
need to increase funding for the Perkins Act while keeping our promises 
to fully funding the No Child Left Behind Act, because when it comes to 
no child left behind, this President and this Congress has fallen $55 
billion short.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Delaware (Mr. Castle) will control the time of the gentleman from 
California (Mr. McKeon).
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 4 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, it obviously gives me great pleasure to be here today 
and to rise in support of the conference report to the Carl D. Perkins 
Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006. I want to thank 
the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) for his leadership in 
getting us to this end point, and the majority leader who is no longer 
head of the committee (Mr. Boehner) for his work, the gentleman and 
gentlewoman from California both present here right now, Mr. Miller and 
Ms. Woolsey, for their bipartisan spirit, and our colleagues in the 
other body. I am blessed to be on a couple of committees where there is 
bipartisan spirit at least some of the time, and we are able to get a 
few things done and this is one of them.
  The Perkins Act aims to prepare youth and adults for the future by 
building their academic and technical skills in preparation for 
postsecondary education and/or employment. The bill we are considering 
today enhances Perkins by ensuring both secondary and post-secondary 
students participating in the program are acquiring rigorous academic 
and technical skills, and will have the opportunity to transition into 
further education and/or successful employment.
  The Perkins Act governs widely supported programs of both the 
secondary and postsecondary level. For example, nearly all high school 
students complete at least one vocational education course, and 
approximately 26 percent of students are considered vocational 
concentrators, those students who focus on a single occupational area. 
In my home State of Delaware, we have five career and technical high 
schools that enroll a total of 5,500 of the 29,500 total high school 
students. At the postsecondary level, the Perkins Act supports a broad 
array of options primarily at the community college level, including 
Delaware Technical & Community College.
  In the 1999-2000 school year, over 50 percent of all students 
enrolled at the less than 4-year postsecondary level reported that they 
were majoring in vocational areas.
  Today's conference report seeks to build upon reforms made in past 
reauthorizations, and seeks to enhance this popular program to ensure 
its success in years to come. The legislation before us today makes 
significant reforms to academic achievement and accountability to 
ensure students have the skills necessary to enter the workforce or 
continue to an institution of higher learning.
  As I mentioned, there are five career and technical high schools in 
Delaware. While all these schools met adequately yearly progress under 
the No Child Left Behind Act, there is more to be done in academic 
achievement in these schools and schools across the country. Today, we 
will improve vocational and technical education by increasing the focus 
on academics in conjunction with the skill attainment that is incumbent 
of the program.
  One of the unique attributes of vocational and technical education 
programs is their ability to show students a path that could end in a 
certificate, credential, employment, military, or postsecondary 
education. The Tech-Prep program within the Perkins Act is intended to 
focus on a well-defined link between high school and at least 2 years 
of postsecondary education. Research has shown, however, that funds are 
rarely, if ever, used to meet this goal. Rather, funds are often used 
for purposes within the larger vocational and technical education 
program. Therefore, the conference agreement revises requirements of 
the program in order to ensure articulation agreements between 
secondary and postsecondary institutions are, in fact, being 
implemented.
  Along this same track, we include a new requirement for State 
development of career and technical programs of study for career and 
technical program areas. These sequences, of course, will incorporate a 
nonduplicative progression of both secondary and postsecondary elements 
which will include both academic and vocational and technical content. 
Local recipients at both the secondary and postsecondary level would 
adopt at least one model sequence of courses as developed by the State. 
I believe this will also help drive program improvements by ensuring 
that States clarify the progression of academic and vocational 
technical courses needed for the postsecondary education, training, or 
employment of a students choice.
  It is clear that we are making some significant and positive changes 
for the schools and students impacted by this program. One of the 
biggest changes that I think we are making is for Congress to finally 
make the switch from vocational and technical education to career and 
technical education. In my opinion, this was an important statement for 
the Congress to make.
  While the President has proposed another avenue for high school 
reform in the Perkins Act, I believe strongly that the reforms we 
consider today go a long way in driving program improvement and 
ultimate success for students across the country. The dialogue 
surrounding high school reform is important and is happening in 
earnest. I trust that the conference agreement will complement these 
efforts as a result of the changes in the bill. I believe it will help 
States, community colleges, and other postsecondary education 
institutions and local educational agencies to better meet the needs of 
students participating in career and technical education. I urge my 
colleagues to support this report so we may send this bill to the 
President for his signature.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from California, the ranking member of this committee 
(Mr. George Miller).
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the 
gentlewoman for yielding and also thank her for all of her work on this 
legislation, along with Chairman Boehner and Chairman McKeon and 
Chairman Castle. And, of course, with the diligent work of our staffs 
on both sides of the aisle, I think we have crafted a measure that 
maintains the integrity

[[Page 16134]]

of the program while responding to the changes in the career and the 
technical education programs across the country.
  While the President has chosen to put forward a proposal to dismantle 
this critical program, we saw an opportunity to make high school matter 
for many young people, offer college students pathways into productive 
employment, and new hope for displaced homemakers and workers 
reentering the workforce.
  The conference report before us signals that we will not retreat on 
our investment in career education and training. The global economy 
demands a high skilled workforce, and the Perkins Act, has been 
instrumental in building today's workforce and the workforce of the 
future.
  Today, these programs are changing in the face of secondary and 
postsecondary education, and they equip America's workforce with the 
skills they need to compete in a global economy. More important, career 
tech programs acknowledge that we must be preparing students and adults 
for high wage, high skill jobs that exist in this new economy. To do 
this, however, we need a system that is challenging and academically 
sound and a system expands the secondary and postsecondary programs, 
offering students a pathway toward those kinds of careers.
  I am pleased that the conference agreement mirrors the 
recommendations we have heard, that we must pay more attention to math 
and science and technology to increase our competitiveness. We also 
know that this is what the high paying jobs require, with these 
advanced skills.
  The conference agreement continues the Tech-Prep program. Tech-Prep 
has been a model of career and technical education with demonstrated 
outcomes. In California, students, teachers, and administrators benefit 
from the connections made between secondary and postsecondary programs, 
and career and technical programs. Successful Tech-Prep programs offer 
a challenging and rigorous coursework at the high school level that is 
coordinated with postsecondary career technical programs. And Tech-Prep 
students obtain better paying jobs because they have the academic and 
technical credentials that businesses want for their workforce.
  We made important strides in the area of professional development. 
This conference agreement strengthens the instructional connection 
between academic and career technical programs. We heard from numerous 
teachers that successful career tech programs allow academic and 
vocational teachers to develop curriculums together to teach together 
so that students can apply the academic content to the real world 
context.
  This conference agreement contains new measures of accountability for 
career and technical education systems. I do not doubt that some 
programs may have difficulties in meeting this new system. However, 
there have been too many programs that have chosen the status quo, to 
the detriment of our workforce competitiveness. Successful career and 
technical education programs produce students that outperform their 
counterparts and make higher wages. We must demand that all programs 
work toward this same goal. The accountability systems move us in that 
direction.
  I want to point out two other areas where the conference agreement 
improves upon the House passed bill: Graduation and career plans. Under 
the agreement, local programs may use Perkins funds to create 
graduation and career plans for students. These plans can be tools for 
students and parents to help focus the student on the student's future 
goals, making sure that the actions that we take will lead to the 
outcome they desire. And, also, the special populations and 
nontraditional careers.
  The conference agreement also strengthens the provisions, and the 
gentlewoman from California has been a hawk on these issues for her 
entire career on this committee, and that is to improve the 
opportunities for women and men to gain access to nontraditional 
careers, and ensures that displaced homemakers and individuals with 
disabilities have access to career and technical education. In this 
global economy, we can't afford to waste the potential of any of our 
people, and these provisions will help ensure that that doesn't happen.
  Mr. Chairman, the Perkins Act is a critical workforce development 
tool, and the bill before us represents a sound career and technical 
education policy.
  I want to thank our staff again for their efforts in bringing this 
conference agreement together, and I look forward to a quick passage of 
this conference report. And I also want to comment that this continues 
a long tradition in this committee where we have been able to work on a 
bipartisan basis on the most critical education issues confronting this 
country, both in the development of high performing students and 
professional individuals and high performing career opportunities for 
those individuals, and I want to thank all of my colleagues for their 
efforts on this legislation and urge a passage of this conference 
report.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), who is the chairman of the 
appropriations subcommittee that handles education funding and is 
probably as interested in education as anyone in this building.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I just want to congratulate the Members, my 
colleagues, and the staff for doing a terrific job. I am very much 
aware of this topic. We have a technical school in my district (Stark 
State College) of approximately 8,000 students with a placement rate of 
about 96 percent, and they are working with the high schools; they are 
doing what you are envisioning in this conference report.
  To me, this is one of the most important pieces of legislation that 
will come out of this session, because education is the future and this 
legislation gives an opportunity and expands the horizons of many 
students that otherwise would not get that chance. I do have to say 
that one of the most grievous things to me is the dropout rate in this 
country. An average of thirty-two percent of our students nationwide do 
not finish high school. Part of it is because they are bored, part of 
it is because they don't learn to read, part of it is a whole lot of 
different things. They are attracted to get out early and get some kind 
of a job and buy a car or whatever.
  This legislation will help to reduce the dropout rate. If the schools 
across this country will work out the programs that are envisioned in 
this report, I think our schools will make giant strides in reducing 
dropouts, because it will allow students at the high school to get a 
vision of what can be achieved, what they can do in technical education 
and what they can do in employment opportunities and what a better 
future they can have. This should be billed as a hope bill, it is a 
future bill.
  Again, I congratulate my colleagues and the staff for constructing a 
terrific piece of legislation, certainly it will mean a lot to the 
future of this Nation. If you read Tom Friedman's book ``The World is 
Flat,'' you realize how important it is as a Nation that we give 
educational opportunity to everybody that we utilize the resources of 
all our people.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Souder), another member of the committee who is always 
fighting for children in a whole variety of ways, be it dealing with 
drugs and those things, or education itself.

                              {time}  1300

  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman McKeon for his 
leadership and Mr. Miller for his leadership in working in a bipartisan 
effort with this.
  But I want to say, first off, that it affirms what career and 
technical educational programs in my district are already doing. They 
are ensuring that all current technical education programs include 
rigorous and challenging academic courses; offer career and technical 
programs of study known as career majors; offer dual enrollment in 
secondary and postsecondary courses;

[[Page 16135]]

and permit private and home school students to participate in career 
and technical education programs. Additionally, I am pleased that the 
bill allows for increased funding flexibility at the State level, as 
well as the promotion of State incentive grants to programs with 
exemplary performance.
  It is a little unusual in the sense I represent a district that still 
makes things. In my congressional district, we have the highest percent 
manufacturing left in America as far as what people do. Other people 
can go on vacation in other places. They can get a service job in other 
places, run credit card companies in other places; but we still make 
things.
  Vocational education, if it is going to compete, I remember years 
ago, because I am old now, in the 1960s, my father at our small retail 
store always took students who they were afraid were going to drop out 
and started trying to teach them different crafts and trades and get 
them into the workforce.
  I know that when I was a student reporter in college and did some 
stories on local high schools even out in the ag communities, Woodland 
High School had a big area where they had a combine and other things so 
kids could get experience working in farming.
  But we are at a whole other technical level. Even at my rural high 
schools in Angola, Indiana, a small high school, they have worked with 
TriState College to hook up an ethernet-type of Internet connection so 
they can take courses after school, to get courses after school to work 
with the plastics industry, the largest employer in my district, so 
kids can go out and learn technical skills.
  If they are going to compete with China, if they are going to compete 
with India, if they are going to compete worldwide, they are not going 
to have the old things where my grandpa did it this way and my great-
grandpa did it this way, and I am going to have pensions and health 
care forever. It is going to be a lot more competitive. It is going to 
take constant cross-training for advanced skills, for basic entry 
skills, and basic entry things in these manufacturing companies in my 
district.
  If they cannot figure out how to work a computer, if they cannot 
figure out how to multitask, if they cannot figure out how to be 
flexible when a contract changes just like that, that company is gone. 
It is not anymore just to Mexico. It is to China.
  So vocational education plays such a critical role at the college 
level, just like continuing education does, and this bill gives us more 
flexibility to work in this program, to adjust to the new technologies 
we are seeing, the online, the constant education, the 
interrelationship between industry and our universities and high 
schools.
  The one thing I would strongly urge, and I continue to urge, the 
NFIB; the NAM, the National Association of Manufacturing; the U.S. 
Chamber, that the retailers engage in their local schools. They always 
come to me and everybody comes and says we are worried about our 
workforce, we are worried that we cannot get the quality. Well, engage 
the schools, hire these kids, train these kids, take advantage of these 
programs, because that is the only way we are going to keep jobs in 
America.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 250, the Carl D. 
Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006. I'd 
also like to thank the Chairman of the Education and the Workforce 
Committee, Mr. McKeon, for his hard work on this legislation. S. 250 
will help strengthen and improve career and technical education 
programs across the country by helping states better utilize federal 
funding, increasing accountability, emphasizing student academic and 
technical achievement, and improving coordination between secondary and 
postsecondary career and technical education.
  In today's world, career and technical education is an important 
component of most any student's education as it helps prepare high 
school students for either a transition to the workforce or a 
postsecondary degree. The programs help students begin thinking about 
different careers of interest, provide opportunities for exploring 
those career options, and start students down a path toward 
accomplishing their career goals. Moreover, the program helps students 
see a connection between the academic subjects in the classroom and the 
application of that knowledge in the working world. For many students, 
this connection is critical to their decision to stay in high school 
and graduate with a diploma.
  I am pleased today to support the conference report on S. 250 and 
urge my colleagues to vote in favor of its passage. While I would have 
liked to have seen additional reforms--particularly in the areas of 
private school and home school participation--this bill represents 
significant bipartisan agreement in how to strengthen the Perkins 
program.
  It affirms in many ways what career and technical education programs 
in my district are already doing: ensuring that all career and 
technical education programs include rigorous and challenging academic 
courses; offering career and technical programs of study--known as 
career majors; offering dual enrollment in secondary and postsecondary 
courses; and permitting private and home school students to participate 
in career and technical education programs. Additionally, I am pleased 
that the bill allows for increased funding flexibility at the state 
level as well as the promotion of state incentive grants to programs 
with exemplary performance,
  Career and technical education is an important part of America's K-12 
education system, and I would urge my colleagues to vote in favor of S. 
250 today. This legislation will help improve both our education system 
and our nation's ever-changing economy as students are more prepared to 
enter either the workforce or some form of post-secondary education 
following their graduation from a local career and technical education 
program.
  My congressional district has the highest percent manufacturing in 
America. But even manufacturing is changing. In order to compete with 
China, India and other worldwide nations the same old approach will not 
work. We need flexible and creative education programs to complete the 
needs.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I yield 3 minutes to 
the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), another individual who has 
probably done as much for young people as anybody in this country and 
in his lifetime in a variety of capacities.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Subcommittee Chairman 
Castle and Mr. Miller and Ms. Woolsey and Chairman McKeon for their 
work on this bill and rise in support of it.
  I am especially pleased that Congress has shown such strong support 
for the Perkins program in view of the fact that it has been zeroed out 
on successive years by the administration, and it seems that people in 
this body understand the importance of a vocational technical 
education, particularly important in my State of Nebraska which is 
largely rural. In rural America, if you do not have vocational 
technical education you have real problems. So this has been critical.
  Also, we currently lack the skilled workforce in our country to 
maintain our economy; and a big key to this, of course, is vocational 
training.
  This bill improves vocational technical education in several key 
areas. As has been mentioned, it requires greater academic rigor, 
especially in math and science. I think a few years ago I read 
someplace where the United States ranked 19th out of 21 nations in 
advanced math and science. This is an area we cannot afford to continue 
to fall behind in. So this academic rigor will certainly help.
  As has been mentioned, it requires greater coordination between high 
school and postsecondary courses in vocational and technical education. 
So often in high school someone will take a vocational course and then 
go to community college; it would be the same course or there would be 
no coordination between the two. This allows for a smooth transition 
from high school into community colleges and 4-year colleges in the 
vocational technical area which we think is important.
  Greater accountability is critical, and a new use we were able to put 
in this bill which is something I was really in favor of was an 
allowable use as entrepreneurial education as part of the Perkins 
grants.
  So in the areas that I focus on right now in rural America, we are 
losing our young people at a rapid rate. If you teach them 
entrepreneurial skills, how to write a grant, how to write a business 
plan, how to market, particularly

[[Page 16136]]

how to market using the Internet, and you give them those skills, 
sometimes they can find a way to stay in a small town and make a 
living. So we think that entrepreneurial skills are going to be 
critical as a part of this program.
  As has already been mentioned, the flexibility is critical at the 
State and local levels because what constitutes vocational education in 
one State or one region may not be similar to what another region 
needs, and that flexibility is critical.
  So, again, I just want to express strong support. I think it is a 
very good bill, very good conference report and want to thank Mr. 
Castle and all those involved again, and the staff particularly.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind 
everybody that more than 11,000 high schools and regional technical 
centers and 2,600 postsecondary schools provide career and technical 
programs to high school students and adults who are returning to the 
workforce or wishing to learn new skills. That supports our goal that 
all students should have access to career and technical programs that 
give them a strong academic foundation and technical proficiency. This 
provides opportunity for jobs that pay a livable wage. It prevents 
dropouts, and it gives a path into college-level education should an 
individual choose.
  This legislation today renews our commitment to prepare our workforce 
for the global economy. It solidly rejects the President's proposal to 
eliminate the program.
  So, finally, it was wonderful to hear Mr. Regula, his words in 
support of vocational education, because he is the ranking member of 
the subcommittee on appropriations that we go to to fund these 
programs, because we know that none of this works, none of it works, 
Mr. Speaker, unless we provide the needed funding.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume in 
closing.
  Mr. Speaker, the conference report before us is a good one and one 
worthy of very strong support here. Passage of it will demonstrate our 
commitment to the millions of students who count on the career and 
technical education programs we are aiming to strengthen.
  Career and technical education is a fundamental part of our efforts 
to improve academic achievement at all levels so our Nation remains 
competitive in the 21st century global economy. And this conference 
report sharpens the Perkins program's focus on both rigorous academics 
and technical achievement. It protects and enhances local control at a 
State and community level. And it seeks more opportunities for 
coordination between secondary and postsecondary career and technical 
education.
  This conference report would not be possible if not for some key 
staff members at the Education and the Workforce Committee: Whitney 
Rhoades, Stephanie Milburn, Lucy House, Rich Stombres, and Susan Ross 
on the committee staff, and Denise Forte and Lloyd Horwich from the 
minority staff have worked tirelessly to get to this point where we are 
today. I would like to thank Sara Rittling of my staff who has worked 
on this as well.
  For those not familiar with the process around here, without that 
staff, I am sure Ms. Woolsey and I would probably agree, we would 
probably never get a bill like this written. Their work is exemplary in 
this particular case. And I would just like to thank them for their 
determination and expertise.
  Again, I thank my colleagues on the committee on both sides of the 
aisle for their efforts on this conference report, and I do urge its 
final passage.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Reauthorization 
of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act. 
As a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee and having 
served on the Conference Committee, I am pleased we have reached an 
agreement to ensure the continuation of this important program.
  Research shows that secondary students who participate in career and 
technical education achieve better employment and earnings outcomes 
than other students. Further, these students are more likely to pursue 
postsecondary education, have a higher grade point average in college, 
and are less likely to drop out in the first year of college.
  Recognizing the positive contributions of career and technical 
education, I support swift passage of this bill. This legislation is 
the product of considerable and effective bipartisan negotiations.
  While I intend to continue working with my colleagues on the Senate 
side to improve the particular funding levels for Wisconsin through the 
appropriations process, I am satisfied with the overall bill. A lot of 
time and work by committee members and staff have been put into 
drafting the best bill possible that everyone can support.
  Specifically, I am glad that S. 250 retains a separate authorization 
for the Tech Prep program. The House-passed bill eliminated this 
separate funding and during committee consideration of the bill, 
Representative Tierney and I offered an amendment to restore Tech Prep 
as a separate authorization.
  Tech Prep creates seamless pathways for secondary students to 
transition into post-secondary education programs in the high-skill, 
high-wage technical fields. These academically and technically prepared 
graduates are critical to the economic growth, productivity and 
internal competitiveness of the United States. Knowing how critical 
this funding is to our local communities, I am pleased funding for the 
Tech Prep program has been kept separate from the Perkins block grant.
  In addition to protecting Tech Prep, the conference report increases 
the role of math, science and technology in career and technical 
education programs and encourages the expanded use of technology by 
teachers and faculty. Increasing the emphasis given to science, 
technology, and mathematics is critical for the United States to retain 
its global competitiveness. We cannot afford to ignore growing 
competition from other countries by directing our resources away from 
these fields of study.
  Again, I would like to thank all those in the education community who 
participated in reauthorization for their input and work on this bill. 
I am particularly pleased to acknowledge Dr. Bill Ihlenfeldt, President 
of the Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire, WI, who 
testified before the Education and the Workforce Committee in May of 
2004. His thoughts and perspective on reauthorization of the Carl D. 
Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act were invaluable 
in addressing the needs of our country. His insight was especially 
helpful in considering issues of importance for the 53,000 students 
attending technical schools in my district--Western Technical College, 
Chippewa Valley Technical College, and Southwest Tech--as well as the 
countless career and technical secondary students in the Third 
Congressional District of western Wisconsin. I urge my colleagues to 
vote yes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, as the Portland region and our global 
economy demands a highly trained and skilled workforce the 
reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
Improvement Act will become even more important. Congress, in this 
instance, understands the important role technical and skilled 
education plays in preparing our workforce for the future.
  The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act is 
a good federal investment, which will increase the role of math, 
science and technology in career and technical education programs and 
encourages the expanded use of technology by teachers and faculty. It 
strengthens the relationship between academic and technical instruction 
and ensures access for students in secondary and postsecondary programs 
across the country.
  Thousands of Oregonians have lost their jobs over the past several 
years and many are holding down jobs that pay less and provide fewer 
benefits. I have heard from businesses and job seekers about the 
challenges facing the region. High-tech manufacturing represents about 
30 percent of the jobs in the Portland region, however, we do not have 
enough skilled labor. We desperately need to be preparing and training 
our students for these types of skilled jobs. It is expected by 2020, 
the U.S. will experience a shortage of up to 12 million college-
educated workers.
  This bill is a step in the right direction to help prepare Oregon for 
a 21st century workforce.
  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.

[[Page 16137]]

  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.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support the Conference 
Report for S. 250, legislation to reauthorize the Carl Perkins 
Vocational and Technical Education Act. This conference report is the 
product of an all too rare, bipartisan, good faith effort to pass real 
legislation that makes a difference in our communities across the 
Nation. This conference report also sends an important message to the 
President who has proposed to eliminate federal career and vocational 
education programs: These programs work and we are united in our 
support for them.
  I am particularly pleased that this bill includes my amendment to 
encourage schools to develop individual graduation and career plans for 
students in career and technical education programs. Including 
graduation and career planning as an allowable activity under Perkins 
is one small step in addressing the pressing issue of our low 
graduation rates. These plans will help ensure that high school 
students graduate prepared for postsecondary education and the 
workplace.
  Action is urgently needed to improve our high school graduation 
rates. The Manhattan Institute, the Harvard Civil Rights Project, and 
the Urban Institute have analyzed the data and come to the same 
conclusion--roughly 30 percent of all students who should be earning 
high school diplomas aren't. For African American and Hispanic students 
that number jumps to nearly 50 percent. Furthermore, only a fraction of 
students leaving our high schools are prepared for college. The 
Manhattan Institute found that nationally only 34 percent of students 
left high school prepared to enter a four-year college. Only 23 percent 
of African American students and only 20 percent of Hispanic students 
left high school prepared for college. We must mobilize our efforts 
across all of our education programs to turn this situation around. 
This legislation can be an important component of what I hope will be a 
national strategy to improve high schools.
  I would also like to commend the House and Senate conferees for 
reaching an agreement to protect the integrity of the Tech Prep 
Program. This program has been tremendously successful in my district 
and across the State of Texas. Tech Prep programs have provided 
countless opportunities for our students to gain access to a rigorous 
academic curriculum, cutting edge technology, and college credit while 
still enrolled in high school.
  I congratulate all of the members of the conference committee for 
their fine work, especially the committee chairmen and ranking members. 
This is legislation that we can all be proud to support.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I had hoped that, today, we would 
have passed the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Educational 
Improvement Act. It is unfortunate that, yet again, we have not been 
able to muster enough support to discuss the vitality of Vocational and 
Technical Education in our country. Education has always been the 
golden key to a democracy. Our forefathers realized this, and we must 
realize this as we continue to move forward into this information age. 
There is no excuse, in this day and age, for a government to be 
derelict in its duties to provide education and opportunity to its 
citizens. It is even more important today, as jobs dwindle from the 
bombardment of cheap foreign competition, to realize that the welfare 
of our nation rests upon the shoulders of the educated and skilled 
laborers. The Carl D. Perkins Act is a giant step in realizing our 
duty, as Congress, to Americans. It is a pathway that guides the vast 
resources of America to the Americans who need them.
  It is not a coincidence that Illinois and twenty-two other States 
were awarded incentive grants from the Department of Education in 2003 
for exceeding their performance level--our programs are working, but 
they need to be improved. With an unemployment level of 4.5 percent in 
Illinois and 4.6 percent throughout United States, it is essential for 
us to work now to create comprehensive plans to prepare our youth and 
adults for the future, by building their academic and technical skills.
  Furthermore, we must not stop with youth and adult education and job 
training; we must expand the discussion of education an job 
opportunities to other Americans--those who are incarcerated and who 
will later be released. It has been reported that 62 percent of those 
individuals released from state prisons will be rearrested within three 
years. If we do not tackle this dire issue with real solutions we will 
have silently condoned a vicious cycle that destroys communities.
  As we begin our recess, it is important to recognize that we can no 
longer afford to put the discussion of education on the back burner. It 
is, and always will be, one of my top priorities.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is 
ordered on the conference report.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the conference report.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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