[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5371]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          CONGRESSIONAL CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION CAUCUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, if you listen to 
probably the majority of the speeches provided on this House floor, 
they clearly indicate partisan bickering. If you listen to many of 
these speeches, it is pretty easy to find out what we disagree upon. 
There are some divides in beliefs and opinions. One of the things that 
is wonderful about this House is this is the people's House. It 
reflects a very diverse nation, and we have diverse opinions here on 
the House floor.
  At the same time, there are individuals here that I work with, both 
sides of the aisle, that I think want to be problem solvers. They are 
willing to not talk about what we disagree about, because we don't even 
need to do that; we just turn on the news, and that is what is 
highlighted is what we disagree upon. But the fact is we do have 
individuals here that have the courage and willingness to come to the 
table, and that is step one; to sit at the table and define properly 
what the problem is, because without defining the problem, you really 
aren't going to come up with effective solutions that work; and third, 
be willing to state what do we agree upon, what can we agree upon and 
make that the beginning point, the foundation, for cost-effective 
solutions.
  I am here today as part of a group that really does that. I rise 
today as cochair of the bipartisan Congressional Career and Technical 
Education Caucus. This is a group of Members from both sides of the 
aisle, diverse routes of the United States, who care about investing in 
opportunities for individuals to be able to do better in life through 
education. My opinion is: it is not so important where you start in 
life; it is where you end up. The key to that stair or that ladder or 
that path is education.
  The Career and Technical Education Caucus really, really focuses on 
that in a bipartisan way. It is about America's competitiveness. 
Because if America does not have a qualified and trained workforce, 
America doesn't have a future. So as appropriation season is upon us, 
we in the Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus encourage 
our colleagues to continue this body's united commitment to ensuring 
that America remains competitive through an adequately trained 
workforce.
  This can be achieved through an existing program. We don't have to 
create a new program. No need to reinvent the wheel. It is the Carl D. 
Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. Perkins provides the 
principal source of Federal support for program improvement and helps 
to strengthen the integration of academic, career, and technical 
education at both the secondary and the postsecondary institutions.
  Although deficit reduction must remain priority number one--it is one 
of our greatest threats for national security--during these fiscally 
challenging times, we must invest in CTE programs. We must also 
recognize that any reduction to Perkins funding would affect millions 
of career and technical educational students, the business community 
that relies on a qualified workforce, and the future competitiveness of 
this country.
  Going into the fiscal year 2015, the Career and Technical Education 
Caucus is putting together a modest request for level funding for this 
program. I encourage my colleagues to support the efforts of the caucus 
and join in sending this important request to the Appropriations 
Committee.

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