Recognizing the Need for A 21st Century Career and Technical Education System

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise to thank my colleagues on the House Education and the Workforce Committee for their support last week in passing a reauthorization that I offered, the Carl D. Perkins Act, in the form of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act.

Now, I am proud to say that this bill passed unanimously out of committee, which is good news because a reauthorization is badly needed.

It is no secret that our country continues to face significant economic challenges, and it is no surprise that many men and women are worried about their futures and their family's future. Last week a Gallup poll found that 54 percent--just 54 percent--of Americans believed today's young people will live a better life than their parents.

As a father, I can say there is nothing a parent wants more for their children than a life that is better than their own. When you hear that only half of all Americans expect their children to have a brighter future than they did, it becomes clear that we need to do better. And we can do better, not just for our own kids, but for the neighbor who can't find a job, the friend from church who struggles to make ends meet, the family that has been trapped in poverty with no pathway out, or the high school student who struggles and has no hope or inspiration that he or she has what it takes to succeed.

With the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, we have an opportunity today to advance reforms that will help these and many other Americans, especially young Americans, obtain the knowledge and skills that they need to break the cycle of poverty and to achieve a lifetime of success. This bill will modernize and improve current law to better reflect the challenges and realities facing students, workers, and employers.

The bill will empower State and local leaders by simplifying the application process for receiving Federal funds and providing them more flexibility to use those resources to respond to the changing education and economic needs. These reforms will help State leaders focus on preparing students for the workforce--not duplicative or overly prescriptive Federal requirements--and enable them to determine the best way to do so.

To increase transparency and accountability, H.R. 5587 streamlines performance measures to ensure secondary and post-secondary programs deliver results, helping students graduate, prepared to secure a good- paying job or further their education. The bill also includes measures to provide students, taxpayers, and State and local leaders the information that they need to hold CTE programs accountable for delivering those results.

Finally, H.R. 5587 will reduce the Federal role in career and technical education and limiting opportunities for the Federal Government to intervene in State and local decisions and preventing political favoritism.

This is a bipartisan bill, Mr. Speaker. I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their help in creating it. I look forward to seeing it on the floor of the United States House of Representatives hopefully in the near future.

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