OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Support for Vocational and Technical Education

Date: July 28, 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Education


SUPPORT FOR VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION -- (Extensions of Remarks - July 28, 2006)

SPEECH OF
HON. DANNY K. DAVIS
OF ILLINOIS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

* 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.

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