Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 366, the Vocational and Technical Education for the Future Act, which reauthorizes the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act. For over 20 years, the programs authorized in this bill have offered students across America the opportunity to develop their academic and technical skills.

Perkins supports vocational education programs that prepare students for both postsecondary education and the careers of their choice. H.R. 366 maintains many of the aspects of the current legislation that have made these programs successful. In my home state of Rhode Island, federal funding is instrumental in the operations of nine regional centers, each offering a different mix of technical training programs. Additional career and technical programs are provided in numerous comprehensive high schools and at post-secondary institutions throughout the state. These services are an integral component of education in Rhode Island and I strongly support a continued federal role in career and technical education.

The bill we are voting on today incorporates several new “local uses of funds” that will help postsecondary programs serve their students better - particularly adults that take the initiative to return to school, enrolling in community college career and technical education programs.

I want to take this opportunity to express one reservation about the reauthorization. The merger of the Tech Prep program into the Basic State Grants will result in the loss of a separate line item for Tech Prep. Although the bill seeks to ensure continued funding for Tech Prep activities, community colleges fear that the end result will be the loss of those funds, rather than an addition to the Basic State Grants. Tech Prep programs utilize a proven, successful school-to-work transition strategy to assist students making the connection between school and employment. I hope that a dedicated funding stream for Tech Prep will be reinstated in the conference on this bill with the Senate.

With this in mind, I thank the House leadership for pursuing the reauthorization of the Perkins Act and encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 366.