Fiscal Year 2026 Member Day
2025-03-05
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Source: Congress.gov
Participants
Transcript
Well, good morning. The hearing will come to order, and it's a pleasure to welcome everyone to the Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services and Education for Members Day. And we're looking forward to taking testimony from members of Congress. And this is an opportunity, of course, for any member of Congress to come before our subcommittee and to draw attention to issues that are important to them and part of their districts. and, of course, issues that are important to our entire nation. I look forward to hearing from my colleagues that are here today and about the challenges they see and how this subcommittee can help them address those issues that they see as vitally important. Before we begin, let me turn to the ranking member, Ms. DeLauro, for any comments that she would like to make.
Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. And again, to my colleagues, my apologies for being late, but it is a trek from Canton to Rayburn. It doesn't seem that long, but in any case. But I, too, want to welcome you to the Labor HHS Education Subcommittee, which is an unbelievable committee that really does level the playing field for low-income children looking to get a good education. They equip our nation to deal with public health emergencies. The subcommittee funds lifesaving biomedical research and helps Americans get the skills they need to be able to find a job. And the list does go on. So these programs directly impact the lives of Americans, as you all know. So I just want to welcome all of you here. And, you know, even as we hear from our colleagues about their top priorities for fiscal year 2026, I wish we had fiscal year 2025 finished up. But I would also ask you, implore you really, to speak with your colleagues and help us to advocate for these programs and the unfinished fiscal year 2025 bills as well. Thank you. I yield back.
I'd like to now recognize the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Representative Glenn Thompson. You have the floor. Well, Chairman Adderhall, Ranking Member DeLauro, members of the subcommittee, thank you for providing the opportunity to share my priorities for fiscal year 2021. As co-chair of the Bipartisan House Career and Technical Education Caucus, I strongly support CTE programs that provide learners of all ages with career-ready skills. As a school recently presented to me, these are the skills that help pay the bills. From agriculture and artificial intelligence to marketing and manufacturing, CTE programs work to develop America's most valuable resource, its people. CTE is taught in a range of settings, including high schools, area technical centers, and technical and two-year community colleges. In total, a record number of more than 12 million high school and college students are enrolled in CTE programs nationwide today. Congress recognized the importance of CTE when we passed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act in 2018, which was led subsequently was subsequently signed into law by President Trump. This effort, the first major federal overhaul of CTE programs since 2006, modernized investments in CTE helped connect educators with industry stakeholders and continue Congress's commitment to investing in these successful programs. CTE has established itself as a path that many high achieving students choose in pursuit of industry certification and hands-on skills that they can use right out of high school and skills-based education programs, or quite frankly, in college, maybe in Congress too. In fact, the four-year graduation rate for high school students in career and technical education program is 96%, far higher than the national average. Well, I'm grateful that Perkins State grants were funded at $1.44 billion
and fiscal year 2024, those levels adjusted for inflation are roughly half of the amount of the federal investment made in CTE 1980, despite the record number of CTE students that currently rely on this funding. As CTE programs evolve to meet the needs of employers in high-wage, high-skill, or in-demand career fields, we must provide strong federal support for these successful programs. Therefore, I respectfully urge the subcommittee to strongly support the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act's state grant program in fiscal year 2026. I'd also like to discuss the importance of the community services block grant program. Virtually every program in every county in the United States has a community action agency, a local organization charged by the federal government with the sweeping mission of fighting poverty. About 1,000 such agencies exist nationwide to help ensure a safety net for low-income individuals and families. Even more importantly, they create opportunities for people to move from poverty to independence. These agencies serve millions of low-income Americans each year, helping them gain useful skills, access new opportunities, and achieve financial independence. The Community Services Block Grant is the only federal program with the explicit and overarching goal of reducing poverty regardless of its cause. CSBG pursues this goal by providing critical funding to the nationwide network of local CAAs and supporting their locally driven comprehensive approach to fighting poverty. As a uniquely flexible source of funds, CSBG allows CAAs to address their community needs through building partnerships and investing in the creation of opportunities especially suited to local conditions and the unique circumstances of low-income citizens.
Moreover, CSBG funds assist CAAs in attracting non-federal resources. For every $1 of community services block grant funding, these community action agencies are able to leverage nearly $5 from state, local, and private sources.
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