On Friday, July 17, the House Appropriations Committee finalized its Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 funding bill for the programs housed under the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. In this bill, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins) is funded at $1.27 billion. This number is equal to the FY 2009 level.

The entire Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill was increased by $5.6 billion over FY 2009 levels. Specific funding levels of interest to CTE professionals include:

• $530 million to support the training of students across the health care professions and nursing fields, including $92 million for the training of nurses
• $11.5 billion for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
• $14.5 billion for Title I Grants for Low-Income Children, restoring the $1.5 billion cut proposed by the president
• $545 million for School Improvement Grants
• $628 million for adult education, $74 million above FY 2009
• $1.4 billion for Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities, $57 million above FY 2009
• $100 million for YouthBuild, $30 million above FY 2009
• $135 million for the Career Pathways Innovation Fund, $10 million above FY 2009  

The committee funded one new program in the Department of Education-the High School Graduation Initiative--at $50 million. This program is designed to assist high schools labeled as "dropout factories" retain students and raise graduation rates.

Within the Department of Labor, the Appropriations Committee funded two new programs, the Transitional Jobs program ($50 million) and the Green Jobs program ($50 million). The Transitional Jobs program would take a program based in Chicago and expand it across the country. It is designed to help dislocated workers, disconnected youth, persons with disabilities and other low-income workers get the necessary training to become successful, self-sufficient employees. The Green Jobs program is designed to prepare workers for careers in renewable energy and energy efficiency. This program is anticipated to support pre-existing apprenticeship programs, career pathways and other worker training programs and prepare over 8,000 workers for new jobs. 

A complete list of program funding levels has not yet been released, but ACTE will be updating the funding chart on our Web site as details become available. The funding bill passed by the committee is expected to move to the House floor before the August recess. Few changes and swift passage are expected.

While the House is finishing up its funding bill, the Senate plans to begin work on its version in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee