Archived Content

Perkins Act Letter

September 12, 2016

The Honorable John Kline
Chairman
Committee on Education and the Workforce
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Robert C. “Bobby” Scott
Ranking Member
Committee on Education and the Workforce
2101 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Scott:

On behalf of the CEO members of Business Roundtable, I write to express our strong support for House passage of H.R. 5587, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, an update of the Perkins Act. We commend you both for your bipartisan leadership on this critical legislation.

Last week, the U.S. Labor Department reported that job openings surged to a record high of 5.9 million in July, outpacing hiring and reflecting an ever- growing skills mismatch across all business sectors. Business Roundtable believes passage of your legislation can play a key role toward addressing this mismatch by supporting state and local efforts to build talent pipelines that provide students and workers the skills they need to succeed in today’s workforce.

Business Roundtable is especially pleased that H.R. 5587 supports principles for Perkins Act reauthorization that Business Roundtable developed in collaboration with the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In our view:

  • Career technical education (CTE) must be relevant and meaningful for students.
  • Recipients of Perkins funding must be accountable for results.
  • The business community must be actively engaged in helping to inform and support CTE at the state, regional and local levels.
  • The Perkins Act must provide for state/local innovation and reward excellence.

Again, we are pleased to support this legislation as it moves forward. We look forward to working with you, your staff and other Members to ensure any final House-Senate agreement fully reflects our principles and helps more Americans prepare for and succeed in their careers.

Sincerely,
Wes Bush
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Northrop Grumman Corporation
Chair, Education and Workforce Committee Business Roundtable

WB/dl

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