U.s. congressman Rodney davis proudly representing the 13th district of illinois

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) today released the following statements from local schools on the impact of reauthorizing and reforming the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins Act). The House unanimously passed H.R. 2353, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, last week and it now heads to the Senate for consideration.

“The recent action by the U. S. House of Representatives to reauthorize the Perkins CTE Act through H.R.2353 is encouraging. Federal Perkins funding is important in supporting career and technical education opportunities provided by community colleges such as Heartland. Positive funding news is especially meaningful at a time of ongoing uncertainty with funding from the State of Illinois,” said Heartland Community College President Rob Widmer.

“Unit 5 families and students benefit greatly from Perkins dollars. These funds support Career and Technical Education both at the Area Career Center and within our high schools. Courses offered at Normal West and Normal Community in business, agriculture, family and consumer science, technology are also supported with Perkins funds,” said Laura O’Donnell, Director of Secondary Education, McLean County Unit 5 School District.

“For more than 20 years, the Carl Perkins Career and Technical Education Act has been a fundamental support of the career and technical programs at Lewis and Clark Community College. The services the college developed under the auspices of this legislation have been essential in eliminating barriers to success for our students. As the demand for more career and occupational training increases, the demand for these invaluable Carl Perkins support services will also increase. We are excited by the reauthorization of the Carl Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, and look forward to continuing a tradition of supporting our students as the seek to better their lives with gainful employment in well-paid, high demand career and technical occupations,” said Lewis and Clark Community College President Dale T. Chapman.

“Perkins funding is vital for our students to have access to industry-specific equipment and materials needed for hands-on training. We’re hopeful this legislation will allow us to better prepare our students for local, in-demand jobs,” said Lincoln Land Community College President Dr. Charlotte J. Warren.

Last week, the House unanimously passed H.R. 2353, which reauthorizes and improves the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act to 2006 (Perkins Act). Learn more about these reforms here.

“Success doesn’t always require a four-year college degree. There are many paths to achieving the American Dream,” said Davis. “These bills will help connect more Americans with in-demand jobs and strengthen career and technical education. Currently, we have 6 million job vacancies in the U.S. We want to help those who need it the most find a job that will allow them achieve their version of the American Dream. I hope to build on the reforms made in these bills with the LEAP Act, my bill to encourage more companies to offer apprenticeships.”