Rep. Bonamici Criticizes Transfer of Education Programs to Labor Dept.

Concerns Over Program Transfer

• 🎯 Suzanne Bonamici expresses disappointment over the shift of career and technical education (CTE) programs from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor.
• 💡 She emphasizes that CTE should be viewed as education, not merely job training, highlighting the importance of pathways from middle school through post-secondary education.
• ⚠️ The transfer is seen as part of a political agenda to eliminate the Department of Education, leading to job losses for experts and a loss of institutional knowledge.

Impact on Students and Administration

• 📉 Bonamici notes that the move is fracturing a cohesive, education-rooted system into agencies with different missions and capabilities.
• ⏳ Consequences already include delayed grants and disjointed program administration, eroding trust among those implementing the programs.
• 🏫 It is clarified that Perkins funding helps with equipment and funding, but curriculum decisions are made at the local and state levels, not by the federal government.

Call for Congressional Action

• 🏛️ The transfer is linked to the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 and is described as an attempt to dismantle the Department of Education.
• 🚀 Bonamici urges for the restoration of these programs within the Department of Education and for future changes to require congressional approval, not executive branch actions.
• 🗣️ She calls for collaboration to strengthen CTE programs and counter what she terms an "unprecedented power grab" by the executive branch, emphasizing the need to protect student opportunity for current and future generations.