Vocational and Technical Education for the Future Act
VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE ACT -- (House of Representatives - May 04, 2005)
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Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, for the first 2 years I served in Congress, I was fortunate to serve on this committee; and I will have to honestly say I miss that opportunity because I really did enjoy it. The future of America depends on the work of this committee.
I want to commend the committee on the work they have done on this bill. I think they have done outstanding work at working through the process of making this a strong bill. It is my belief that our economic future depends on the use of the latest, most modern technology. Historically, the academically gifted in America have unlimited opportunities; but, unfortunately, the technically gifted have too often been left behind because we have undervalued technology education. This bill modernizes Perkins and advances technical education to what I hope is a brighter future.
When you look at the delivery of health care, it is about technology. When you look at manufacturing, if we are going to be successful against cheap labor, it is about technology. You talk the whole IT revolution in this country, it is technology. It is what caused it. Marketing is technology. Warehousing and distribution, it is technology. Repairing autos and equipment, it is about technology. Technology is what makes our country work today, and it is vital.
We have too often had high schools that were using 1970 technology in the era of 2005. That does not cut it. We have to advance technical education and make sure that America's youth realize that the jobs that are wanting in America have the word "technology" beside them. There are many people with 2-year technology degrees that will earn a better income than those with 4-year liberal arts degrees, and we do not offer them adequately in the same manner that we offer academic education.
If you look at the successful companies that are competing globally, it is about the massive use of technology. We must make sure that our high schools is where it begins, in the early middle schools, that young people realize the excitement of the technology world and that we have the latest, most modern technology there and that we bridge it into the community colleges. In some of the more progressive States, we have community colleges paralleling at the high schools, joint teaching in the 11th and 12th grade, adding the 13th year and giving a 2-year associate's degree in technology that equips people to go to work more. All of those fields needing the technology workers would be happy if we could do that on a broad scale across this country.
I commend again this committee and the staff for putting together a good bill, and let us hope that it is the beginning of technology education being valued in this country, because it must be if we have an economic future because our economy in the future is about the massive use of technology.
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