Urge Senators to Sign Onto Dear Colleague Letter

March 30, 2006

As the Senate appropriations process begins to gear up, Senators Burns (R-MT), Collins (R-ME), Durbin (D-IL) and Clinton (D-NY) have sponsored another bipartisan “Dear Colleague” letter, urging their fellow Senators to fully fund Perkins.

These four senators have already sponsored another “Dear Colleague” earlier this year, asking the Senate Budget Committee Chairman and Ranking Member to preserve funding for Perkins. That letter included 42 signatures on it and we would like to get even more for this letter!

In this instance, these four Senators are seeking other senators to sign on to a letter to be sent to Arlen Specter (R-PA), Chairman of the Senate Labor HHS and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, and Ranking Member Tom Harkin (D-IA). As with others, this letter notes the value of career technical education and specifically asks that Perkins be funded at no less than $1.3 billion.

ACTION NEEDED: If appropriate, contact your Senators today! The deadline for senators to sign on in support of funding Perkins is MONDAY, APRIL 3!!! If your senator has already signed on, please thank them.

The following Senators have already signed onto the letter:

Akaka (D-HI) Bingaman (D-NM) Burns (R-MT) Clinton (D-NY) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Craig (R-ID) Dayton (D-MN) Dodd (D-CT) Dole (R-NC) Durbin (D-IL) Grassley (R-IA) Jeffords (I-VT) Kennedy (D-MA) Kerry (D-MA) Kohl (D-WI) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Menendez (D-NJ) Obama (D-IL) Reed (D-RI) Schumer (D-NY) Stabenow (D-MI)

If senators would like to sign on to the letter, their staff should contact Chris Eyler with Senator Burns at 202-224-0683, Greg Walton with Senator Clinton at 202-224-4451, Maria Lapointe with Senator Collins at 202-224-2523, or Sirat Attapit with Senator Durbin at 202-224-8465.

If you have any questions or would like to see a copy of the letter, please contact Nichole Jackson, Director of Government Relations, at NJackson@careertech.org.