Waiving points of order against the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 3010) making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 559, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 3010) making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, today I think we are going to do a bill that will make us proud to be Americans. Why do I say proud to be Americans? Because I think this bill, more than any other, illustrates the compassion of the American people. Why do we say that? Let me give you some examples that are in this bill and are funded.

Special education, programs to help young people that are disabled for many different reasons. It is a matter of caring for them.

Centers for Disease Control, an agency that is in 43 countries around the world watching out for us. We hear a lot about avian flu. We worry about avian flu, but the people that are really doing this are Americans in the Centers for Disease Control team that is out there in these 43 Nations, ready to stand by and alert us if it becomes a greater problem.

Education. The number one challenge of government today is to educate people to compete in the world of tomorrow. If you read the literature, you find more and more emphasis on the importance of education if a nation is to remain strong, if a nation is to provide a standard of living that the people expect, that we are used to enjoying in this country. The competition is going to get tougher in the years ahead. You only need to read Tom Friedman's book ``The World is Flat'' in which it is pointed out how much is happening or talk to people that have traveled, as is the case of my State superintendent, to countries in the Far East, and realize how much emphasis is being put on education. We in the United States need to do the same, and this bill recognizes that.

Education, going back to Thomas Jefferson, was designed to give all Americans through a system of public education, an equal opportunity to their future.

Head Start. It is another program under education where we say to children from areas and schools and homes where they may not get somebody reading to them, may not have a chance to get that head start they need going into the school program. Our authorizing committee, I think, took a giant step forward on Head Start in authorizing it to become more than just a welfare program, as was originally envisioned, but actually providing that people that man the Head Start program have some experience in education, that they do more than teach. The literature makes it very clear that education does not start at the first grade or even for that matter in the period ahead of that. It starts early, early on, and Head Start is another example of the compassion of America.

National Institutes of Health. We fund that in this bill. This is an agency that is researching, finding cures. Every Member I am sure has had parents in his office with a child with juvenile diabetes or with a parent with Alzheimer's, pleading with us to do more in medical research, to find cures; and this, again, illustrates the compassion of America. We have more than doubled the amount of money going to NIH in the last several years because we recognize that this is key to the health of America, to find cures, to find new ways to address the concerns of the people that all of us have seen in our office who are pleading with us to do something.

This bill has 500 programs in it, 500 programs that help Americans, and in many different ways.

Math and science, I have here a report just put out by a group commissioned by two Senators and two House Members, and it is entitled ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm.'' Think about that title: ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm.'' What is the gathering storm? The gathering storm is the inability to compete as a Nation, and the thrust of this report is to rise above that. Their number one recommendation is an increase in America's talent pool by vastly improving K-12 science and mathematics education.

We make that kind of a commitment in this bill. We do give extra funding for math and science and recognize that in the world of tomorrow for our young people to compete they need to have that background.

Meals on Wheels, another example of compassion. If you have talked with people that work in this program, mostly volunteers who take out these meals, that allows seniors to stay in their homes for a longer period of time, that allows them to see somebody if they are living alone maybe once a day or more often in the week, a wonderful program in terms of caring about people.

Afterschool programs, we fund those, and those of you who live particularly in the big cities realize how important that is. I talked this morning with a young man that is running an afterschool program in the gentleman from Pennsylvania's (Mr. Sherwood) district, a member of our committee, where he said how much they can help people with their afterschool programs.

There are moneys in here to roll out the prescription drug program because we have a responsibility in this committee to provide for the administration of these programs.

Global AIDS. Global AIDS is in this bill, $100 million to address, along with the money in the foreign operations bill that again is very, very important; and I think we can be proud to be Americans.

That is what I said at the outset. I say it again, that when you look at what we have funded in this bill, we have funding in this bill for 280 million Americans and over many billions of dollars to address the needs of people, that addresses things that are very important in their lives. I urge all the Members, before you rush to judgment on this bill, realize that we are in this bill doing a lot of good things for American citizens. Maybe it is not as much as you like, not many bills ever are as much as people would like that have a high degree of interest, but there is a lot of good in here.

There is a lot in here for special education. We increase it. We increase NIH. More medical research to address those problems of juvenile diabetes is an example that you hear about in your office; more money for education, Title I.

More money for community health centers. Any of us who have those in, and I hope most Members do, realize how important the community health centers are to people who have no access, who do not have a family doctor. It helps the hospitals because it means that people can go to the community

health center instead of to the emergency room. We add money for that.

Community services block grants. Think of that title. Community services, and we give block grants to communities to administer to local problems. This is an example of a program that helps local people.

LIHEAP, again, Americans recognizing that people in areas of severe weather conditions need an additional helping hand, and that is especially true in this time that we are living in where people need to address the problems of excessive fuel costs.

So I cannot say enough. I hope all of my colleagues and the Members that are listening to this, reading the bill, will take note of the fact that whereas this may not be everything you like, this bill does a lot of good. I do not think you want to go home and tell people you are against more money for special education, for those that are least fortunate, that you are against more money for education, for medical research, for LIHEAP, for global AIDS, for people around the world that are less fortunate than we are.

So, again, I say think on what the importance is of what you are doing. Take pride in America. Take pride in the compassion of the people of this Nation as embodied in this bill.

Mr. Speaker, the complete table of all the funding levels included in the conference report has been printed in the Congressional Record as of November 16; and for those of my colleagues who are wondering what each of the programs might be of the 500, you can go to the Record of November 16 and pick out a program that you might have a special interest in.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present before the House today the conference report on the fiscal year 2006 appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.

Many of my colleagues are aware of the difficult choices we had to make in this bill. In February, Congress received the President's FY 2006 budget request. In light of our budget deficit, the President's request assumed a one percent cut in domestic spending, exempting both defense and homeland security from this reduction. Our budget resolution approved this recommendation. This cut, taken together with required increases for implementing the prescription drug benefit program, brings our bill to $1.4 billion below last year's level.

Let me emphasize, we made a commitment to reduce deficits. Recognizing the will of this House, we have put together a bill that best reflects the priorities of this body and does a good job of meeting the needs of the American people.

The conference report has no budget gimmicks, no emergency spending designations, and no earmarks.

So many of the programs in this bill play an important part in the lives of American people. Peter Drucker, who passed away on Friday, was considered by many to be the most influential management thinker of the past century. He said, ``Successful enterprises create the conditions to allow their employees to do their best work.'' A successful employee needs adequate knowledge to thrive. I believe an investment in education is an investment in people. We support teachers and students by increasing funding for Title I by $100 million. Title I provides additional resources to low-income schools to help principals, teachers and students close education achievement gaps.

Many of my colleagues speak with me about the financial demands of special education on their local school districts. In this bill, funding for special education is increased by $100 million.

I believe the quality of classroom teachers and principals is one of the most important factors that affect student achievement.

This bill provides $100 million to reward effective teachers and to offer incentives for highly qualified teachers to teach in high-need schools.

We provide $184 million for math and science initiative. TRIO, GEAR UP, Vocational Education State Grants, and Adult Education, programs have strong support from members of this body. These programs were proposed for termination in the President's budget; however, we have allocated over $3 billion for the continuation of these important efforts.

The sharp rise in college costs continues to be a barrier to many students. This bill provides the full amount needed to hold the maximum Pell Grant at the current level of $4,050, over $800 million over FY 2005.

Healthcare is a critical part of a nation's economic development. Mr. Speaker, as you know, many of the Community Health Centers have served as America's health care safety net for the Nation's underserved populations. Funding for the Community Health Centers is at $1.8 billion, an increase of $66 million over last year.

As a result of our commitment to the National Institutes of Health, our citizens are living longer and better lives. We have provided over $28 billion to NIH to support medical research, $150 million over FY 2005.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program ensures that low-income households are not without heating or cooling, and provides protection to our most vulnerable populations, the elderly, households with small children, and persons with disabilities. Given the anticipated high costs of energy due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we have provided over $2.2 billion for FY 2006.

In the Department of Labor, we have provided nearly $3 billion for workforce training programs. These programs will ensure that our dislocated workers and most disadvantaged youth will return to gainful employment.

Mr. Speaker, in order to implement more than 400 provisions of the Medicare Modernization Act and ensure senior citizens receive the prescription drug benefits we provided in MMA, we have allocated nearly $1 billion over the FY 2005 level to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Social Security Administration. While benefits that both of these agencies provide come through mandatory spending via the Ways and Means Committee, this bill provides the funding for the agencies' administrative costs.

Much more could be said about this bill, but given the allocation, we have produced a fair, balanced and responsible bill that best meets the needs of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh), a very productive and important member of our subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger), a distinguished member of our subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), a member of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

In terms of earmarks, a proposal was made that we take an additional $2 billion as emergency spending, and half of that would have been for earmarks. But we did not do that.

The fact that there are no earmarks?

Absolutely, a billion dollars.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence).

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, I hope you will all weigh carefully what your opportunity here is in terms of voting for this bill. An opportunity to improve health research, an opportunity to improve education in Title I, an opportunity to provide more money for special education, an opportunity to ensure that LIHEAP is funded for those in need, an opportunity to develop community health centers where poor people can go to get help, where they can avoid having to run to the emergency room. So many positive things.

As I said at the outset, this is a bill that makes you proud to be an American. It illustrates the compassion of the American people. We have heard from the other side how we are not doing enough. Let me point out that in 1996 shortly after the Republican Party became a majority in 1994 and took responsibility, in 1996, the total of this bill was $65 billion. Here 10 years later, this bill is $142.5 billion, more than double the amount of money that has been committed to the compassionate programs of America, education, job training, medical research. We could go on and on.

We heard the gentleman from California talk about qualified teachers. I want to mention a special program in here. It is new. $100 million to help get better qualified teachers in every classroom. Over and over again we hear how important the teacher is to the education system. Not only teachers but principals, good principals, good schools. We have recognized the importance of this by committing $100 million. This bill has $2 billion for homeland security. Again, this is important to the American people. Homeland security in the form of CDC, checking around the world in 43 locations to ensure that avian flu does not reach our shores.

I could go on and on about the compassion of this bill in terms of helping people. TRIO and GEAR-UP, programs to help people get into college, to get that higher education that we all recognize is vital to their future and to the future of this Nation.

And let me say to those of you who think that, well, the key to this is to defeat the bill. If you defeat the bill, what is going to happen, in all likelihood, it will give these responsibilities that are embodied in this bill, the important programs for America will get rolled into some form of an omnibus bill and will be a continuing resolution. If that were to happen, priorities that are embodied in the bill would be lost, the things that are so important to all the Members of this body, but, moreover, far more important to the people of America, 280 million people.

I urge a strong, positive vote for the bill so we can continue to take pride in America and the compassion of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 11 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Ohio is my friend. I have a great deal of respect for him, and I know he tries to do the best job with the tools he is given. The problem is that he has been given a totally inadequate set of tools.

``This is the budget that you get when you elect a Republican White House, a Republican House of Representatives, and a Republican Senate.'' I did not say that. The former majority leader of the Republican caucus said that, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay).

This is the day when the price of Republican tax cuts for the wealthy becomes quite clear, on this bill and on the bill that will follow, the reconciliation bill.

This is the day when this Congress chooses to walk away from its investments: obligations in education, health care, job training and the like. This is the bill which shortchanges the Social Gospel. This is the day that we pass legislation that chooses to make the lives of the most privileged among us quite a bit more pleasant because of their tax cuts while at the same time we are making the lives of the poor just a little bit more desperate.

This is a growing country. It has growing problems. It has growing opportunities. If this bill does not grow with it, then we lose ground; and we are certainly losing ground under this bill today.

This is the bill for education, health, social services, worker protection programs. This is the guts of the Federal effort to try to see to it that, regardless of one's station in life, people have the greatest possible opportunity to get ahead.

Yet, this bill is $1.5 billion on a program-for-program basis, once you cut out the funny accounting, this is a bill which is $1.5 billion below last year.

The Department of Labor, funding in that Department: $37 million below the House bill, $193 million below the Senate bill.

There are 7.5 million Americans out of work. Yet the bill cuts $437 million out of training and employment services. That is the lowest level of adult training grants in a decade.

This bill also cuts the Community College Initiative, the President's initiative for community colleges, an effort to train workers for high- skill, high-paying jobs. It cuts that effort by $125 million and rescinds $125 million from funds provided last year, denying the help that the President was talking about giving to 100,000 Americans.

State unemployment insurance and employment service offices are cut by $245 million, eliminating help for 1.9 million people.

The International Labor Affairs Bureau will certainly have a hard time protecting American workers from being undercut by child and slave labor abroad after this program has been cut by 20 percent.

In the health and human services area, this bill cuts health care to the

poor and underserved rural areas of the country. It eliminates the community access program that helps coordinate services and programs to provide health care to people who do not have it.

This bill cuts by 69 percent health professions training. This bill cuts by 73 percent funding for rural health outreach.

We have only about 10 percent of physicians in America who practice in rural areas, and yet one-fourth of the U.S. population lives in those areas. We have huge shortages of health care providers in urban, underserved areas as well, but training grants for health care professionals are cut by $206 million.

We have the Maternal/Child Health Care Block Grant. That program is cut by 20 percent below fiscal 2002 levels, and we have a 24 percent cut in block grants for State health departments. And then, all of us are going to run home and brag about how much we have done to prepare the country for public health disasters.

My friend talked about the National Institutes of Health. We have the smallest increase for NIH in 36 years, and under that budget, because funding for NIH does not keep pace with inflation, we will actually see 500 fewer research grants coming out of NIH than we would have seen 2 years ago. We have effectively ended the President's initiative to expand the number and the capacity of community health centers around the country, $238 million less than the President requested. For the low-income heating assistance program, our oil companies, one company, $10 billion profit the last quarter. We expect to see natural gas prices rise 46 percent, home heating oil prices rise 28 percent, and yet we freeze the program that is supposed to provide help to people to pay their bills so they do not have to choose between heating and eating, and we only serve 15 percent of the persons who are eligible to be served under that program.

Education: This is the first cut in education funding in a decade. Education programs under the No Child Left Behind rubric are cut by $784 million below last year. That is $13 billion below the authorization, and on a cumulative basis, it is some $40 billion short of what we promised we would have provided these past years since we passed No Child Left Behind.

Title I is up $100 million. That is in comparison to a $600 million increase that came from that well-known ``liberal'' George W. Bush. Special education, it is up $100 million in comparison to the $508 million request from the President of the United States.

Because we mandated that local school districts provide service to special education children, we are supposed to be providing 40 percent of the cost. This bill actually reduces the Federal share of that cost from 18.6 to 18 percent. That is going in the wrong direction.

The Comprehensive School Reform Program, totally wiped out. The Goodling Even Start Program, named after Bill Goodling, the former Republican chairman of the Education Committee, cut by 56 percent. Education technology cut by 45 percent, and that comes on top of a 28 percent cut that was made last year. We cut Safe and Drug-Free Schools by 20 percent in this bill. We freeze afterschool programs for the 4th year in a row. That means that there are 14 million kids in this country who want those services who will not get them. And I could go on and on.

On higher education, the college board tells us that the 4-year cost of attending a public university has increased by $3,100 over the past 5 years. The President's answer was to raise the Pell Grant maximum by 100 bucks. A $100 solution to a $3,100 problem. The Congress said ``No, that is too much.'' The House cut it to $50. This conference report totally eliminates it, totally eliminates it. No increase in the maximum grant. And then in the reconciliation bill that follows today, they are going to add $8 billion more in costs to students who borrow money to go to college. And then this bill freezes all other student aid programs, SEOG, Work-Study, Perkins, TRIO, GEAR UP. It freezes title VI foreign language program.

The backlog at Social Security, those caseload backlogs are going to increase. This bill provides $189 million less than the President asked, $80 million less than was in the House bill, $130 million less than the Senate bill. And we do all of this in order to free up necessary room so the Republican Party can deliver on its $100,000-plus tax cuts for people who make 1 million bucks.

This is going in the wrong direction. These priorities are wrong. This bill is a disgrace. The gentleman would have provided a much better bill if he had been given a decent allocation, but he was not. So he did not have the tools to do it. There is no reason to vote for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman brags about the additional money that the Republican Congress has put into education. President Clinton and the Democrats had to drag them kicking and screaming into providing that money. We provided $19 billion more in education since they took over the Congress than would have been provided if we had simply passed the Republican House bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson).

(Mr. JACKSON of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman claimed there is a $115 million increase in here for low income heating assistance. There is not. The formula grant has been increased by $115 million, but the contingency portion of the program has been reduced by $115 million. The net result: no help in the teeth of huge energy increases.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Flake).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished minority whip.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

A previous majority Member said today that this bill represented fiscal responsibility. The fact is the Republican Party will provide, over the next decade, $1.2 trillion in tax cuts to people who make over $1 million a year. Yet in this bill, they will freeze student loans, they will allow people without health care to increase in number by 2 million, they will provide the first cut in education in a decade, they will cut safe and drug-free schools by 20 percent, and they will slash the President's initiative for math and science education.

In the teeth of the fact that they have given $14 billion in subsidies to the big energy companies, they then say to low-income people who have to pay those higher prices, ``Sorry. Despite the fact you're going to have a

huge increase in home heating costs, we're not going to give you a dime in additional money in this bill.''

That is what they do. What we are going to see today in the reconciliation bill and in this bill is a double whammy on the most vulnerable people in this society. That is wrong morally and it is wrong economically. We hear a lot of talk on this floor about preserving life. Yet this program is going to cut maternal and child health care by 20 percent below the 2001 level. How is that going to encourage women to carry their babies to term?

This bill falls far short of our responsibilities in meeting the growing economic and social needs of this country. It ought to be defeated. We should not put tax cuts for millionaires ahead of providing basic education, basic health care and basic job protection to America's working people.

I urge a ``no'' vote on the conference report.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 559 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 559 is a rule which waives all points of order against the conference report accompanying H.R. 3010 and against its consideration. The rule provides that the conference report shall be considered as read.

Mr. Speaker, the underlying legislation is one of the most important measures we consider each year. I would like to congratulate the members of the Appropriations Committee for putting together a comprehensive package that will improve the education of our children, care for our seniors and our underprivileged.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to see that since Republicans took control of Congress, funding for the Department of Education has doubled. More recently, over the last 5 years, total education spending has increased by nearly 50 percent. Our children will benefit from an improved educational system that will enhance their ability to succeed and better prepare the next generation of workers.

The fundamental root of all education is reading. As a parent and a former educator, the time I spent reading with my children will be forever cherished. Unfortunately, some of our youth do not have that opportunity at home. So included in this legislation is $1 billion for reading programs that will enable States to eliminate the reading deficit through scientific research-based reading programs.

I am also very pleased that the TRIO and GEAR UP programs are included in this all important funding package. These programs assist low-income, first generation college students in their transition from high school to college. This is a difficult transition for any student, but especially for those who are the first in their families to attend college. We must continue to support programs like TRIO and GEAR UP so that these students can continue to flourish.

Mr. Speaker, another important responsibility we have is to ensure that citizens have access to health care facilities and treatments. Included in this legislation is a $66 million increase in the Community Health Centers that are so vitally important across the Nation, but especially in rural States like my home State of West Virginia.

The National Institutes of Health continues to serve our Nation well by developing new treatments and cures for the many diseases that plague our society. With a total funding level of $28.6 billion, the researchers at NIH will be able to continue this mission so that we become a healthier Nation and global society.

A key aspect of a healthier society is where all citizens have access to prescription drugs, and I am proud to say that as of November 15, just 2 days ago, Medicare eligible beneficiaries have been able to sign up for a prescription drug plan under Medicare. The resources provided in the underlying legislation will allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services to properly conduct an outreach effort that will hopefully enroll every senior that stands to benefit from this program.

Mr. Speaker, we are all aware of the challenges that could potentially face all Americans in the coming winter, especially the high cost of natural gas. I am pleased to say that the State formula grants for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, are funded at $2 billion in this legislation and an additional $1 billion will be included in the House version of the budget reconciliation bill.

As with any appropriations legislation, tough choices were made. These choices are particularly difficult when dealing with the sensitive areas of health and education. The Appropriations Committee allotted the available resources in this bill in a manner that emphasizes these programs most important to our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, this is solid legislation that I believe all Members should be able to support.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to point out that this bill probably touches every single American's life. It is extremely important because it is the broad reach of education and health care, and these are very complicated and large programs. And I want to congratulate the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), chairman of the subcommittee, for the intense work that he has done not only on our side, but through the conference.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula).

(Mr. REGULA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk a little bit about some of the priorities, particularly in the education section of this bill. I have already mentioned the TRIO and GEAR UP programs for first-time college goers. Certainly those are important programs in my State and throughout the United States.

But let us look at something that we are lacking across the Nation, and that is in our math and sciences. There has been special emphasis in this bill on math and science partnerships so we can train our future engineers to compete globally.

The chairman spoke about how the world is flat. Well, if we do not have math and science education at the elementary and high school level, we are not going to be able to compete in the global market. So I am proud of the $184 million that is going to help with training teachers.

Special education is something that I think touches many, many families throughout the United States. We hear a lot about that in our office, and I am certain every Member's office. In special ed, this bill is funding over last year's budget $100 million. Will that meet every need for every special ed student? No, unfortunately it will not, and it cannot. But it will go towards helping those families and that student become a productive person in their adult life.

Reading programs and improving teacher quality programs. Certainly the key to success in school is reading, but the key to success in school is a good teacher. We need to improve the teacher quality and help our teachers become not only as good as they can be but even better. And that goes also to the principals. There is a principal shortage here in our country. We have to work with our teachers so they want to become principals and guide our teachers to educate our children. Those are some of the education priorities I wanted to highlight in this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this fair rule and the bipartisan underlying legislation which funds critical dollars to our Nation's educational system, health care delivery system, and as the gentlewoman from California spoke so eloquently about, our health research areas.

With this funding, low-income Americans will be better prepared for a potentially long winter. It got a little colder here today, and we know it is going to continue to be cold as we move through the winter; and this bill provides $2 billion in LIHEAP funding. Our seniors will greatly benefit from the money appropriated, allowing CMS to conduct outreach to all Medicare beneficiaries who are now able to sign up for the new Medicare prescription drug plan.

These are all important programs, and there are others too numerous to mention. I urge my colleagues to support the rule, support the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

The previous question was ordered.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Conference Report on H.R. 3010. The fiscal year 2006 Labor-HHS- Education Appropriations report before the House today shortchanges America's children, its families, its workers and its most vulnerable citizens.

The Labor-HHS-Education bill embodies our priorities and values as Americans. In it, Congress provides the yearly resources needed to keep our families healthy, our children educated, our workers employed, and our most vulnerable citizens a productive part of our society. This bill is arguably one of the most important pieces of legislation Congress addresses each year.

Chairman Regula understands this responsibility. He understands that this is ``the people's bill'', and he has worked hard to distribute the limited resources he was given in a fair and conscientious way. So my ``no'' vote today should in no way be seen as a lack of respect or appreciation for the efforts of Ralph Regula, the chairman of the Labor HHS Appropriations Subcommittee.

Chairman Regula and the staff of the subcommittee have worked within this tight budget allocation to address the needs and priorities of our states and communities as best they could under the circumstances. For example, the conference report includes increases in two critical areas to help infants and their families. The first is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's folic acid national education program. This program has been instrumental in the prevention of birth defects by encouraging women of child-bearing age to take the recommended amount of folic acid daily, thereby decreasing the rate of neural tube defects. The second increase is for the Health Resources and Services Administration's newborn screening program for early identification of infants affected by certain genetic, metabolic, hormonal and or functional conditions for which there are effective treatment or intervention. In addition, for the first time, this bill also includes programmatic funding for the national media campaign to fight underage drinking, which is being conducted by the Ad Council. I thank the committee for helping our country make progress in these critical public health areas. The presence of these and a small number of other

positive programmatic funding levels, however, is simply not enough to warrant approving this conference report.

Mr. Speaker, the constraints placed on this bill by the budget priorities and decisions of the Republican leadership are not worthy of this House and the values of the American people. I voted against the House bill when it came to the floor in June precisely because it fell so short of meeting the needs of America's children, families and the most vulnerable among us. I had hoped that the bill would be improved in the conference. It is unfortunate, however, that in this conference agreement, the way they chose to improve overall programmatic funding from the original House Bill levels was to take resources away from other priorities and community needs.

This report and its funding decisions do not stand in isolation. They reflect the misguided priorities of a Republican leadership that has continually put the interests of the wealthy and the privileged before the needs and priorities of working and middle-class Americans. This Labor-HHS-Education conference report is a direct result of an economic agenda of tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and it weakens America's future by under-funding key education, health and human services programs. If approved, this bill will impose cuts to essential programs important to Americans in at least three major areas.

First, this conference agreement significantly shortchanges our nation's workers. The bill cuts labor programs $430 million below the FY 2005 levels. Training and employment services for the 7.4 million Americans who are unemployed are funded well below the FY05 levels. This includes a $31 million cut to Adult Training Grants, a $36 million cut to Youth Training Grants; and a $141 million cut to Unemployment Insurance Offices. The U.S. Employment Service Office, which matches job seekers with job openings, is slashed by 10.5 percent, and the report freezes funding for dislocated and older workers. In addition, the bill slices International Labor Affairs, the program that helps eradicate abusive child labor practices and protect worker rights. by 21 percent.

Secondly, this report is simply a reaffirmation of the Administration's hollow commitment to education, slashing the No Child Left Behind funds by $784 million below the FY 2005 level. It cuts the Education Technology Block Grant program that provides access to technology in schools by a shocking 45 percent from last year's level. It reduces the Even Start program supporting services for low literate and low-income families by 56 percent. And as a final point, it shortchanges our children with disabilities by funding IDEA at $4 billion below the Republican promise to put special education on a fast track to full funding.

Finally, the report is particularly devastating to the health of Americans. Some of its most significant cuts are directed towards the critical programs that provide a health care safety net for the uninsured. The conference agreement provides $34 million less than the House passed bill and $89 million less than the Senate bill for grants to Health Centers for services to the uninsured. The Maternal and Child Health Block Grant is cut by 3 percent, reducing its true per capita purchasing power by almost 20 percent below the FY 2002 level. The conference agreement terminates the Healthy Communities Access Program that makes grants to local hospitals, health centers and providers so that they can provide better integrated systems of care for the underinsured and uninsured. Lastly, as if cutting services wasn't enough, the conference agreement virtually decimates the Title VII Health Professions Training programs, cutting overall funding from $300 million in FY 2005 to $94 million in FY 2006.

Mr. Speaker, these drastic reductions to critical programs are not necessary. Ranking Member David Obey has consistently laid out a common-sense approach to this problem. By simply reducing the tax break for those with incomes greater than $1 million, we could add funding for No Child Left Behind programs, maintain college affordability by increasing the money for Pell grants, shore up our health safety net programs, and rebuild our public health system to respond to pandemics and possible terrorist attacks. But these fiscally responsible efforts by Mr. Obey and the Democrats have been defeated by the Republican majority at every turn. The result is this grossly underfunded bill which we are considering today.

In the end, this Congress will be judged by how well we have served the needs of all our citizens and communities. As a result, this Labor- HHS-Education Bill will not reflect kindly on us. We can and must do better for the future of our families, our children, our workers and our most vulnerable citizens.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to oppose the Labor-HHS-Education conference report, which is the most recent evidence that working and middle class Americans are paying the price for the Republican economic agenda of tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Not only does this immoral budget fail to provide for what the American people need now, it also fails to address what it will take to be economically competitive in the future.

Overall, the conference report cuts education, health care, and human services by $1.5 billion from what was spent on these efforts last year. Meanwhile, Republicans will spend $11 billion this week on a capital gains and dividend income tax cut that will provide 53 percent of its benefit to people making more than $1 million per year. Their plan spends more on tax cuts this week alone ($70 billion) than on both the Department of Education and the Department of Labor ($68 billion) for an entire year.

Funding for education is also cut by $784 million, the first time the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act will have been cut since the law was enacted. Title I, which is the core of NCLB's efforts to improve reading and math skills, receives the smallest increase in eight years. Because it fails to keep pace with our growing population, 3.1 million low-income children will be left behind.

A program for which I have consistently advocated is Mathematics & Science Partnerships. Under this program, grants are first made to states, which, in turn, make grants to partnerships that must include a state agency; an engineering, math or science department of a college or university; and a high-need school district. Grantees use these funds to establish rigorous math and science programs; recruit math, science and engineering majors into teaching; and improve the teaching skills of math and science teachers. Without significant investment in math and science education, we will not be competitive with countries like China who are graduating nine times the number of engineering students that we are producing in America. Unfortunately, this conference report appropriates $6 million less than the House passed earlier this year and $85 million (32 percent) less than the President's request.

Also important for long term economic competitiveness is the Educational Technology State Grants Program. Like math and science partnerships this program received $25 million less than the House bill, $150 million (35 percent) less than the Senate bill, and $221 million (45 percent) less than the current appropriation. This is exactly the wrong direction to be taking the country. We can not stay globally competitive if we are not teaching our children the skills and knowledge they will need to be the innovators of tomorrow.

Education for the disabled is also slashed. This bill cuts the Federal share of special education costs from 18.6 percent in FY 2005 to 18.0 percent by providing the smallest increase for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a decade. The bill provides $4 billion less than Republicans promised for IDEA.

Similarly, the bill cuts $17 million for vocational education. This cut will force local school boards to raise funds or cut other services to make up the shortfall. This will not prepare our children with the high tech vocational education they will need to obtain a job that pays well but for which a college degree is not necessary.

With 7.4 million Americans out of work it is unclear to me why Republicans are cutting the Community College Initiative. This initiative would train workers for high skill, high paying jobs, yet it is being reduced by $125 million, denying this assistance to 100,000 Americans of a continued education to help them get a new job. This bill also cuts job search assistance through the Employment Service by $89 million (11 percent) and unemployment insurance by $245 million (7 percent), eliminating help for 1.9 million people.

This bill is no better for those attending college full-time. Despite the fact that higher education is increasingly expensive, the majority has decided not to increase the maximum Pell grant. Rather it is being frozen for the fourth straight year, and no new funding is provided for any other student financial aid and support programs, even though college costs have increased by $3,095 (34 percent) since 2001.

College students are not the only ones left out in the cold by this bill. Families and seniors who cannot afford to pay the expected 46 percent increase for natural gas and 28 percent for home heating oil this winter will have to get by without energy assistance from the federal government. For some reason Republicans have refused to increase funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps keep the heat on for people who cannot otherwise heat their homes in winter.

As this bill hurts families' ability to pay for college and heat their homes, it also deals a blow to their ability to receive healthcare. Nearly 46 million Americans are without health insurance, yet Republicans provide virtually no funding for new Community Health Centers beyond the amount approved last year. They also eliminate the Healthy Communities Access Program altogether along with the state planning grants to improve health care coverage. Where do the Republicans find the moral justification to cut these programs while planning to pass another $70 billion tax cut for the top 1%?

The bill does little to prepare for long-term healthcare concerns or invest in medical research. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is cut $249 million (3.9 percent). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) receives a (0.7 percent) increase--its smallest increase in 36 years, and not enough to keep the number of research grants from declining for the second year in a row. How are we supposed to remain the world leader in health research with funding numbers like this?

I believe American leadership is fueled by national investments in an educated and skilled workforce, groundbreaking federal research, and a steadfast commitment to being the most competitive and innovative Nation in the world. We must make the decision now to ensure that America remains the world leader in innovation and competitiveness. This bill takes us in the opposite direction.

America's global leadership in technological advancement and innovation is being seriously challenged by other countries. The warning

signs could not be clearer. The rest of the world is increasing its capacity, its investments, and its will to catch up with us. We cannot ignore this challenge. Americans again must innovate in order to create new thriving industries that will produce millions of good jobs here at home and a better future for our children. Today this bill moves us further away from achieving this goal.