[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 154 (Friday, November 18, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2435-E2436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 17, 2005

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the 
Conference Report on H.R. 3010, which provides Federal funding for 
health, education and worker programs.
  On healthcare, the bill takes a huge step backward in efforts to 
maintain basic health

[[Page E2436]]

care services for the people in this country who are uninsured or 
underinsured. It eliminates the Healthy Communities Access Program, 
which helps health centers and public hospitals provide care for the 
uninsured. The bill cuts rural health care program funding almost in 
half, and it wipes out almost all of the Title VII health profession 
training programs that institutions like the CU Health Sciences Center 
need in order to provide critical training and education for medical 
students and residents who aim to practice in rural, low-income, and 
under-served areas.
  And while the bill eliminates or cuts funding for several programs, 
it also fails to adequately fund others. The bill virtually provides no 
new funding for community health centers to cover rising health care 
costs at existing centers or to expand care for the uninsured even 
though the president called for a doubling of these centers. The 
National Institutes of Health, which works to find cures for many 
diseases, gets a paltry .5 percent increase in funding, the smallest 
percentage increase in 36 years which is not even enough to keep up 
with inflation in research costs. State and local health departments 
will be hobbled in protecting the public against infectious and other 
diseases because the bill cuts the Preventive Health Block Grant by 24 
percent. Further, grants that help health departments improve their 
preparedness against bioterrorism and other public health emergencies 
are cut, and the Ryan White AIDS programs funding is frozen, even 
though the number of people living with HIV/AIDS has been rising by 
more than 6 percent each year.
  Many of the education provisions are equally as troubling. The 
Republican majority has imposed a decline in funding for the Department 
of Education while requiring local school districts to implement 
federal mandates under the No Child Left Behind Act. Though I am 
pleased to see some of the programs such as vocational programs that 
were cut in the President's budget were restored in this bill, I am 
concerned by the low levels of funding for several education programs.
  Our Nation has seen a decreased number of students in the science, 
technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, disciplines, and in turn 
fewer Americans are seeking careers in STEM fields. The Math and 
Science Partnership provides grants to recruit STEM majors into 
teaching, and links current teachers with state agencies or 
universities to improve teaching skills. This program, coupled with its 
counterpart at the National Science Foundation, works to improve the 
quality of teaching in math and sciences that will excite students to 
study these disciplines. I am disappointed to see only $184 million for 
this program. Unless we make a serious investment in these programs we 
will continue to see the decline in the number of STEM majors and those 
seeking these careers.

  I am also concerned by the funding levels provided for Part B state 
grants under IDEA. Last Congress we passed an authorization for IDEA 
that sought to reach full funding of the program by 2011. This 
Conference Report provides the smallest increase in funding for IDEA in 
a decade and actually decreases the federal contribution from 18.6%, 
already far below the 40 percent full funding would provide, to $18 
percent. It is clear through these numbers that we are not doing enough 
to help states provide adequate education for disabled students.
  This bill is another example of the Republican majority's misplaced 
priorities. In fact, Republicans will spend more on tax cuts this week, 
$70 billion, than they will on all education and labor programs over 
the entire coming year, $68 billion. The conference report is only the 
most recent evidence that Republicans are out of touch with the 
priorities of the American people. It cannot support it.

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