[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 20]
[House]
[Pages 27073-27085]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 3061, DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN 
 SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002

  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the previous order of the House, 
I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 3061) making 
appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, 
and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2002, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
Tuesday, December 18, 2001, the conference report is considered as 
having been read.
  (For conference report and statement, see proceedings of the House of 
Tuesday, December 18, 2001.)
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) and the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula).
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today we bring before the House the conference report 
providing appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human 
Services, Education, and related agencies for fiscal year 2002.
  It is my pleasure to present this report today. It is the result of 
the dedication and hard work of the members of the subcommittee and 
staff, and I want to express my deep appreciation to each of them. I 
would especially like to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), 
the ranking member of both the full Committee on Appropriations and of 
this subcommittee. It has been a pleasure to work with him from the 
start as we crafted a bipartisan bill which passed this body earlier 
through our work together on the conference.
  I would also like to thank the subcommittee staff on both sides of 
the aisle for their very hard work and the long hours they have put in 
to finalize the conference report before us. Thank you to Craig 
Higgins, the Clerk of the Committee, Carol Murphy, Susan Firth, Meg 
Snyder, Francine Mack-Salvador and Nicole Wheeler on the majority side, 
and to David Reich, Cheryl Smith and Linda Pagelsen on the minority 
side. They have been a great team. They have worked all night for the 
last two nights putting this together, and we owe them a vote of 
appreciation.
  This conference report is a very good product. It contains the 
funding for many outstanding programs for people. First, is the funding 
for the President's education reform measures. Last week we passed 
landmark legislation setting the policy for elementary and secondary 
education reform, and today we are providing the funding that will make 
these reforms a reality.
  We have funded State grants for improving teacher quality at $2.85 
billion. This flexible grant will allow States to develop programs for 
teachers in areas most important to those States. In other words, we 
are recognizing States' rights to make the fundamental decisions on 
education.
  I want to emphasize the commitment of the committee to teacher 
quality and support in the areas of math and science. We will later 
have a colloquy on that subject and the flexibility within this grant 
for such programs, in addition to a specific program for math and 
science partnerships.
  I am also pleased that we have included funding for the Troops to 
Teachers/Transition to Teaching and the Teach for America programs for 
a total of $88 million. We hear a lot about the pending shortage of 
teachers, and I think this bill will do a lot to address that problem 
and to ensure that good people get into the classroom. The key to 
success in the classroom is a good teacher, and all of these programs 
show great promise in recruiting, training and keeping just those 
people.
  In total, education programs receive a 16 percent increase in the 
bill, a majority of which is in three areas. These include elementary 
and secondary education, Special Education and Pell Grants. Grants to 
the States for Title I total $10.3 billion, grants to the States for 
Special Education total $7.5 billion, and Pell Grants are funded at a 
maximum grant level of $4,000 per student.
  Although our current economic slowdown has sent more students back to 
school than has been anticipated, it was the belief of the members of 
the Conference Committee that we must uphold our commitment to the 
students and retain the maximum $4,000 level. Also the TRIO grant 
program receives $802.5 million.
  In health programs, I am pleased to report that funding for the 
National Institutes of Health increases by 14.7 percent, at over $23 
billion. This additional funding will allow a greater percentage of 
competitive research grant projects to receive funding in such 
important areas as Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart disease, 
stroke, and even in many rare diseases. Again, we recognize 
particularly in these times after September 11 how important it is that 
we do research on health issues, and NIH is the flagship for this, not 
only for the United States, but for the entire world.
  As the events of September 11 have impacted on each of us and changed 
our lives, we have come to recognize the important role of our public 
health system. Funding for the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention increases $600 million over last year, for a total of $4.3 
billion. I might point out that the State health departments and local 
health departments, which are the shock troops, they are in the 
trenches on all of these threats that we hear about in anthrax and TB, 
basically start with the Centers for Disease Control. We have 
recognized that by increasing their budget.
  Programs at the CDC are our first line of defense in threats of 
bioterrorism. They also put important research knowledge into practice

[[Page 27074]]

through outreach and education, leading to improvements in the health 
of our Nation today. By the way, at the urging of our committee, they 
have a hotline now, so if you have a problem in your community, you 
have a 1-800 number, and you can get help immediately.
  The conference report includes funding for several of the President's 
faith-based programs, including $30 million for the Compassion Capital 
Fund, a program which will support grants to public-private 
partnerships for charitable organizations in expanding or emulating 
model social service agencies. $70 million is included for the Safe and 
Stable Families program, and $5 million for the new Volunteers for 
Homeland Security.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to discuss briefly the issue of 
mental health parity. As many Members are aware, the Senate bill 
included an amendment requiring private sector companies that provide 
mental health insurance companies in their health plans to provide that 
coverage equally with the physical coverage in those plans.
  The House conferees, regrettably, rejected this amendment on 
procedural grounds. We had received letters from the three chairmen of 
the authorizing committees of jurisdiction in the House expressing 
their opposition to this provision in the Labor, Health and Human 
Services bill.
  However, we understand from the President and from the House chairmen 
that they intend to address this issue next year. In the meantime, with 
the support of the committee chairmen, we have included the extension 
of the current law on mental health coverage, which expired on 
September 30 in this conference report, an extension for 1 year.
  Through jurisdiction of the appropriations bill, which is our proper 
jurisdiction, we are able to do very much for mental illness, and I 
would like to highlight these programs. The conference report provides 
$832 million for the Center for Mental Health, $433 million of which is 
the mental health block grant which goes to States to support 
prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services. This is a $50 
million increase over last year's bill.
  Over $1.2 billion is allocated for research into improving the 
diagnosis, treatment and overall care of those suffering from mental 
illnesses, and this is through the National Institute of Mental Health, 
one of the NIH institutes. This funding is increased by $100 million 
over last year.
  Finally, the conference report commits $1.34 billion for community 
health centers nationwide. Community health centers provide a variety 
of health services to disadvantaged and medically underserved, 
including mental health services.
  Mr. Speaker, these are only the highlights of the many outstanding 
and worthwhile programs in this $123.9 billion bill. Its programs touch 
the lives of Americans in many ways, the most important ways with the 
greatest potential, by supporting education, job training and health 
research and practices. They lay the groundwork in ensuring the long-
term health and prosperity of our Nation.
  There are many more programs. If Members are interested, there is a 
press release in the Office of the Committee on Appropriations across 
the hall that details all of these. There are a lot of programs here 
that our people back home will be very much interested in.
  One thing I do want to say further, and that is, the chairman and the 
ranking member of the full committee, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Young) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), did something I 
think this year that really worked well, and that is they worked out an 
agreement with the other body whereby each subcommittee had the same 
allocation. That meant that we could work together. We had a different 
mix than the other body did, but at least we are working at the same 
total. When we went to conference, it made it a lot easier to get a 
conference report out of the negotiations. I commend them very much. 
Not only that, they have been very supportive of this process. I say to 
my colleagues, this is a good bill.

                              {time}  1415

  A lot of good things are in here that help people. Every American in 
some way or another is affected by education or health research or 
health care. We are pleased. I say this on behalf of my subcommittee 
members, both parties, they were terrific. It has been a joy to work 
with the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) as the ranking member on 
the subcommittee.
  I urge the Members of this body to support this conference report.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 9 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I too would like to thank all of the 
members of the staff involved. Some of the names have been mentioned, 
but I will mention them again. On the Democratic side, the associate 
staff: Dale Lewis, Scott Boule, Chris Kukla, Becky Salay, Sarah 
Walking, Charles Dujon, Sonia Virdi, Matthew Braunstein; as well as 
Harry Glenn, and all of the associates of the Republican subcommittee 
members. On the full committee: Jim Dyer, staff director, Dale Oak and 
Therese McCaullafe, Graig Higgins, the subcommittee staff director; 
Laurie Rowley, Carol Murphy, Susan Firth, Meg Snyder, Francine Salvador 
Mack, Nicole Wheeler; and on the Democratic side, David Reich, Cheryl 
Smith, Linda Pagelson, David Pomerantz, Norris Cochran, Lin Liu, Nick 
Ferraro; the Democratic staff director on the Committee on 
Appropriations Scott Lily, and also Christina Hamilton and Paul Carver. 
Each and every one of them know how hard they have worked and the 
Members certainly know how hard they have worked. They have gone nights 
without sleep; and they have, in the process, performed the kind of 
public service that the American public would be proud of, if they just 
knew about it.
  Secondly, I would like to thank both the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Young) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula). The gentleman from 
Florida has kept his commitments in terms of seeing to how this bill 
would be handled at the end of the year, as he has kept his commitments 
all year long. And the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) has worked just 
not in his capacity on this subcommittee, but in his previous 
incarnation as the chair of the Subcommittee on the Interior. He has 
always performed his duties with grace and with fairness. It was indeed 
a pleasure to work with him and his staff.
  I think that we have demonstrated on this bill that when it is 
approached in a bipartisan way, good things happen, not just for this 
institution, but the country.
  I would like to say that I think this bill is an example of what a 
huge difference a few years make. Eight years ago when our Republican 
friends took over as the majority in this House, there was a cry to 
abolish the Department of Education, and we had some tumultuous battles 
on this bill. Over the last 5 years, in contrast to that, we have been 
able to negotiate, on average, a 13 percent increase in education 
funding over each of the last 5 years. This year, President Bush, in 
his budget submission, tried to cut that rate of increase to 5.8 
percent. This bill, for education, will provide a 16 percent increase 
over last year. So it returns it to the bipartisan track that we were 
on in the previous 5 years, and it declines to accept the President's 
recommended reduction in the rate of increase in these bills.
  As a result, for instance, for Title I, which is the centerpiece of 
the Federal effort to see to it that no child is left behind, if I can 
borrow a phrase, I would say that we are very pleased to see that Title 
I is funded at a level of $10.35 billion, a level of 14 percent over 
the President's budget request and 18 percent over last year. It 
contains $7.5 billion for special education State grants. That is 3 
percent more than President Bush sought in his budget. It is $1.2 
billion, or 19 percent, more than fiscal year 2001. I know there are 
people in this town who would like to see this program made an 
entitlement. I am

[[Page 27075]]

not one of them. I think this demonstrates that we can make great 
progress in funding programs without making them entitlements, and we 
have provided a huge increase of $2.5 billion for this program since 
fiscal year 2000.
  For teacher quality State grants, this bill is 31 percent over last 
year. For bilingual education State grants, it is 45 percent over the 
President's budget request. For after-school centers, which are badly 
needed, given the changing nature of our society and the strains that 
that puts on families with two earners outside of the house, we have 
provided an 18 percent increase over the President's request. We have 
provided for smaller learning communities to help make our larger 
schools more personalized and more intimate for students. We have a 
funding level of 14 percent over last year, and we have a variety of 
other, I think, fine achievements on the education front, including 
providing a $4,000 maximum grant for Pell grants, an increase of $150 
over the request and 7 percent over last year.
  In the health area, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) has already 
mentioned the $23 billion for the National Institutes of Health, a 15 
percent increase. The National Institutes of Health are a national 
treasure and this committee has recognized them as such.
  For community health centers, we have provided $51 million more than 
the President requested.
  For the Community Access Program, to assist groups who are providing 
health care under safety net provisions in the law, the President's 
budget proposed to abolish this program. This bill funds it at $105 
million.
  This bill contains an increase of 7 percent above last year for 
health professions training programs in comparison to the President's 
efforts to cut this program.
  For the Centers for Disease Control, the bill provides $597 million 
more than the administration's budget for items such as immunizing 
children. I think that is fully justified.
  On the mental health front, I am sad to say that it does not include 
the provision that was attached in the Senate to provide mental health 
insurance parity. I think it ought to. I think it is a tragedy that it 
does not. But nonetheless, on the funding levels, we provided $50 
million above last year and $66 million above the President's request 
for mental health programs.
  For human services, the Low-Income Heating Assistance Program is 
funded at a level $300 million higher than the President requested. 
There are numerous other increases for programs such as Head Start, the 
Social Service block grant, and the Child Care Development block grant.
  In the Department of Labor, dislocated workers will receive help, 
which is 12 percent above the President's request. Also the 
International Labor Program, to protect the American workforce from 
unfair competition through the production of foreign products producing 
with child labor or under virtual slave conditions; the conferees 
rejected the administration's proposal to slash this program by $76 
million. We provided $148 million.
  That is just a short summary of what is contained in this bill. I 
think it is a bill worthy of support of the House. I again thank the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) for his balance and graciousness 
throughout, and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), the chairman of 
the full committee, as well.
  I hope that before the week is out we will be able to pass this bill, 
the defense and foreign operations appropriations bills, and provide 
decent health care and unemployment assistance to workers in this 
country who very badly need that help; and having done all of that, I 
hope that somebody can find the off button so that we may, in fact, 
celebrate Christmas with our families.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), the chairman of the full committee.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this 
conference report. I want to add my compliments to the chairman of the 
subcommittee, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), and the ranking 
member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey). The gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) plays a dual role. He is the ranking member on 
this subcommittee as well as the ranking member on the full Committee 
on Appropriations. They have done a good job.
  The health part of this bill maintains our commitment to double the 
money invested in medical research over a 5-year period, and this bill 
keeps us on track. In addition, we have made major investments in 
educational programs; and I want to compliment the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Boehner), the chairman of the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce, and the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), his 
ranking member, for having passed H.R. 1 through the whole process. 
This bill that we have today and H.R. 1 are very compatible in the 
educational area. So a good job has been done by the Congress, both 
bodies, the House and the Senate; and we have a good package before us 
today.
  It was interesting that the final conference committee meeting was 
held last night. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and very 
cooperative. We resolved a lot of outstanding differences; and, Mr. 
Speaker, we might expect that this is the second largest appropriations 
bill, second only to Defense. But the two of them go together, because 
as we have evolved our military from a trench and over-the-top type of 
charge to the high-tech weapons and systems that we use today, without 
a good education, we would not have men and women properly prepared to 
deal with the high technology that our defense system requires.
  So these two bills work hand in hand. They constitute over half of 
our discretionary accounts too, by the way, Mr. Speaker. But they have 
done a good job working out all of the many differences between the 
bodies, and I again compliment the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula). He 
is an outstanding subcommittee chairman. The gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Obey) has been a tremendous partner. With the cooperation we have 
enjoyed on all of our appropriations bills, this year has just been 
tremendous. I want to thank all of the Members.
  I want to say again, Mr. Speaker, the chairman of the subcommittee 
and the ranking member both mentioned the staff. I do not know how many 
committees go through the same drill that Committee on Appropriations 
staff do. On our bills, once we start to get a bill ready to read it, 
to write it, to prepare it to bring to the floor, staff will work very 
late into the night, four or five nights a week; and I am talking about 
1 or 2 o'clock in the morning and come back in and start again at 8 
o'clock the next morning. They devote a lot of time; they are very 
dedicated. They are very devoted to the job that they do, and we are 
lucky to have such an outstanding staff on the Committee on 
Appropriations. So I thought we might just say some good words about 
them so they can these words home and show it to mom and the kids or 
dad and the kids, whatever the case might be.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. It is time to move it on. We will 
then have two more appropriations bills to finish, foreign operations 
and defense. The committee is prepared to present those bills at any 
time we are given time on the floor, and I would hope that the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and I can push the off button 
tomorrow afternoon sometime, and wish everyone a merry Christmas and a 
happy Hanukkah.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding, and 
I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), our chairman, who 
is new this year to this subcommittee, although certainly not new to 
the Committee on Appropriations, he is our senior member next to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), for their leadership. I want to 
talk not about the overall bill, as it is a good bill. I will 
enthusiastically vote for this.

[[Page 27076]]



                              {time}  1430

  It speaks to the health needs of America. It speaks to the 
educational needs of our children. It speaks to working people, as 
well.
  But I want to refer to a couple of specific items. First of all, 
immunization. Immunization, I believe, is a critical concern, not only 
of this bill but of this country. There are areas of this country where 
immunizations are not nearly where they ought to be. In fact, generally 
speaking, we went back about 1 percent, from 78 to 77, overall 
immunizations of children in this country.
  It is inconceivable that in the year 2001, despite all of the 
technological and scientific advances that we achieved during the last 
century, Mr. Speaker, that nearly 1 million American children do not 
enjoy the benefits of full immunization. Indeed, only 77 percent of our 
2-year-olds are adequately immunized. We need to continue to work to 
increase funding for this important program.
  In addition, I would like to say how pleased I am that this 
conference report contains language that will continue to fund state-
assistive technology programs. I want to thank the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Young), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), and the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) for focusing on this issue. In the 
scheme of things, in terms of the billions of dollars we are spending 
on this bill, this is a small item, but a very, very large item in 
ensuring that those with disabilities will fully participate in the 
opportunities of our society.
  This assistive technology is critical. Many may not have known, but 
the current law for the assistive technology program includes a 
provision requiring a sunset of State grant programs, which was to 
occur in cycles, to gradually decrease States' funding until 
eliminated.
  In fiscal year 2002, nine States would have been eliminated for 
funding: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, and 
Nebraska. We have turned that around. We have provided funds. I 
appreciate their leadership, again, on that issue, and say that this is 
a good bill. It is a good bill for our country, and it is a good work 
product of our committee.
  I thank the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) for his leadership and 
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) and the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Obey), as well.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Wicker), a very distinguished Member and a very good 
member of our committee.
  Mr. WICKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding time to 
me, and I thank him for his kind words.
  I, too, want to commend the staff. I am glad that the ranking member, 
as well as our two chairmen, have gone on at length about this. While 
most Americans were at Christmas parties and then in the wee hours 
nestled all snug in our beds with visions of Christmas, these staff 
members have been up two nights in a row without sleep at all.
  I just hope that my colleagues, when they come to the floor and vote 
on final passage overwhelmingly for this bill, will go to both the 
minority and majority members of the staff and give them a hearty 
Christmas handshake and a word of thanks.
  This is a good bill, Mr. Speaker. It is a bipartisan bill, as both 
sides have mentioned. It makes important strides in the areas of health 
and education. While we are providing the largest increase ever for 
Federal education programs, I am pleased that we are doing it in the 
right way. We are focusing on block grants. We are focusing on funding 
programs that reserve most education decisions for State and local 
officials.
  I am also pleased, Mr. Speaker, that we have found a better way to 
fund Title I programs. The new formulas that we are adopting will make 
sure that Federal education funds are going to the poorest school 
districts and are reserved for the neediest children.
  This bill also provides an increase of $1.2 billion over last year 
for State grants for special education. I am pleased that Congress has 
resisted the effort to make this important program an entitlement. That 
would have hindered our efforts to make needed reforms next year, and I 
look forward to working with the authorizing committee next year on the 
reauthorization of the IDEA program.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, with regard to health, this bill continues the 
bipartisan commitment to substantially increasing funding for the 
National Institutes of Health. We provide an additional $3 billion for 
NIH and have also dramatically increased funding for the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, including important state-based chronic 
disease prevention and immunization programs, as my colleague, the 
gentleman from Maryland, has already mentioned.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill, it is an excellent bipartisan work 
product, and I believe it will receive bipartisan support. Mr. Speaker, 
I urge a ``yes'' vote.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), also a member of the 
subcommittee.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in support of this 
conference report and am grateful for the leadership of the ranking 
member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), and the chairman, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula).
  The bill provides a 15 percent increase over last year for the 
National Institutes of Health to fund groundbreaking medical research 
that continues us on our path of doubling the NIH budget by the year 
2003.
  We have provided funding for the post-traumatic stress disorder 
program to serve the mental health needs of children who witness or are 
victims of acts of serious violence. Each year, more than 1 million 
children are abused or neglected in their homes; 3 million children 
witness domestic violence; 600,000 children are victims of violent 
crime; 20,000 are wounded by gunfire; and a growing number are injured 
or killed at school. The psychological trauma associated with this 
violence could affect these children for years to come.
  The events of September 11 make this program even more important. 
Over and over, our children saw what took place on that terrible day. 
Many lost parents, and there is an urgent need to make mental health 
services available to children to cope with the aftermath of these 
attacks.
  We have also made a substantial investment in education, including 
$6.5 billion for Head Start and $2.1 billion for the Child Care 
Development block grant. Yes, the strength of our country is based on 
the education of our people.
  I am disappointed that the House conferees stripped mental health 
parity from the bill. We missed an opportunity to do the right thing 
for American families to require the insurance industry to provide the 
same coverage for neurobiological illnesses as for physical illnesses. 
When mental illness goes untreated, costs escalate.
  In the aftermath of September 11, access to mental health services 
becomes even more important. Just this morning, the front page of the 
Washington Post included an article about a woman who lost her husband 
at the World Trade Center and who just committed suicide. The majority 
assured us that they would consider this legislation next year, and I 
hope they will keep that promise and act on this critical legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, overall, this is a strong bill; and I am proud to 
support it. I urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson), who has been a great advocate for 
vocational and technical education and makes an excellent contribution 
to the subcommittee's work on that.
  Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding time to me, and I thank the chairman and the ranking member 
for their work.
  I was excited when I got appointed to this committee. Having served 
in the State for 10 years as chairman of health and welfare issues, it 
was just exciting and exhilarating to get back into the issues that I 
loved.

[[Page 27077]]

  I rise to support this conference report and commend the staff, who 
did a wonderful job and have been great to work with, and for the 
bipartisanship of resolving so many of these controversial issues.
  I was pleased that we had a President that is leading us in education 
and making education funding more simple and easier for our small, 
rural school districts to use. Federal programs have not always been 
easy for small districts to obtain and utilize; and I think the bill we 
passed, H.R. 1, does a lot of that, and this funds it. I am just 
pleased to be part of that. I am pleased we have raised Pell grants to 
$4,000.
  I am especially pleased that our children's hospitals in this bill 
have finally had the bias against them removed. Our teaching hospitals 
have always had general education money, except our children's 
hospitals that teach our pediatricians and people who treat the most 
vulnerable among us, who are children. This bill equalizes for the 
first time the funding that our children's hospitals will now receive, 
the same as our other teaching hospitals have historically received, to 
train those who treat our kids, our smallest.
  I am pleased that this is the first decent increase we have had in 
vocational education, $80 million. I want to thank the chairman for his 
generous mark of $150 million, which we worked against the Senate, who 
did not have any increase, which was historic to this body for many 
years, flat funding for vocational technical education when the need 
for it has quadrupled.
  The military used to train our poor. The volunteer army has changed 
that. Poor young men and women used to go into the military and get 
their skills. That does not happen anymore. We have never replaced 
that. This $80 million goes to our high schools and our community 
colleges. That is not a lot of money; but I am pleased, in talking with 
the chairman, that we are going to work with the Senate and next year 
try to get a sizeable increase.
  I am also pleased with the adult education fund. This funds GEDs and 
allows people who have dropped out of the system to get back in. Our 
educational ladder has to reach from the ground up, and adult education 
needs to be looked at and I believe expanded, also, because we have a 
lot of adults that have slipped through our high school system in the 
past who got a degree but did not really get an education and need to 
get back on that educational ladder. It is only going to be through 
adult education. It is one I think we really need to look at.
  Again, I want to conclude by thanking the staff and the gentleman 
from Ohio (Chairman Regula). It has been a delight to work with him and 
with the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey). I excitedly look forward 
to what we started this year in technical education, and next year we 
are going to give it a better hit.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to urge all my colleagues to support this 
bill.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished 
gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Rivers).
  Ms. RIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to tell the story of two journeys that end right 
at the Capitol of the United States. They are similar in some respects, 
but tragically different in others.
  As a young mother, I was diagnosed with manic depressive disease, a 
serious brain disorder characterized by deep mood swings, and, for me, 
profound depression. I was lucky. I was able to get treatment, although 
at one point my medical care consumed over one-half of my family's 
take-home pay.
  Every day I take a cocktail of medications to keep my condition in 
check. Those medications, along with continuing medical care, have 
given me my life back. Treatment allowed me to attend college and law 
school. I have served my community with competency and enthusiasm on 
the board of education, at the State House, and now on the floor of 
this magnificent building. My journey has a happy ending.
  The other individual whose journey ended at this building was not as 
lucky as me. Rusty Weston was an unmedicated schizophrenic. For years, 
his parents had frantically searched for effective, affordable 
treatment for him, but they were unsuccessful. Finally, they threw him 
out because they were afraid of him.
  When Rusty Weston arrived here at the Capitol, unmedicated, armed, 
and delusional, he killed two police officers, wounded several other 
individuals, and terrified the Capitol community.
  Mr. Speaker, can the case for mental health parity be any clearer? It 
should be in this bill. Treatment works; indifference kills.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Boehner), who did yeoman's work and provided outstanding 
leadership, along with the gentleman from California (Mr. George 
Miller), on bringing H.R. 1 to success and in ensuring that we make 
every effort to not leave any child behind.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the gentleman from 
Florida (Chairman Young); the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey); the 
dean of the Ohio delegation and my friend, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Regula); the chairman; the subcommittee; and all the members of the 
Committee on Appropriations for working together to produce a bill that 
paves the way for meaningful reforms in education and in other national 
priorities.
  As the chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, I 
also want to thank the staff and the members of the Committee for 
working closely with me and the members of my committee and my staff to 
ensure that the reforms that were contained in H.R. 1, the President's 
education reform bill, are in fact funded and contained within this 
conference report.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe the conference report lays the groundwork for 
the most significant reforms in education in a generation. The measure 
before us calls for a significant increase in Federal aid in public 
schools and for poor students. For the first time ever, major increases 
in Federal education funding would be linked to meaningful reform of 
our schools; and for the first time ever, we are insisting on results 
for our children.
  The Labor-HHS conference report provides the resources necessary to 
implement the President's vision for education reform. It provides $387 
million, or $67 million over the President's budget request, for States 
to develop annual assessment tests of students' reading and math 
skills. No national test will be created. And States will be 
responsible for selecting and designing their own assessments.

                              {time}  1445

  The conference report also provides a $1.6 billion increase for Title 
I aid to disadvantaged students, $700 million increase for teacher 
quality, and a $205 million increase for bilingual education.
  All three of these programs have been significantly reformed to 
expand State and local control and ensure greater accountability for 
results.
  Last but not least in the education side, the conference report fully 
funds President Bush's Reading First and Early Reading Programs for a 
total of $975 million, tripling the Federal commitment to reading and 
encouraging States and schools to use proven methods based on 
scientific research.
  The conference report before us also increases the Federal 
Government's commitment to fixing and funding special education. The 
measure recognizes that the Federal Government is still falling short 
of paying the fair share of the cost of special education. For a 
quarter of a century, Congress neglected this responsibility, but since 
1994, we have increased special education funding by 173 percent. And 
the conference report before us provides another historic increase of 
$1.2 billion for IDEA part B.
  With this increase, the Federal Government's role, we would spend an 
unprecedented $7.5 billion on IDEA in the next fiscal year and increase 
the Federal share of the burden to 16\1/2\ percent, the highest 
percentage since the Special Education Program was enacted. This 
increase is provided without turning special education funding into a

[[Page 27078]]

new entitlement program, meaning Congress will be free to bring much 
needed reforms to IDEA as we fulfill our financial commitment.
  This report also significantly increases the amount for Pell grants 
and other educational opportunities. I am pleased that the conference 
report increases Pell grant funds to some $4,000, the highest maximum 
grant in the program's history. And to strengthen historically black 
colleges and Hispanic-serving institutions and other related 
institutions, the measure provides an increase of $42.5 million from 
last year which, frankly, is a very significant boost.
  Finally, on the labor side of our committee, the report before us 
wisely avoids taking hasty action on mental health parity that could 
jeopardize the health benefits for American workers.
  The measure contains a provision that reauthorizes the 1996 mental 
health parity law. But the conferees did not agree to a provision added 
in the Senate that would have significantly expanded mental health 
parity for employee health benefits. This provision would have come up 
on top of huge increases in health care premiums in the vicinity of 15 
to 30 percent. Hasty action on mental health parity will have serious 
consequences for employees, consequences many families may not be able 
to bear during the current economic crunch.
  When employers' cost go up, employees often lose their health care 
coverage. If the law becomes too burdensome and expensive, it is very 
likely that employers will simply stop offering any type of health 
benefits to their employees. At the same time we recognize that mental 
illnesses are serious illnesses and must be treated accordingly. For 
that reason a simple 1-year reauthorization of the current laws is the 
right solution at this time.
  I intend to take up this issue next year in my committee, and I 
intend to work with the supporters of expanded mental health parity, 
including Senator Domenici, the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. 
Roukema), the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson) and others 
who have worked on behalf of mental health parity and we intend to do 
it in the next session.
  Let me congratulate all of my colleagues, and especially my dean, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula).
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. George Miller), the distinguished ranking member of the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman 
for yielding me time.
  I want to congratulate the committee on the legislation that they 
have approved today. As many of my colleagues are all aware, we just 
finished the education reauthorization bill of the ESEA, and we are 
getting a lot of nice comments from around the country and from our 
Members in Congress about the bipartisan efforts to pass that 
legislation and to work out the differences that we have.
  I want to say to all of the Members of Congress, that was facilitated 
by the fact that this committee and the Appropriations subcommittee was 
working in a bipartisan effort to support those efforts. They made it 
very clear they were willing to support the resources, the money 
necessary to bring about the reforms, but if the reforms were not 
there, they were not prepared to put the resources into the bill.
  I want to thank the chairman, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula). 
Much of what was in our bill dealing with the targeting of our 
resources, with teacher quality, came out of a number of conversations 
he and I had and his wife, Mary, about the importance of high quality 
teachers and teaching in poor schools, and I want to thank him for 
supporting that effort.
  The same goes to the ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Obey) for all of his support he has provided in this legislation 
that allowed us to bring about and agree, and I think bring about the 
most far-reaching reforms in the Elementary Education Act in 30 years. 
We did that by targeting the resources to the children most in need, to 
the schools most in need. And we were able to do that because this 
committee agreed to fund the more targeted of the formulas.
  We did it by making sure that schools would have the resources 
necessary to improve their teacher quality, for professional 
development, for training, for retention of teachers. And, again, this 
committee provided the money so schools will have the flexibility to do 
that within their individual schools; and for the first time, to take 
those who have limited English proficiency and provide a formula base 
program so the money will go to where those students are as opposed to 
a haphazard grant program and this committee funded that.
  I think that all of us who are terribly concerned about the balance 
between reform and resources, if you look at this bill as reported by 
the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, you 
will see that the commitment has been kept. The resources have been 
developed, the reform is out and the resources have been developed in 
this bill and I want to thank the member of the committee for that.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) has 6 
minutes and 30 seconds remaining. The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Obey) has 13 minutes remaining.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute 20 seconds to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Farr).
  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
conference report. I would like to share with my colleagues the 
appreciation we have of the chairmanship of the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Regula) on this committee who is known in this body as a very 
compassionate individual, and certainly the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Obey), the ranking member, who has long fought for these issues.
  As we look at this bill, I hope everybody will vote in favor of it. 
It affects more people in America than any other appropriation we pass. 
This essentially is the basis for funding for education in America, for 
our workforce in America, for our health care, including our Centers 
for Disease Control and for the human services.
  I think most importantly often overlooked is the issue that the 
gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Rivers) just rose on, to talk about our 
commitment to mental health. If there is anything that is bipartisan in 
America, it is the support for mental health programs.
  I am disappointed that the bill did not have parity for that that 
would have required every health care insurance plan in the United 
States to provide the exact same kind of health care level for mental 
health treatment as it does for other medical treatment. That failing, 
however, this bill does provide incredible increases to the mental 
health side, increases $2 million more; for local mental health 
programs, additional $13 million, totaling $433 million; children's 
mental health services, an additional $5 million, for $97 million.
  It also deals with school violence, a treatment for children with 
post-traumatic syndrome, and probably most importantly, $2.2 billion 
for substance abuse prevention and treatment.
  I say congratulations to the committee. They have done a good job. I 
look forward to supporting this conference report.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) for a colloquy.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to enter in a colloquy with the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula).
  Mr. Speaker, someone who casually observes the education part of this 
bill might think we will be spending less on math and science teacher 
programs this year than last, and as the United States falls 
increasingly behind the rest of the world in math and science 
performance, we need to pay attention to this area.
  The conference report states, ``The conferees believe that providing 
high-quality math and science instruction is

[[Page 27079]]

of critical importance to our Nation's future competitiveness, and 
agree that math and science professional development opportunities 
should be expanded.''
  It is my understanding from this that it is the intention of the 
committee that no less money than last year be spent on teacher 
training for math and science; is this correct?
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. HOLT. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, that is correct. I would assure the 
gentleman, and also the gentleman from Michigan who will join our 
colloquy, we consider math and science teacher training to be an 
important part of preparing our students for the future. I assure my 
colleague that the conferees have provided adequate funding to allow 
the same or even increased effort in science and math teacher training. 
The conferees intend that, at a minimum, the current level of effort in 
science and math development be maintained.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for clarifying this.
  I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), as well as the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) for excellent work on this 
appropriations bill.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) for a colloquy. He has been, 
along with the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt), a very strong 
supporter of math and science education.
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to enter into a colloquy with the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), and I do want to thank him very, very 
much for all his work to improve funding for education, particularly 
for math and science education.
  Over the past few months, much attention has been placed on the poor 
state of our Nation's K-12 math and science education. International 
tests place our students in the bottom third of industrialized nations 
in their performance in science, and dead last among those nations in 
high school physics.
  The 2000 NAEP results recently announced found no improvement in 
science literacy in the 4th and 8th grades, and a decline in science 
performance in grade 12 since 1996. This is simply unacceptable. Our 
country desperately needs more people trained in math and science. Over 
the past few years, I have advocated improving our Nation's science 
education programs and increasing the Federal funding for professional 
development for our Nation's math and science teachers.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill consolidates funding for the Eisenhower 
program, which was the primary professional development program for 
math and science teachers, into the Title II Teacher Quality Grant 
program, which will receive an appropriation of $2.85 billion. The 
conference report states that as much as $375 million was actually 
expended on math and science in fiscal year 2001, and that the 
conferees therefore strongly urge the Secretary and the States to 
continue to fund math and science activities within the Teacher Quality 
Grant program at a comparable level in fiscal year 2002.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the intention of the 
conferees is that no less than $375 million be expended on math and 
science professional development in fiscal year 2001; is that correct?
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. EHLERS. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, the answer is the gentleman is substantially 
correct. The report language does state that States should spend a 
comparable level on math and science professional development as was 
spent in fiscal year 2001. The conferees consider math and science 
education vitally important to our Nation's future competitiveness and 
believe that such spending should be enhanced in the future.
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, if I may continue, the bill allocates only 
$12.5 million for the newly created Math and Science Partnership 
program. The conference report states that the conferees strongly urge 
the Secretary and States to utilize funding provided by the Teacher 
Quality Grant program, as well as other programs provided by the 
Federal Government, to strengthen math and science education programs 
across the Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the intention of the 
committee is to strongly encourage States to use funding under the 
Teacher Quality Grant program to fund the Math and Science 
Partnerships; am I correct?
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) is 
substantially correct. The conference report strongly encourages States 
to utilize the $2.85 billion allocated to Title II dollars toward math 
and science activities.
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) 
for his answers, and I thank him for his commitment to math and science 
education, and I look forward to working together on this issue in the 
future.

                              {time}  1500

  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah).
  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the ranking member, the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), and the chairman, the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Regula), because they have crafted a bill that should 
enjoy unanimous support here in the House.
  I want to just mention my thanks for the funding for the GEAR UP 
program and the TRIO program, and a number of other efforts in relation 
to higher education. And I also want to make note of the first-time 
funding for the Education Equity Incentive grant program, and a host of 
other, I think, very appropriate focus that the leadership has brought 
to bear on some of the real work that has to be done to improve our 
Nation's schools.
  So I want to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin and the gentleman 
from Ohio for their work, and I would just hope as we go forward that 
we will find again the same type of bipartisan support for GEAR UP and 
our other efforts to improve our Nation's schools.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana 
(Mr. Roemer).
  Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my good friends from Ohio 
and Wisconsin for their hard work on this bill, especially as it 
relates to putting in a program called Transition to Teaching. As the 
chairman has said many times, and I agree, the quality of teaching, 
getting a great person in that classroom, with good experience and 
mentoring skills, somebody to rely on for learning how somebody else 
has taught for 15 or 20 years, is very, very valuable.
  The Transition to Teaching program that we have incorporated in this 
bill brings experience from the private sector in math and science and 
technology into the classrooms and into the public schools. So I 
commend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) and the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) for that.
  I do think that in the job of funding H.R. 1, the No Child Left 
Behind Act, which we just passed the other day, we are about $4 billion 
under what we authorized. We do, however, have about a 16 or 17 percent 
increase over last year's level. We have to continue to be ever 
vigilant, in that we fight for money to fund the reforms with 
sufficient resources to get the tests and remediate the children that 
we just passed.
  Finally, I would say, on IDEA, we have a billion dollar increase. I 
hope the President puts new money in this new budget coming next year, 
and that we get that up to the mandated level.
  I thank the Chair for his patience, and I again thank the gentleman 
from Wisconsin for his work on behalf of this bill.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), also a member of the subcommittee, and our new 
minority whip.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much, our 
distinguished ranking member, for yielding

[[Page 27080]]

me this time. And I congratulate the ranking member, as well as the 
chairman of our subcommittee, for a job well done on this very 
important Labor-HHS and Education bill.
  In a bipartisan manner our subcommittee has produced a well-balanced 
bill that strengthens our schools, invests in our workforce, and 
provides much-needed resources for biomedical research and our public 
health system.
  Although the administration proposed the smallest increase in 
education in 5 years, the bill, instead, provides the largest funding 
increase in the history of the Department of Education. For the fourth 
year in a row, dramatic increases are also included for the National 
Institutes of Health. This keeps us on track to double the NIH funding 
over 5 years, an investment that is yielding phenomenal progress in our 
understanding of the human body and the search for better treatments.
  Additional resources have also been provided for many other vital 
programs, including HIV/AIDS prevention and care, breast and cervical 
cancer screening, child care, drug treatment, bilingual education, and 
environmental health.
  The bill makes important progress, but I am disappointed in one 
opportunity that was lost at last night's conference. We did not agree 
to the other body's inclusion of an amendment to require that group 
health plans' offering mental health benefits do not impose 
restrictions on mental health care that differ from limits on other 
physical health care. That was a disappointment.
  On the other hand, we must remember that access to treatment for 
mental health has never been more important for our country. The New 
England Journal of Medicine reports that nearly half of our American 
adults report at least one symptom of substantial stress after 
September 11. We see articles in the paper every day how this situation 
has been exacerbated.
  In any event, we know effective treatments are available for mental 
health. We hope that promises made will be kept as we go into the next 
session of Congress.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I want to again commend the chairman. This is 
a very important bill. We call it lamb-eat-lamb, because everything in 
it is so good, and when we try to transfer money from one account to 
another, it is a very difficult decision to make. Mr. Natcher always 
called it in ``the people's bill.''
  We have a great tradition of bipartisanship on the committee. We were 
delighted to welcome our new member of the committee, who was our 
chairman, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), congratulate him on his 
first conference report, and thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Obey) for his extraordinary leadership in making the bill what it is 
today. It was a tough fight to get this to this point, but I commend 
both the chairman and the ranking member on the success that Members 
will be voting on today.
  Again, higher numbers for education than the Bush administration 
requested; more responsive to the needs of the American people.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 15 seconds to the gentlewoman from 
New Jersey (Mrs. Roukema).
  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this 
time, and I rise today to express my extreme dismay at the fact that 
the gentleman did not include the mental health parity provisions 
included by the Senate in this bill. I certainly pledge to work with 
everyone in this House to assure that next year that is a top priority. 
And, again, I am sorry that that goal could not have been accomplished 
in this bill.
  I rise today to express my dismay that this final FY 2002 Labor-HHS 
Appropriations Conference Report does not retain the mental health 
parity language that was included in the Senate bill, especially since 
a majority of Members of both Chambers support full mental health 
parity in this report. The Labor-HHS Conferees should have heeded the 
wishes of Congress.
  Discrimination against mental illness must end. Mental illness is no 
different than any other illness, yet our society continues to treat it 
as such. We cannot in good conscience allow discrepancies in mental 
health care coverage to continue. For years I have fought to eliminate 
discrimination in insurance coverage for mental illnesses and this 
year, the Senate did the right thing by passing full parity 
legislation. There is a strong unified voice in the Congress calling 
for mental health parity. I am stunned and dismayed that the Conferees 
did not answer our call.
  I can assure you that I along with many colleagues will be working to 
assure passage of mental health parity next year before the end of this 
session of Congress. I know that Senator Domenici will be providing 
leadership yet again to eliminate this discrimination.
  There is no debate about the devastating impact of mental illnesses 
on Americans from every walk of life. The Surgeon General has estimated 
that roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population--nearly 125,000 people 
in each of our districts--has a diagnosable mental disorder in any 
given year. A fifth of our nation's children have mental disorders with 
at least mild functional impairment. Suicide is the third leading cause 
of death for young Americans, and twenty percent of all suicides are 
seniors over age 65. Untreated mental illness costs American businesses 
$70 billion each year in lost productivity and worker absenteeism 
according to the Wall Street Journal. Other estimates are significantly 
higher.
  The good news is that treatment works. Apparently, some in Congress 
apparently still do not understand this. Properly diagnosed and 
effectively treated, the overwhelming majority of those with mental 
illnesses can reclaim their lives, return to work, and once again 
become productive members of our society. Indeed, NIH data show that 
mental health treatments have greater success rates than treatments for 
heart disease and many other medical conditions.
  Unfortunately for millions of Americans with mental disorders, access 
to effective treatment is impossible because health plans routinely and 
legally discriminate against them. The GAO reports that an appalling 87 
percent of health plans routinely force patients to pay more for mental 
health care than other health care, put stricter limits on mental 
health treatment than on other health treatment, or both. The Surgeon 
General has unequivocally stated that such distinctions between mental 
and physical health care have no basis in science. The only reason to 
restrict mental health care is because of stigma and outdated 
stereotypes.
  Again, by not acting to ensure parity in mental health coverage, 
Congress is allowing insurers to discriminate--blatantly--against 
patients who for not fault of their own have a mental illness. Congress 
would not stand idly by while insurance companies put up barriers to 
cancer treatments or care for patients with heart disease. Similarly, 
we in Congress should not tolerate such discrimination against patients 
in need of mental health care.
  I understand some Conferees were concerned about the inclusion of 
parity because of procedure, not policy. The Chairmen of the 
authorizing Committees expressed interest in convening hearings on the 
subject. I am pleased that this Conference Report urges the authorizers 
to act on mental health parity as I have been urging the authorizing 
them to do for years.
  There is no time to waste. This is a problem we need to address now. 
In the wake of the terrorist attacks on our country, millions of 
Americans are coping with profound feelings of fear and vulnerability. 
Experts tell us that the psychiatric consequences may not show for 
weeks or months in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder and other 
serious mental and emotional problems. Unfortunately, at a time when 
mental health care is of unprecedented importance, many will discover 
that their health plans hinder rather than help them receive treatment.
  By not including mental health parity in this Conference Report, 
Congress is prolonging the discrimination against those who are already 
suffering. I ask House Leadership to move ahead with mental health 
parity as encouraged by the majority of the House and Senate. We must 
move this reform next year before the 107th Congress adjourns.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Obey) has 6\3/4\ minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Regula) has 1\1/4\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, every single American will benefit from the passage of 
this bill. Every single American has benefited over the last generation 
from the passage of similar labor, health, education, and social 
services bills. Every

[[Page 27081]]

American family that cares about educating children should be pleased 
with this bill.
  This bill has also, through the years, absolutely revolutionized our 
ability to deal with disease. It has totally changed the way we attack 
disease. It has totally transformed our understanding of human disease, 
and it has armed us to provide some incredible advances in health care 
in the future. It is, to me, the most important bill that we pass each 
and every year in this House.
  I again appreciate everything that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Regula) has done to help move this bill forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume 
for just one comment.
  I hope that the authorizing committees will deal with the issue of 
mental health parity. We had a temporary amendment offered to ensure 
that there would be continued coverage after September 30. We recognize 
that this is something that should be done by the authorizing 
committees and hope that that will be done.
  I also want to mention that we so many times hear that the other body 
does not work well with ours. I just want to say that at the staff 
level the team from the other body worked beautifully with the House 
team, Republicans and Democrats, to bring this package together. They 
worked extremely hard and have produced a wonderful bipartisan bill. It 
is bipartisan party-wise, and it is bipartisan House and Senate.
  One last thing I do not think has been commented on is Job Corps. 
Today, in this economic crisis we are concerned about job training 
programs and dislocated workers. The Job Corps is funded at $1.459 
billion, $60 million more than last year. The dislocated worker 
assistance is funded at $1.5 billion, $111 million over fiscal year 
2001 and $166 million over the budget request.
  I think this illustrates, as the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) 
has said, that this bill is compassionate and it indicates our great 
concern. I would urge all of our colleagues to support this. They can 
go home and with pride say that they supported this bill. It truly is a 
people's bill.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3061 the FY2002 
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations bill. I am 
pleased that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle came together to 
provide an increase of $12.5 billion over FY2001 program level.
  This legislation makes education a priority. It provides an increase 
of $6.7 billion over last year's education appropriation bill and 
includes a discretionary education appropriation of $48.9 billion. 
Furthermore, I am happy with the recent passage of H.R. 1, the No Child 
Left Behind Act. While this bill encompasses many reforms, one issue in 
which I was actively involved in during committee consideration of ESEA 
was improving professional development for our teachers, principals, 
and administrators. This year, the Teacher Quality State Grant received 
$2.85 billion, a 31% increase over last year's appropriation. I will 
continue to push for increased funding for professional development; 
our school leaders are critical to our children's success in the 
classroom. Educating our youth should be our nation's number one 
priority.
  Regarding health issues, I am a strong supporter of doubling the 
budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by fiscal year 2003, 
and complement the committee for providing an additional $3 billion. 
Congress' bipartisan support of medical research has led to substantial 
improvements in the health and well being of every American. We have 
now entered a new era of science with the mapping of the human genome 
and the potential in stem cell research. The opportunities for 
preventing, diagnosing, treating and curing diseases have never been 
greater. And, with the research and development of new vaccines to 
combat widespread disease epidemics, the NIH is in the forefront of the 
war on bioterrorism.
  Further, I commend the committee for increasing funds to assist rural 
health care needs including $1.34 billion for community health centers 
and $40 million for rural hospitals. Further, I am happy that $12.5 
million will be provided for the Rural Access to Emergency Devices 
program administered through the Rural Health Outreach Office. I was 
the author of the legislation creating this program that gives grants 
to community partnerships consisting of local emergency responders, 
police and fire departments, hospitals, and other community 
organizations to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and 
train potential respondents in their use, as well as in basic CPR and 
first aid.
  Finally, it is imperative that we continue adequate funding for 
employment and training activities under the Department of Labor. 
During this period of economic uncertainty with workers losing their 
jobs each day, training and employment programs are critical in helping 
these workers get back on their feet. I am pleased that Congress chose 
to restore some of the cuts made to the programs in the 
administration's budget.
  The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations bill 
is often a contentious piece of legislation. I commend my colleagues 
for working in a bipartisan fashion to address many of our top domestic 
priorities in education, health care, and training. I urge my 
colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for H.R. 
3061, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Bill.
  And would like to thank Chairman Regula and Ranking Member Obey as 
well as all members of the Subcommittee, especially Representative 
Steny Hoyer, Rosa DeLauro, and Nita Lowey for all of their work and 
dedication in crafting a bipartisan piece of legislation that funds our 
Nation's education, health infrastructure and labor programs. This bill 
provides $48 billion for education programs--an increase of almost $7 
billion over last year.
  Of this total, $6.54 billion is allocated for the Head Start Program, 
which represents a $338 million increase over last year's budget. This 
new funding will guarantee that we can avert a threatened reduction in 
current enrollment of as many as 2,500 children. This Head Start 
funding will benefit many Head Start Centers in New York, including the 
Little Angels Head Start Program in the Bronx. Additionally, this bill 
increases the ceiling for Pell Grants bringing the maximum award to 
$4000--the highest maximum grant in the program's history. This will 
mean more deserving students will have a chance to attend college and 
achieve the American dream.
  The bill provides new resources for mentoring, training, salary 
enhancement, and other improvements that will support teachers by 
giving them the resources they need to do their job. With respect to 
teacher training, I was very pleased to see the great work being done 
by City University of New York Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, and the 
President of LaGuardia Community College, Gail Mellow acknowledged with 
a $600,000 grant for their Teacher Empowerment Zone Program at this 
great institution.
  This bill also allocates $200 million more than what the President 
requested for bilingual education. These funds will provide 
instructional support and teacher training to assist the approximately 
3.6 million students who have difficulty speaking English.
  Mr. Speaker, this is wonderful news for my district, home to students 
who speak over 70 languages. H.R. 3061 provides the money needed to 
carry out the sweeping educational reforms outlined in the Leave No 
Child Behind Act--a bill that ensures teachers, students and parents 
have the resources to hold themselves to the highest educational 
standards.
  Locally, this translates into $636 million this year for New York 
City Public Schools, a 28% increase from last year; and $141 million in 
Title I funding, a 20% increase over last year. With the New York City 
Board of Education threatening a 15% across the board cut in important 
education programs, this increased Federal funding is more important 
than ever. This bill will mean a lot to New York City and particularly 
the children back in Queens and the Bronx.
  In addition, H.R. 3061 includes significant increases for medical 
research and health programs. I am particularly pleased at the 
inclusion of $23.3 billion towards the National Institutes of Health--
an increase of $3 billion over last year's funding levels, and a $430 
million increase for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
The CDC has a long history of doing exemplary work, particularly in 
disease prevention. Specifically, the CDC has led the charge in 
combating the West Nile Virus, a potentially deadly virus that was 
first discovered in North America in my district of Queens, New York. 
The programs at both the CDC and the NIH are not only a good investment 
in our communities, but they are vital to combating bioterrorism as our 
nation confronts new threats and challenges.
  Furthermore, this bill also allocates $1.91 billion for the Ryan 
White AIDS program, which is a $103 million increase from last

[[Page 27082]]

year, with specific increases for minority HIV/AIDS initiatives. With 
minority rates of HIV/AIDS infection increasing, this funding is both 
timely and desperately needed. In my district, Steinway Child and 
Family Services of Queens has done an outstanding job in providing HIV/
AIDS education and prevention services programs, including an 
innovative program of teen mentoring in the schools. We must combat the 
scourge of AIDS, and this bill provides a down payment in this war. For 
our displaced and unemployed Americans, this Labor-HHS-Education 
Conference Report includes $1.55 billion for dislocated workers 
employment and training, an increase of almost 10% over last year. For 
my home State of New York, this will mean a tremendous amount as we 
strive to recover from the events of September 11th.
  Stating that, I was disheartened to see the school construction and 
modernization that I have championed stripped from this bill, just as I 
was disappointed that a meaningful compromise was not reached to 
achieve mental health parity for insurance. Nevertheless applaud the 
hard work of the House and Senate conferees in bringing this important 
spending bill to the floor today and I proudly support this measure.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, to support the Labor 
Health and Human Services, and Education appropriation bill today, and 
to applaud the chairman, Mr. Regula, and ranking member, Mr. Obey, for 
their hard work, willingness to work with all of us, with our many and 
varied interests, and demands, and their unwavering commitment to the 
people of this country who depend on the work done in this important 
committee. As a family physician and chair of the Health Braintrust of 
the Congressional Black Caucus, I want to speak specifically to the 
Health funding.
  Mr. Speaker, while we may not have gotten all that we wanted, I am 
pleased that funding that would have been flat or reduced under 
President Bush's budget request was restored or even increased. 
Although there are many instances where this has happened, I want to 
make specific reference to Healthy Start, the Health Careers 
Opportunity Program and the Minority AIDS initiative. On the Minority 
AIDS initiative we regret that the funding did not come closer to our 
request of $540 million that we determined was needed to extend the 
programs for HIV and AIDS to our hard to reach people of color who are 
at disproportionate risk, and suffer the most from the scourge of this 
virus.
  We are most concerned that the language accompanying the funding for 
this important initiative still falls short, in that it fails to target 
this small section of AIDS funding narrowly, to ensure that the 
community organizations that are of the communities, which are most 
needy, are the ones to receive the funding. In not doing this, the 
intent of the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses, to empower our 
community through resources and technical assistance may not be met--a 
risk we should not take given the devastation of HIV/AIDS on our 
communities. But the committee did well in providing us the 11% 
increase--far more than ensured by the President's budget, and for that 
we are grateful. We will redouble our efforts to get the full funding 
and better language next year.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to say that I too share the disappointment voiced 
by several of my colleagues in that the measure which would have given 
mental health services parity with other healthcare is not included, 
and pledge to work with them, and our community and national 
organizations that this goal will be realized. To expect a perfect bill 
that includes all that everyone wanted is more than unrealistic, and in 
this period of crisis in our country it is impossible. The chair and 
ranking member and the committee has done well. We thank them, and we 
ask our colleagues to vote for this bill.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
support for the Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations 
conference report. While the report contains increases which will 
strengthen many significant projects and initiatives such as: the Ryan 
White AIDS treatment programs, dislocated workers employment and 
training, the National Institutes of Health, special education, and 
Head Start; I am particularly pleased to see the inclusion of $850,000 
for the AMISTAD America project.
  AMISTAD America, Inc., is an educational foundation in Connecticut, 
which build and operates a full-size working replica of the ship 
Amistad. It serves as a unique and powerfully effective traveling 
educational exhibit that will make port visits down the Eastern 
Seaboard and around the country to educate students about the history 
and lessons of leadership, racial cooperation, perseverance, courage, 
justice, and freedom that are inherent in the Amistad Incident of 1839.
  Constructed between 1998-2000 with grants from the State of 
Connecticut and various private donors, the Freedom Schooner Amistad is 
a wonderful example of public and private partnership. With this 
federal funding, the Freedom Schooner Amistad will serve as a tool to 
educate our school children about the Transatlantic Slave Trade. 
Moreover, AMISTAD America, Inc. will be able to share the rich history 
and lessons of the ship Amistad to the rest of America by coordinating 
with local school districts and schools to provide school children free 
admission, tours and history lessons on the Freedom Schooner Amistad 
vessel when it visits various ports in the United States. It will also 
hold teacher-training sessions, and distribute K-12 educational 
materials including the CDROM, The Amistad Incident: A Journey to 
Freedom . . . A Story of Heroism, to each school district preparing for 
a visit. In addition, with the help of Apple Computer, school children 
will be able to connect with Amistad Internet to conduct live, 
interactive chats with the captain and crew of the Amistad. This 
technology will allow Amistad to connect with as many individuals in as 
many places as possible, especially those communities that cannot be 
reached by the vessel.
  I would like to note that Amistad project received support from all 
Members of the Connecticut Delegation, as well as the Congressional 
Black Caucus. I thank them for their efforts and assistance in securing 
funding for this very important educational tool. I would also like to 
give special thanks and recognition to Christopher Cloud and Will 
Mebane of Amistad America, Inc. and Fredericka Gray of Phoenix Home 
Life for their perseverance and dedication to the Freedom Schooner 
Amistad project.
  Mr. Speaker, I applaud the hard work of the conferees in preparing 
this conference report and including this important project, which will 
help to enrich school children's knowledge and understanding of our 
nation's history in not only Connecticut, but the entire country. 
Therefore, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the conference 
report.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member wishes to add his strong 
support of the conference report for H.R. 3061, the Labor, Health and 
Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2002.
  This Member would like to commend the distinguished gentleman from 
Ohio [Mr. Regula], the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on 
Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, and the distinguished 
gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey], the ranking member of the House 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and 
Education, for bringing this important legislation to the House Floor 
today. This Member is particularly pleased that this appropriations 
conference report includes $800,000 for the University of Nebraska-
Lincoln to expand software education and training programs, as well as 
curriculum development. This funding, which was requested by this 
Member, is to be used to assist the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's 
unique honors program, called the Great Plains Software technology 
program. The program integrates computer science and business 
curriculums to educate students in technologies that are becoming the 
building blocks for the new economy.
  This funding will be used for further development of this curriculum 
and will allow the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to serve additional 
students and provide them with challenging internships. By 
participating in the Honors Program, students will be prepared with the 
knowledge needed in the information technology arena so they can start 
their own companies or help expand existing businesses, thereby 
creating new jobs and opportunities in Nebraska. This Member is also 
pleased that the conference report provides $1.5 million for the Close 
Up Foundation. It is this Member's opinion that the Close Up Foundation 
is the best citizen education program that brings citizens of any age 
to Washington, D.C., to study our governmental system. It is a highly 
successful program that each year provides thousands of high school 
students with an extraordinary opportunity to learn how our government 
works. The funding, which was requested by this and other Members, will 
assist low-income students who want to attend the Close Up program.
  This Member is also pleased that the conference report includes 
language, which this Member requested, expressing concern about the 
Administration's plans to abolish the Office for the Advancement of 
Telehealth and reassign these functions to the HIV/AIDS Bureau. This 
Member is pleased that the conferees have provided sufficient funds to 
continue the operations of this office as a component of the Office of 
the Administrator.

[[Page 27083]]

  The Administration's decision to make such an organizational change 
came as a complete surprise to this Member, as he was given prior 
assurances of OAT's success as a leader in advancing higher quality 
health care for Americans living in rural and non-metropolitan parts of 
our country.
  This Member was concerned about this move for several reasons. 
Despite any assurances that might be offered to the contrary, the 
abolition of the OAT and the placement of its function in the HIV/AIDS 
Bureau would likely divert the focus of the Office's efforts and 
program and staff resources away from using telehealth to provide 
better access to rural and underserved populations. The Office 
currently manages over 80 grants in 40 states and has improved the 
lives of over 100,000 individuals over the past year. Many of these 
grants have been highlighted by Members of Congress as being of 
significant importance to residents of their home districts. These 
grants were authorized by Congress to meet the unique needs of rural 
and underserved populations. The needs and requirements of expanding 
medical access to rural and underserved urban communities using 
telemedicine are quite different from the programmatic efforts of the 
HIV/AIDS Bureau.
  Through the Office's efforts to foster communication and coordination 
among programs that are involved in telehealth activities, OAT has 
served as a critical focal point for such activities within the Federal 
Government. For example, its efforts to create and manage the Joint 
Working Group on Telemedicine have focused on improving the 
effectiveness of over 15 different Federal grant programs through 
education about new initiatives and participation in joint activities 
that reduce duplication of efforts. We are concerned that this 
reorganization will eliminate this function and bring about greater 
inefficiency and confusion among Federal programs. The Office currently 
serves as a model for the cost-effective expansion in delivering 
medical care through its grant program. For example, during a recent 
period (1999 to 2000) the program's grantees increased patient 
encounters by over 83 percent while its budget increased by only 56 
percent. In addition, Federal dollars used by OAT grantees are used to 
leverage other funds, further expanding access to care while saving 
costs to the Federal Government.
  Finally, following the horrific events of September 11, 2001, it is 
ever more important that we have a powerful OAT that can assist rural 
and underserved communities with the development of telehealth 
programs. The large Federal investment already made in establishing a 
network of programs providing telemedicine services can be used to 
educate rural medical professionals on how to diagnose, report, and 
respond to effects of terrorism. This education is critical since high 
mortality rates could occur if diseases resulting from the release of 
biowarfare agents and other terrorist actions are not recognized and 
treated properly in their early stages.
  Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, this Member supports the conference 
report for H.R. 3061 and urges his colleagues to approve it.
  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support of a 
bipartisan appropriations bill that provides resources to important 
federal priorities. First, I am pleased with the level of funding for 
education. Last week this House approved the most sweeping reform in 
federal education policy since 1965. That legislation was designed to 
elevate the quality of our nation's schools and bridge the achievement 
gaps that have been tolerated for too long in our country. It will 
require more of our students and teachers by setting higher standards 
and tracking progress over time.
  While the H.R. 1 reform bill was a monumental achievement, it was 
hollow rhetoric until today. Today, we are taking the first step to 
provide the federal resources necessary to support the type of reforms 
and the level of excellence in education that we outlined in H.R. 1. 
today, we are moving closer to keeping the federal government's 
promises to our local schools and students.
  The FY 2002 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill provides a 16 
percent funding increase for education programs overall, including a 17 
percent boost in elementary and secondary education programs and a 13 
percent increase in the maximum Pell Grant. This will translate into 
helping local school districts hire 32,000 additional teachers and 
increasing the number of Pell Grant recipients to 4.3 million. In 
addition, it includes a boost in special education spending for the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Although I, like many of 
my colleagues, believe that supporting our local schools with 40 
percent of the costs of special education is a high priority, this 
legislation will provide the highest level of funding ever for special 
education by boosting the federal percentage from 12 percent to 17 
percent of all costs, a 19 percent increase over last year. I am 
pleased that we are doing so much to meet our obligations to our 
children and recognizing that education is an important long-term 
priority.
  While Congress has done much lately to improve education, recent 
events have demonstrated the essential nature of preserving our health 
care infrastructure. Because a strong health care system improves the 
life of every American, I am pleased that this appropriations bill 
continues to move us down the track of doubling the funding for NIH 
over five years, by providing a 15 percent increase over last year's 
funding levels. Federal resources devoted to the National Institutes of 
Health are the backbone of biomedical research throughout the nation. 
This increase will invest in potentially life-saving discoveries about 
a plethora of disease processes and treatment techniques. In addition 
it will provide increased resources to assist rural areas by 
strengthening the federal assistance given to rural hospitals and 
increasing support for the National Health Service Corp.
  This legislation also recognizes the evolving nature of our world and 
new priorities in health care response that we face in ensuring 
Homeland Security. It dedicates additional resources to public health 
prevention and bioterrorism preparedness. There is an 11 percent 
increase for the Centers for Disease Control (the front-line of our 
nation's bioterrorism preparedness and response team) and funding to 
begin establishing an environmental health tracking network to assist 
in monitoring and responding to disease trends.
  Although I am disappointed that this legislation's strong commitment 
to public health does not include an expansion in the federal 
requirements for mental health parity, I am pleased that the Conference 
Committee had the foresight to include an extension of the existing 
regulations for an additional year. This coupled with a 6 percent 
increase in funds for the Mental Health Services Administration will 
assist more Americans who suffer from mental illness.
  In many ways the long-term stability and prosperity of our nation is 
provided for in this legislation. Our education system is fortified; 
our health care system is equipped, and finally, our nation's workers 
are assisted. This legislation helps to adequately assist dislocated 
workers and provide training to adults and youth. Never in the last 
decade have we needed to be more aggressive about providing services 
for victims of economic downturn and investing in long-term priorities 
that will create long-term economic prosperity and national security.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, last week we reauthorized funding of 
education programs with a solid balanced approach for the future. 
Today's Labor, Health, Human Services and Education bill provides the 
first year of funding on that vision. Nothing is more important for the 
future livability of our communities than a sound education system; 
schools are the building blocks of stable neighborhoods and healthy 
children.
  I am pleased with the progress that has been made on education in 
this Congress. While there are pressing needs for security and defense, 
and the state of the economy is on everybody's minds, nothing will make 
more difference for the long term livability of Oregon and communities 
around the country than having a solid education system. Especially in 
these difficult economic times, assistance from the federal government 
plays a critical role. I enthusiastically support this bill, which 
provides a 16 percent increase over last year, an increase three times 
larger than the administration had requested. For special education, a 
critical need, the rate of increase is even higher at 19 percent.
  I am also pleased with the improvements in health and Low-Income Home 
Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) funding. This conference report includes 
extra support for National Institutes of Health research, a vital 11% 
increase for the Centers for Disease Control. These important 
organizations are even more vital to our preparedness and security in 
light of the threats that face our nation. We have also maintained 
LIHEAP funding from FY01, $300 million over the President's request, to 
help low-income Oregonians and other Americans access heating 
assistance during a time of cold weather and skyrocketing energy costs. 
Finally, Congress will send the President a bill without the proposed 
cuts in Head Start funding, maintaining a program that is vital to the 
development of young children.
  My hope is that we can build on this progress in the next session of 
congress to be able to assure that our children have stable education 
funding and that our communities have more resource to modernize 
schools and provide a full range of services that our children deserve 
and that citizens demand. The federal government needs to be a full 
partner; this bill goes a long way towards fulfilling that promise.

[[Page 27084]]


  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, the Labor H.H.S. conference report signals a 
bipartisan commitment to place education as a top priority. Education 
must be top priority not just for children of privilege, not just for 
those who speak English as their first language, all children deserve 
the opportunity to learn!
  Latinos remain among the most educationally disadvantaged of all 
students. Education must be a top priority for all children. In 
education, our children are the underdogs. Our children are without a 
voice. As elected officials we have the responsibility of voicing 
loudly and plainly the educational realities of poor and disadvantaged 
children.
  I can assure you that we in the Hispanic Caucus have not forgotten 
our roots. We are standing strong and fighting hard not only for our 
children but all children, so that no child is left behind. This bill 
makes significant strides in funding for our educational priorities but 
make no mistake that we as Hispanic members of Congress will continue 
pushing for adequate and protected funding for bilingual education, 
immigrant and special education.
  We will continue fighting so that every poor child, eligible for 
services can receive assistance. We are not only fighting for our 
children to catch up we are also fighting for our children to move 
ahead, excel, fulfill their hopes and dreams and lead us into the 21st 
century.
  We need to move out of the box to meet the needs of the changing 
population to meet the unique needs of our community. We need to 
provide the resources so that the opportunities for our children are 
real. We need to provide the resources so that all children, if they 
work hard, can succeed. That is the American promise. That is the 
American dream. We must remember the words of Cesar Chavez: Si se 
puede, Yes we can!
  With the passage of this bill we are well on our way. I strongly 
support final passage of H.R. 3061.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my sincere disappointment 
with the Republican House conferees and their leadership who gave the 
big insurance companies their holiday wish and abandoned the millions 
suffering from mental illness when they killed the mental health parity 
amendment in conference.
  Mental illnesses are brain disorders. They are as much physical 
illness as diabetes or heart disease. Members of Congress and federal 
workers already have health insurance providing parity for mental 
health benefits. Other Americans deserve the same protection. The cost 
of parity is low and the benefits are significant. For example, in my 
own state of Ohio mental health and substance abuse costs for state 
employees dropped with parity.
  There are 54 million Americans with mental illness, two-thirds of 
whom receive no treatment. The Wall Street Journal has estimated that 
untreated mental illnesses cost U.S. businesses $70 billion a year in 
lost productivity and absenteeism; other estimates are much higher. 
Parity is inexpensive, support for it is broad, the authorizers have 
not acted, and those who opposed the amendment should be ashamed for 
voting to protect unconscionable discrimination.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the 
conference report and I urge its adoption. I want to thank the ranking 
member, Mr. Obey, for yielding me this time and for his strong and 
forceful leadership not only on this bill, but also for the American 
people.
  I want to recognize the chairman of our Subcommittee, Mr. Regula. He 
has been an absolute pleasure to work with and has gone out of his way 
to ensure that the bill was crafted in a bipartisan manner and that the 
concerns of Members on both sides of the aisle were considered.
  Mr. Speaker, this conference report provides tremendous increases for 
health, education and worker safety and training. We've been able to 
follow up on the promises we made on this floor last week when we 
passed the ESEA conference report in this bill. Increases in Title I 
funding will ensure that our most disadvantaged children have access to 
a quality education. Pell Grants will reach a maximum of $4,000 per 
student, giving low-income students a helping hand in paying for 
college. Overall, the bill boosts education funding by over $1 billion, 
to its highest level ever. In health programs, the bill continues to 
provide an unprecedented level of funding for medical research. We are 
in an age of tremendous discovery in medical research, and the 
resources provided to NIH will help find treatments and cures for many 
diseases. There are increases for mental health research and treatment, 
HIV/AIDS programs, and programs for the elderly. And, we address the 
growing threat of bioterrorism by giving the CDC, our leader in this 
fight, greater resources to help keep our nation secure.
  Even with these vast increases for so many programs, we know that 
next year will be very different. The surpluses we've enjoyed have 
disappeared. And, the President's tax cuts will take up more and more 
of the federal budget as we go forward. We're just beginning to fund 
education and healthcare at the levels they deserve. I am concerned, as 
are many of my colleagues, that we will not be able to provide this 
same level of funding next year.
  I want to mention one area of critical importance--the need to combat 
obesity in this country. The Surgeon General reported last week that 
two out of three American adults are overweight. In fact, he estimates 
that obesity will cause more deaths than smoking in the coming years. 
Reducing the rate of obesity can prevent unnecessary illness and death. 
We've been so successful in convincing people to quit smoking, and this 
should be the next big fight for public health. I know that Chairman 
Regula  and Mr. Obey will be very interested in that effort, and I want 
to again thank the chairman and ranking member for their tireless 
efforts in putting this bill together. I urge adoption of the 
conference report.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time has expired. Without objection, the 
previous question is ordered on the conference report.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the conference report.
  Pursuant to clause 10 of rule XX, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 393, 
nays 30, not voting 11, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 504]

                               YEAS--393

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Andrews
     Armey
     Baca
     Bachus
     Baird
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Ballenger
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett
     Barton
     Bass
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Blumenauer
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonior
     Bono
     Boozman
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Brown (SC)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cannon
     Capito
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Carson (IN)
     Carson (OK)
     Castle
     Chambliss
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Collins
     Combest
     Condit
     Conyers
     Cooksey
     Costello
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crenshaw
     Crowley
     Culberson
     Cummings
     Cunningham
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Deutsch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Dunn
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     Engel
     English
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Everett
     Farr
     Fattah
     Ferguson
     Filner
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Forbes
     Ford
     Fossella
     Frank
     Frelinghuysen
     Frost
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Gephardt
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Gonzalez
     Goode
     Gordon
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (TX)
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Grucci
     Gutierrez
     Gutknecht
     Hall (TX)
     Hansen
     Harman
     Hart
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Herger
     Hill
     Hilleary
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hobson
     Hoeffel
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hooley
     Horn
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hyde
     Inslee
     Isakson
     Israel
     Issa
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     John
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     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
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     McKeon
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Mica
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller, Dan
     Miller, Gary
     Miller, George
     Miller, Jeff
     Mink
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
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     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
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     Oxley
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Payne

[[Page 27085]]


     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Phelps
     Pickering
     Platts
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Portman
     Price (NC)
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     Putnam
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     Reynolds
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     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
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     Sabo
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     Sanders
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     Shaw
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     Simpson
     Skeen
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     Slaughter
     Smith (MI)
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     Snyder
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     Thomas
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     Thurman
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     Watts (OK)
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     Weller
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson (NM)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn
     Young (FL)

                                NAYS--30

     Akin
     Bartlett
     Cantor
     Chabot
     Cox
     Crane
     Duncan
     Flake
     Goodlatte
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Hostettler
     Jones (NC)
     Kerns
     McInnis
     Otter
     Paul
     Pence
     Pitts
     Rohrabacher
     Royce
     Ryun (KS)
     Schaffer
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Smith (NJ)
     Tancredo
     Toomey
     Weldon (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--11

     Baker
     Clement
     Cubin
     Hall (OH)
     Hastings (FL)
     Luther
     Meek (FL)
     Reyes
     Stark
     Wexler
     Young (AK)

                              {time}  1532

  Mr. GOODLATTE and Mr. PENCE changed their vote from ``yea'' to 
``nay.''
  Mrs. KELLY, Mr. DOGGETT and Mr. THOMAS changed their vote from 
``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the conference report was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________