mr. speaker , i am sorry that the gentleman from indiana ( mr. pence ) xz4003150 left the floor . 
the majority party neither funds the appropriate priorities in this bill nor meets its responsibilities for fiscal sound management of the federal government . 
it has taken this nation $ 3 trillion into additional debt in the last 56 , 58 months . 
during the last 4 years of the clinton administration , we did not have to increase the debt once , not once . 
mr. speaker , this appropriations conference report betrays our nation 's values and its future . 
it is neither compassionate , conservative nor wise , and i will vote against it . 
our colleagues on the other side of the aisle , including my republican friends on the labor health committee , claim that there is little they can do to improve the funding levels in this key domestic program . 
they say that they have no options , no alternative , that they are only complying with the funding levels dictated by the republican budget resolution , a resolution which results in an additional almost trillion dollars in additional debt . 
but let me remind them , you voted for that budget resolution and you can not have it both ways . 
you can not vote for draconian cuts in april and disclaim responsibility when those cuts are enacted in november . 
at a time when we should be striving to make american schools and american students the best and the most competitive in the world , this bill insures that our nation falls further and further behind . 
unconscionably , this conference report cuts the federal investment in education below current levels by $ 59 million , for the first time in a decade . 
and it cuts funding for no child left behind by $ 784 million , 3.2 percent cut , below the current level . 
this means that we have now reached a $ 40 billion cumulative shortfall below the amount we promised our children when president bush signed this bill into law . 
we do nothing in this bill to make higher education more accessible . 
in my state , and i am sure in the chairman 's state , and the chairman i do not criticize . 
he is given what he is given and he does the best he can . 
but in my state , costs have gone up for college kids and their families . 
despite the president 's 2000 campaign promise to increase the maximum pell grant to $ 5 , 100 , despite that promise , this bill freezes the maximum pell grant at over 25 percent below that , at $ 4 , 050 . 
for the fourth year in a row , that promise has been broken , while tuition and fees have increased 46 percent since 2001 . 
however , the inappropriate funding levels in this conference report should not surprise anyone . 
they are the inevitable consequence , and i am glad my friend from indiana has returned , because the budget deficits confronting this nation and the underfunding of priorities in this nation are the inevitable consequence of the fiscal policies of the republican majority and this administration , policies that starve the government resources . 
so let everyone here and everyone watching at home understand , the funding levels contained in this conference report are the direct consequence of the republican party 's failed economic policies that have spawned record budget deficits . 
why ? 
because the next bill that is coming down the line will cut taxes by some $ 70 billion . 
as the gentleman from alaska ( mr. young ) xz4004401 asked , is it saving money ? 
it is not . 
and those failed policies are the proximate cause of this woefully underfunded and unacceptable conference report . 
when we started on this budget disaster , jim nussle , republican leader of the budget committee said this : `` we do not touch social security . 
it does not touch medicare . 
in fact , this budget accomplishes the largest reduction of the debt held by the public in our history . 
the bill does not change in one way , shape or form . 
and by the end of 10 years , this budget will have eliminated the debt held by the public. '' in fact , it has taken , contrary to mr. nussle 's representations , $ 3 trillion , with a t , additional debt has been accumulated under these budgets . 
all they do is underfund priorities and adopt fiscally irresponsible policies . 
what a shame for america . 
together america can do better . 
