mr. speaker , i reluctantly rise in opposition to the fiscal year 2006 labor-hhs conference report . 
however , i wanted to express my sincere appreciation to the gentleman from ohio ( mr. regula ) xz4003340 , the ranking member , the gentleman from wisconsin ( mr. obey ) xz4003000 , and their staffs for their hard work on this legislation . 
the bill should address many of our most important priorities , from education funding , worker training , to biomedical research and public health activities . 
unfortunately , it falls short . 
for the first time in 10 years , the bill actually cuts funding for the department of education . 
the bill provides the smallest increase for the national institutes of health in 36 years . 
despite the fact that college costs have increased by 34 percent since 2001 , the bill freezes the maximum pell grant for the fourth year in a row . 
at a time when states are being asked to bear an increasingly larger burden for preparing for and responding to public health emergencies , this bill cuts funds for state and local health departments by $ 127 million . 
and the bill includes a rescission of $ 125 million from new york state worker 's compensation programs intended for sick and injured workers from september 11 . 
the president made a $ 20 billion commitment to the people of new york following september 11 . 
the rescission breaks that promise . 
while these and other programs are on the chopping block today , the bill provides a $ 10 million increase for abstinence-until-marriage programs , despite mounting evidence of the scientific and medical inaccuracy of their curricula and ineffective results . 
mr. speaker , i also want to express my continued concerned with the weldon refusal clause included in this bill . 
for over 30 years , there have been federal laws that allow doctors , nurses , and hospitals to refuse to provide abortion services because of their religious beliefs . 
however , this provision extends that protection to hmos , insurance companies , and makes no exception for medical emergencies . 
states that attempt to protect access to health services can be denied all of their federal health , education , and labor funding . 
my colleagues , we had an alternative to this misguided and dangerous language . 
the senate bill contained a provision that would protect doctors ' consciences while ensuring that women still have access to the services and referrals they need . 
unfortunately , the house majority rejected the senate 's reasonable compromise in favor of maintaining a policy designed to limit women 's access to reproductive health services . 
mr. speaker , it is because of these flaws that i simply can not support this final conference report . 
