mr. speaker , i rise today to express my strong opposition to the ill-conceived conference report for h.r. 3010 , the labor-hhs-education appropriations bill for fiscal year 2006 . 
this bill is flawed in so many ways and is a disservice to the american people . 
it is the latest move in the steady drumbeat of a republican legislative agenda that makes working and middle class americans pay for the tax cuts that benefit the ultra-wealthiest americans . 
and it comes at a time when we are confronting the aftermath of hurricane katrina and the huge costs of waging the ongoing war in iraq . 
overall , this conference report cuts education , health care , and human services by $ 1.5 billion below what was spent on these efforts last year . 
meanwhile , republicans plan to spend $ 11 billion this week on a capital gains and dividend income tax cut that will provide 53 percent of its benefit to people making more than $ 1 million . 
overall , republicans will spend more on tax cuts this week alone , $ 70 billion , than on both the department of education and the department of labor , $ 68 billion , for an entire year . 
these are just a few victims of the republican bill . 
no child left behind funding is cut by $ 784 million , the first time nclb will have been cut since the law was enacted . 
title i , which is the core of nclb 's efforts to improve reading and math skills , receives the smallest increase in 8 years -- only $ 100 million -- which means 3.1 million low-income children will be left behind . 
the maximum pell grant is frozen for the fourth straight year , and no new funding is provided for all other student financial aid and support programs , even though college costs have increased by $ 3 , 095 , 34 percent , since 2001 . 
consumers are expected to pay 46 percent more for natural gas and 28 percent more for home heating oil this winter , yet republicans refused to increase funding for liheap home heating assistance , which helps keep the heat on for low-income seniors and children . 
nearly 46 million americans are without health insurance yet republicans provide virtually no funding for new community health centers beyond those approved last year . 
republicans also eliminate the healthy communities access program , $ 83 million , and state planning grants to improve health care coverage , $ 11 million . 
the conference agreement does not include the $ 8.1 billion in emergency funding provided in the senate bill for pandemic flu preparedness , or any part of the $ 7.1 billion requested by the administration for that purpose . 
the conference agreement freezes or cuts most programs below their fy 2005 levels , including the following : international assistance grants to eradicate child labor and protect worker rights through the bureau of international labor affairs are cut by 21.4 percent . 
community college training grants are cut by 50 percent in each of fy 2005 and fy 2006 . 
unemployment insurance and employment service offices to help the unemployed are cut by 6.7 percent . 
health professions training grants are cut by 69 percent . 
the healthy communities access program is eliminated . 
the centers for disease control is cut by 3.9 percent . 
comprehensive school reform state grants are eliminated . 
even start family literacy services are cut by 55.6 percent . 
education technology grants are cut by 44.6 percent . 
the education block grant for local initiatives is cut by 49.6 percent . 
safe and drug free schools grants are cut by 20 percent . 
under the conference agreement , only a few programs receive modest increases over fy 2005 and -- in most cases -- even these increases are below the amounts sought by the administration . 
while the conference agreement restores many of the 50 programs proposed for termination in the house bill , these restorations were made at the expense of funding for priority programs , such as community health services , title 1 grants for low-income children , and special education grants , and pell grants . 
nih receives a mere 0.7 percent increase -- this does not even keep pace with inflation and does not meet our health research needs . 
title 1 grants for low-income children receive a 0.8 percent increase -- the smallest increase in 8 years . 
special education grants receive a 0.9 percent increase -- the smallest increase in a decade . 
the maximum pell grant is frozen at $ 4 , 050 for the fourth consecutive year compared to the $ 4 , 100 provided in the house bill . 
mr. speaker , the simple truth is that the bill cuts essential health and education programs to pay for ill-conceived tax cuts . 
i do not believe this bill reflects the priorities and values of the american people . 
i urge my colleagues to vote against it . 
