mr. speaker , i rise in opposition to this fy 2006 labor-hhs conference report . 
almost a month ago , this house rejected an earlier version of this legislation by a vote of 209-224 because it shortchanged the nation 's critical education , health care and job training priorities . 
today we are being asked to pass judgment again on a virtually identical piece of legislation -- as if shuffling $ 180 million between accounts in a $ 602 billion conference report can begin to compensate for the deficiencies in the underlying bill . 
mr. speaker , the labor-hhs appropriations bill used to be called `` the people 's bill. '' so what are the people getting today ? 
here 's a sample from this legislation 's hall of shame : there are $ 779 million in cuts for no child left behind , meaning 3.1 million kids wo n't get the reading and math help they were promised . 
a freeze in the low-income home energy assistance program , llheap -- despite the 44 percent increase in natural gas prices and 24 percent increase in home heating oil prices expected this winter . 
this house has refused to provide sufficient help to families in need despite the fact that it voted a few months ago to give the oil and gas industry a $ 14 billion tax subsidy . 
a cut in real terms from the national institutes of health that will result in nih funding 505 fewer research grants than it did just two years ago . 
a 5 percent cut in critical services for the 7.4 million unemployed and displaced workers left behind by our increasingly globalized economy . 
mr. speaker , the list goes on and on . 
while this conference report is not completely without merit -- ranging from its increased funding for rural health to the reinstatement of the bureau of labor statistics ' women worker survey -- its overarching trajectory falls far short of what our nation and its people deserve . 
i do not believe that it reflects the values and priorities of the american people . 
