mr. chairman , i rise today in opposition to the funding levels in h.r. 3010 , the fy 2006 labor-hhs-education appropriations act , for the no child left behind ( nclb ) act , the individuals with disabilities education act ( idea ) , and title vii health professionals programs . 
i voted for nclb because i believe in increased accountability for our nation 's public schools to ensure that the promise of a high-quality public education can be realized for each student in our nation . 
before the vote on nclb , i heard reservations from local educators and my constituents that nclb not become another unfunded mandate like idea for special education . 
when congress approved and the president signed nclb , however , i believed that the federal government would provide the promised funding to enact these reforms . 
since 2002 , congress and the administration have not fully funded nclb . 
in h.r. 3010 , congress and the administration cut nclb overall funding by $ 806 million ( 3.3 percent ) below the current level . 
under this bill , the nclb funding shortfall will be $ 13.2 billion for fy 2006 and over $ 40 billion since the law 's enactment . 
in addition , h.r. 3010 cuts the $ 603 million increase the administration proposed for title i to help low-income children improve their reading and math skills to only an $ 100 million increase . 
the administration 's request was already inadequate , but these additional cuts put title i funding $ 9.9 billion under what is promised under nclb for fy 2006 . 
congress and the administration have not fully funded idea , a program that helps local schools and school districts pay for the costs of providing educational services to special needs children that are mandated by federal law . 
the federal government has never provided 40 percent of the costs it initially promised when it enacted this important law . 
h.r. 3010 provides $ 3.9 billion less than congress promised in the idea improvement act of 2004 . 
in addition , this bill even cuts the $ 508 million increase proposed by the administration to only $ 150 million . 
under this bill , the federal share of special education costs will actually drop from 18.6 percent to 18.1 percent next year . 
in the 2004-2005 school year , 10 states and 7 , 194 school districts saw cuts in title i funding , including my state of kansas . 
for the 2005-2006 school year , kansas along with nine other states will again receive less title i funding . 
for my home state of kansas , the combined funding shortfall for nclb and idea for fy 2006 is $ 240 million , which is shifting the burden of meeting these new requirements back to kansas taxpayers . 
with the deadline of expanding assessment to grades 3 through 8 scheduled for the 2005-2006 school year and more districts being identified under adequate yearly progress ( ayp ) , congress and the administration are not keeping pace with increasing demands at the local level . 
the federal government must provide our school with the resources and tools necessary to help them meet the new standards imposed by nclb . 
it is simply a matter of fairness and common sense . 
this is why i have introduced h.r. 2694 , the keeping our promises to america 's children ( kpac ) act of 2005 . 
this legislation would suspend implementation of nclb until the law is fully funded . 
i would also like to express my concerns about the cuts to title vii health professions programs included in h.r. 3010 . 
the elimination of the programs will have an immediate impact on the training and recruitment of health professions students and the educational opportunities developed and supported by title vii . 
title vii programs are unique in that they are the only federal investment in interdisciplinary training , which is vitally important , as care is often provided in several different settings . 
the programs are also designed to enhance minority representation in the health care workforce and reduce shortages of health professionals in underserved areas , such as inner cities and the many rural regions throughout the country . 
community health centers and the national health service corps , for example , rely on graduates of title vii programs to fill their ranks . 
congress talks a lot about values . 
i think a true measure of values is not what people say , but where congress decides to spend our money or make budget cuts . 
funding for these important programs must be restored in the final fy 2006 labor-hhs bill . 
these cuts account for almost $ 6 million in kansas and $ 5 million for the k.u . 
medical center . 
