mr. speaker , i am sorry that the gentleman from indiana ( mr. pence )  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 )  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 .  