mr. speaker , i know the subcommittee chairman , the ranking member , and the majority and minority staff , did the best they could under the circumstances .  but i think cutting title vii health professions by 69 percent , eliminating some title vii programs entirely , is draconian and unconscionable .  since i started serving on this subcommittee almost 7 years ago , i have fought to end disparities , disparities in employment , disparities in education , disparities in health .  and health disparities are real .  if one is black in this country , their life expectancy is 66 years .  if one is white in this country , it is 74 years .  infant mortality is twice as high for african american babies as it is for white babies .  fortunately , institutions like the institute of medicine of the national academy of sciences have laid out a framework on how to end these disparities .  one of the recommendations of the iom was to increase the number of minority health professions .  this mark does exactly the opposite , cutting health professions by almost $ 200 million .  mr. speaker , in the centers of excellence program , this cut will eliminate 30 programs at minority serving institutions , negatively impacting approximately 1 , 000 under-represented minority students and almost 180 under-represented faculty at these schools .  in the faculty loan repayment program , approximately 40 under-represented staff persons will lose their jobs .  in the health careers opportunity program , 7 , 000 minority disadvantaged students will be negatively impacted and 3 , 000 k through 12 students will be negatively impacted .  mr. speaker , this assault on minority serving programs is unjustified and overtly irresponsible .  i think that a society says a lot about the way it treats its most vulnerable of its citizens .  i believe that we live in a united states and , like a chain , we are only as strong as our weakest link .  by leaving some of our citizens behind , we prove that we are not strong and compassionate but weak and uncaring .  i keep hearing members of this body say , jessie , this is a tight budget year .  mr. speaker , this is a tight year .  it was not created by immaculate conception .  some of us voted to make it a tight budget year .  some of us voted to approve the budget resolution .  saying it is going to be a tough budget year is like a farmer saying he is going to have a bad harvest because he did not plant any seeds .  mr. speaker , when congress approved this budget resolution , we did not plant any seeds and nothing will grow this year , not because of a natural disaster like a drought , but because of our own making in this congress .  shame on us .  the chairman and the subcommittee did the best they could , but this is a terrible mark , and i urge a `` no '' on this bill .  