mr. chairman , i rise to express my concern that funding for title vii programs have been cut in this bill .  vii programs provide direct financial support for healthcare workforce development and education .  it is imperative to provide adequate funding so that well-trained health care providers can continue to meet the needs of the american people .  the house showed great leadership last year by providing $ 300 million in funding , and i believe that any decrease could hamper the programs ' ability to train health professionals to care for the neediest populations .  the president 's budget proposes , for the fifth year in a row , to eliminate many of the programs that educate and train a variety of health care providers , such as pharmacists , dentists and pediatricians .  for a number of years now , i have organized members to express support for this important program , and urged the appropriators to fully fund it in the labor-health and human services-education bill .  for the first time this year , the house has failed to restore this funding .  these massive cuts will eliminate key programs that make it possible for our health professions schools to develop training infrastructures and high quality education .  the title vii health professions programs are also the only federal programs designed to train providers in interdisciplinary settings to respond to the needs of special and underserved populations .  the programs have shown to increase minority representation in the health care workforce , which i believe is absolutely essential for our health system .  at a time when the american people have come to rely on their health care providers more than ever , eliminating this resource would be devastating to the country 's neediest communities .  