mr. chairman , i rise in reluctant opposition to the labor-hhs-education appropriations bill .  i say reluctant because as a member of the labor-hhs-education appropriations subcommittee i have worked closely with the other members of the subcommittee during our budget oversight hearings and especially with our chairman , ralph regula , to highlight programs of importance to my constituents .  chairman regula and the staff of the subcommittee have been extremely patient with my many requests , and chairman regula has been extremely generous , within his tight budget allocation , in trying to make progress on several important priorities of mine .  the first of those priorities is the national media campaign to fight underage drinking , which is currently underway by the ad council .  although the subcommittee has provided project funds for this important effort in the past , for the first time , the chairman has included this funding as a programmatic priority in the office of the secretary of health and human services .  representative frank wolf and i were joined by 44 of our colleagues in requesting the funds to carry out a multimedia campaign directed at parents , and i am grateful to chairman regula , who understands the terrible impact of underage drinking on our youth and the importance of an effective national media campaign to address it .  in addition , chairman regula has provided increases in two areas to help infants and their families .  first , cdc -- the centers for disease control and prevention -- conducts a national program for education and prevention of birth defects by encouraging women of child-bearing age to take the recommended amount of folic acid daily .  based on this effort , as well as the fortification of u.s. grain products with folic acid , the rate of neural tube defects has decreased by 26 percent over 7 years , and the committee has continued to provide incremental increases to this important cdc program .  second , the committee has increased funds for the health resources and services administration 's newborn screening program for early identification of infants affected by certain genetic , metabolic , i appreciate chairman regula 's generosity in providing funds for these priorities .  he truly understands that the labor-hhs-education appropriations bill is the people 's bill .  it makes it doubly difficult for me to cast a vote in opposition to the bill because i know he has worked hard to distribute the limited resources he has been given in a fair and conscientious way .  my `` no '' vote on this bill should therefore in no way be seen as a lack of respect or lack of appreciation for ralph regula and his efforts on behalf of those who depend on the resources provided in this bill .  however , this bill , more than any other appropriations bill we act on , by providing the funds for health and education programs of importance to our constituents , i goes to the heart of what we democrats in the house stand for and for what i stand for as a member of congress representing the people and communities of the 34th district of california .  these programs are just too important , and the cuts and terminations in this bill are just too severe , for me to vote for this bill at this time .  i will continue to work with chairman regula , ranking member david obey , and the other members of our subcommittee as we conference the bill with the senate , with the hope that we can identify additional funds and make the improvements to this bill that will make it one of which we can all be proud and which we can all support .  