(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District-KS) voted against a bill Friday that severely underfunds education and health care programs in Kansas, including Head Start, Pell Grants, job training, and Low-Income Home Energy Assistance. Moore was particularly concerned H.R. 3010, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2006, failed to adequately fund key education initiatives.

“Congress talks a lot about values,” Moore said. “I think a true measure of values is not what people say, but where Congress decides to spend our money or make budget cuts. We need to work together to find a way to restore funding for these important programs.”

Overall, the bill provides $13.2 billion less for education than was promised in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Funding for after-school programs is frozen at 2005 levels, and there is a $3.9 billion shortfall for special education. Kansas’ portion of the total NCLB shortfall in H.R. 3010 is $81.2 million.

“Schools desperately need resources to implement NCLB reforms,” Moore said. “Now is the worst possible time for Congress to renege on funding promises made to America’s schools, their teachers and our children.”

Over $9 billion of the NCLB shortfall, including $57.7 million in Kansas, is in Title I funds, which provide low-income children with the help they need in reading and math. For the second straight year, Kansas will receive less Title I funding than it did in the previous year.

“When Congress passed NCLB, they made a promise to our schools that they would provide resources and support to help them meet a new standard of excellence,” Moore said. “The federal government’s refusal to fully fund NCLB threatens to break this promise, unfairly shifting the burden to Kansas taxpayers.”

H.R. 3010 also cuts funds to Title VII Health Professionals programs, which will have an immediate impact on the training and recruitment of health students. These cuts account for almost $6 million in Kansas and $5 million at KU Medical Center.

“Title VII is the only federal program that supports family medicine training programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels,” Moore said. “The program improves well-being by increasing the number of primary care physicians and health care professionals providing health care to underserved communities all over America.”