mr. chairman , this congressional black caucus alternative budget continues the cbc tradition of advocating for increased federal aid to education as the first priority of the world 's only superpower . 
for the last ten years the members ofthe cbc have boldly trumpeted the fact that there is an education state-of-emergency in the african american community and in the mainstream of america . 
the american people enhanced by universal quality education constitute the greatest weapon of mass construction our nation can have . 
to maintain this weapon of mass construction , to maximize homeland security , education must be our front line of defense . 
to confront violent fanatics and zealots in the military arena our soldiers must be the best trained and most educated fighting force in the world . 
to maintain , expand and guide the most complex economic system in the history of our civilization in ways that guarantee continued prosperity we must accept nothing less than overwhelming supremacy in education . 
our budget must reflect this overwhelming quest for supremacy . 
members of the cbc have proudly supported an increase of 23.9 billion dollars in the education budget . 
more specifically we have supported the following restorations and increases : & lt ; center & gt ; function 500 -- education and training & lt ; /center & gt ; + $ 23.9 billion & lt ; center & gt ; school construction & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 2.5 billion & lt ; center & gt ; full funding for no child left behind , including : title i , safe and drug free schools , 21st century learning centers , teacher quality programs , education technology , fund for the improvement of education , english language acquisition , and migrant education & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 12 billion & lt ; center & gt ; elementary and secondary school counseling & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 50 million & lt ; center & gt ; vocational education & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 1.5 billion & lt ; center & gt ; job training & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 750 million & lt ; center & gt ; adult education & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 400 million & lt ; center & gt ; pell grants & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 450 million & lt ; center & gt ; head start & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 2 billion & lt ; center & gt ; individuals with disabilities education act ( idea ) & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 2 billion & lt ; center & gt ; historically black collegesand universities ( hbcus ) & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 500 million & lt ; center & gt ; hispanic serving institutions & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 400 million & lt ; center & gt ; trio & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 500 million & lt ; center & gt ; gaining early awareness and readiness for undergraduate programs ( gear-up ) & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 350 million & lt ; center & gt ; perkins loans & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 100 million & lt ; center & gt ; impact aid & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 300 million & lt ; center & gt ; seog & lt ; /center & gt ; $ 100 million & lt ; p & gt ; 