mr. chairman , i thank my colleague and good friend for yielding me time .  mr. chairman , today i rise to support the congressional black caucus fiscal year 2006 budget substitute which has three main focuses .  first and foremost , it restores fiscal responsibility to the federal budget process .  secondly , it keeps our nation 's promises to our veterans and provides the equipment and materials needed to support our men and women on active duty .  thirdly , this budget funds efforts to close gaps and eliminate disparities in america 's communities and among its citizens .  we restore fiscal responsibility by closing tax loopholes and eliminating the repeal of the limitation on itemized deductions , the phase-out of personal exemptions scheduled to take place between 2006 and 2010 .  we get rid of abusive shelters and tax incentives for offshoring jobs .  this budget reduces the deficit by $ 167 billion over the house majority 's budget over the next 5 years which reduces our interest payments by $ 27 billion .  mr. chairman , our colleagues on the other side are fond of talking about supporting and respecting our troops , but they do not put their money where their mouths are .  the republican budget resolution mandates almost $ 800 million in cuts to veterans mandatory programs .  these are reductions in disability compensation , pension benefits , education benefits , and death benefits .  the president also proposes to increase fees and drug payments on veterans .  the cbc budget increases funding for veterans by $ 4.65 billion .  we restore veterans health care , enhance survivor benefits , medical and prosthetic research , long term care , and mental health care .  mr. chairman , under the issue of education , the president 's budget eliminates 48 education programs that receive $ 4.3 billion this year .  the cbc budget increases funding for education by $ 23.9 billion .  it fully funds no child left behind .  it provides $ 2.5 billion for school construction , increases vocational educational job training , increases pell grants by $ 450 million , increases head start by funding by $ 2 billion .  mr. chairman , unlike the president , we are not playing budgetary games .  we increase funding for pell grants by tapping into new revenue .  the president , on the other hand , has increased funding for pell grants by taking needed funds from programs such as the school lunch program for low-income children .  mr. chairman , there is no greater betrayal or broken promise to the american people than that which can be found in the president 's budget for rural america .  the president recommends cutting agricultural programs by $ 9 billion over 5 years , and the republican budget has suggested cutting the program by only $ 5 billion .  on the other hand , the cbc budget increases funding for programs that benefit rural communities by more than $ 3 billion .  we increase funding for agricultural issues by more than $ 300 million ; increase funding for community and resource development by more than $ 1.5 billion , community development block grants by $ 1.1 billion .  in addition , the republican budget cuts funding for 17 different community and economic development programs that provide housing , water and sewer improvements and small business loans .  mr. chairman , in this budget we maintain tax cuts for wage earners making less than $ 200 , 000 a year , and we roll back cuts on the top 2 percent of americans , and by doing so , we have saved almost $ 47 billion that we have used to invest in the human assets of this country , the american people .  