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INCREASED
SUPPORT I support a substantial change in our national federal budget priorities to increase educational achievement in America. If one makes a pie chart of our federal Discretionary Budget, our current federal priorities are as follows: Of every dollar currently spent by Congress, we spend 47 cents on the Pentagon and only 6 cents on Education. This 6 cents represents a current national investment of approximately $37 billion. Our national policy on education is important to our economic security. Our economic security is heavily tied to our continued technological leadership in today's world economy. Maintaining our economic security is an important part of our national security. In order to more broadly and comprehensively strengthen our national security, I support an annual reallocation of approximately $15 billion, from the Pentagon budget to improve our educational achievement, especially in math and science where we are so seriously behind other countries. With this additional funding we can support programs to hire 250,000 qualified math and science teachers needed over the next 10 years, build up-to-date science labs in schools, improve schools for better computer and technological use and educate the other 2 out of 3 head-start students in America not presently served. The need for this change in our national priorities is discussed in the following sections and in other parts of my website. How are we doing? Our national system of public education is the backbone of our country’s future and our economic security. In addition to its other benefits, its caliber will determine how well we collaborate, negotiate and compete with the educated workforces, military forces, and political leaders of other countries. As adults, today's students will need to make sense of a rapidly changing world. They will need to make difficult decisions for themselves and their families regarding finances and health care. Collectively, as members of a community, they will need to understand and make decisions regarding how to treat the world in which they live. Our workforce must have the skills required to maintain our economic security in the global marketplace and perform the increasingly technical tasks required by our armed forces in order to maintain our military security in the world. So how well are we doing in America?
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