Education : America's strategic and economic dominance over
the last fifty years has been driven in large part by our preeminence
in the fields of science and engineering. Discovery and invention have
fueled business and helped create entirely new industries, from gene
therapy to semiconductors, which in turn have created high paying
jobs. But we cannot continue to be competitive as a nation if our
citizens are not educated in the skills and the trades that matter in
the global marketplace. On this front, our schools are failing our
young people. Average New Jerseyans understand this, which is why a
woman in Mercer County who had been recently laid off told me that she
was not worried about herself. Instead, she was most concerned about
her 8th grade granddaughter because the local schools were not
teaching her the things she would need to know to find a job.

China and India are rapidly closing the gap between us and them. China
now graduates four times the number of engineers as the U.S., and
India graduates a million more students from college than we do. Yet
we in America are wedded to an outdated and obsolete education system.
Simply put, we are not doing the things necessary to make sure that
little girl in Mercer County will have the tools to succeed.

If we are to remain competitive – let alone retain our position of
dominance – these trends must be reversed. To do this, we will need to
break free of the same tired arguments we have been hearing for
decades. We need to radically reform our education system so every
child in New Jersey and America has access to the best education in
the world.

The future is now for American children!!!

Early Education. First, we must make pre-kindergarten education the
norm in this country so that all children, from the age of 3, attend
quality schools. The data is irrefutable: the best long-term predictor
of student achievement is the quality of education a child receives
from birth to age five. The brain develops in remarkable ways during
that period. As a first step towards this national program, we have
introduced the P-KOPS bill, which places qualified pre-kindergarten
teachers into high need areas so that all children – no matter their
families' economic situation – have access to quality pre-K schooling.


Character Education. Second, we need to ensure that our kids learn
more than just how to be good students; we also need to teach them how
to be good people. The 3 R's are no longer enough. Now, we need to
teach our children the 4 R's – reading, writing, arithmetic and how to
do what's right. This is why Brooks will support the PRIDE Act to
promote citizenship and character education in our public and private
schools.


10,000 New Teachers to Teach 1,000,000 Kids. Third, we need to recruit
10,000 new teachers, which will help 1 million students. Brooks
supports the 21st Century Innovation Act, which creates competitive
4-year scholarships for students to obtain college degrees in science,
engineering and math in exchange for a commitment to teach in public
K-12 schools for at least 5 years. Our schools are crying out for
qualified teachers, and it is time to place the full resources of the
federal government behind this effort.

Strengthen Skills of Existing Teachers. Fourth, we should help
existing teachers sharpen their skills through ongoing education and
summer training seminars. Our 21st Century Innovation Act will help
250,000 current K-12 teachers by funding summer institutes and
part-time master's degree programs.


Expanding Access to College Education. Fifth, we need to help every
young person in America who wants to attend college achieve their
dream. The only qualification for getting a college education should
be whether or not a young person is smart enough – cost should no
longer be a barrier. Our Service for School Act will pay up to four
years of tuition for any student in America in exchange for that
student's commitment to fore go Social Security benefits until they
reach the age of 70 and an agreement to participate in a national
service program, such as active military, the National Guard and
Reserves, Peace Corps, or AmeriCorps. By harnessing our young people's
civic pride and volunteerism, we can give them the tools they need to
take on the challenges of tomorrow. A significant challenge confronts
us, but we can and we will overcome it. Time and again, Americans have
shown the strength and ability to meet any challenge. I have full
confidence that we will build on our success of the last century and
continue to innovate and lead in this one.

Health Care: There have been periods in my life when I did not have health
insurance because of the expense. I can remember just praying that
nothing would happen to me until I could find a way to get coverage
again. I thought about the care that I might receive as anindigent in
a public hospital if I were to be injured or become gravely ill and
couldn't pay for the services. It was a frightening thought,
especially when I knew how some folks were being taken care of in
private hospitals with the best doctors and newest health care
technology. This fear should never be in the mind of a human being in
a country as great as the United States, especially when we are
spending twice as much on health care per person as the average
developed country.


Almost one in five Americans, and more than nine million children,
don't have health insurance. For those of us who do have insurance, we
often find out that our claims will be rejected when we need a certain
medication that has no generic, or a special new treatment, or
specialist care that may be out o four area. Health care premiums have
more than doubled in the last seven years and are growing five times
faster than wages, while our insurance companies have become
incredibly wealthy. We must reduce errors,improve patient care and
lower our health care costs by using the government's buying power to
negotiate lower prescription drug prices and begin modernizing our
nation's health care infrastructure.


As a U.S. Senator, I will go to bat for the citizens of our great
state every day, to ensure that we are moving forward on our path
towards fully accessible health insurance and medical care for all who
desire it. Prescription drugs must be made cheaper, and we must have
answers for why there has been price gouging. Health care awareness
and delivery to minorities and other under served groups is completely
lacking and must be addressed for the United States to make any
headway towards increasing quality of life for the population as a
whole. My goal as a U.S.Senator is nothing less than for every
American to have quality, affordable health care.

Economy: Economy A stronger economy leads to improved health care,
better education, higher-paying jobs, and a superior quality of life
for almost everyone. However, having a very strong economy does not
mean that we have to go through life worrying about environmental
problems and longing to buy more and more material things to
accumulate. We have an economy so that we can eat, drink, be healthy
and happy; so it makes sense that we would also want to focus on
whether or not our economy is keeping us satisfied, and whether or not
our economy is supporting a sturdy and enduring society for our
grandchildren.


If we want to maintain our quality of life and still remain satisfied
even during the challenging times that may come in the future, then we
need to create true depth in our economy by requiring more local
control, interdependence and the sustainable use of resources. By
moving beyond simple financial growth as the only ideal, we can find
prosperity locally with a return to the days when we grew and consumed
more of our food locally, and even generated and used most of our
energy locally. By paying slightly more up-front for more durable
U.S.-made products we will bolster the economy because things will
last longer and we therefore will save resources; environmental costs
will be lower by eliminating worldwide shipping and ensuring
non-polluting industries; and U.S. workers will have more jobs and
better wages because we will buy the goods that our factories make
here.

The easiest way to continue building foundations for a strong economy
that is also sustainable is to use the power of business, industry and
the capital economy to drive improvements in ecosystem and worker
productivity, quality and market share – all of which yield better
wages and longer-lasting jobs. For years I have worked in the business
world solving core problems that drive cost savings and returns on
investments that allow companies to grow their business and hire more
employees. I have contributed to solutions to complex, long-term
problems at many of the world's largest companies, and I have learned
how to listen to the needs and requirements of workers from the
factory floor to the boardroom. By applying my business experience in
the U.S. Senate I can work for solutions that have proven successes in
the real world and can be measured with returns that properly account
for all of the costs and reward all participants in the economy.

We are crippling ourselves with an interest payment of almost $1
billion per day on our National debt. With an extra $30 billion every
month we can rebuild a lot of the bridges, roads, water and electrical
systems that are old and failing. With an extra $90 billion every
quarter we could really help to modernize and update schools systems
and that pump matching educational money into state coffers as
incentives for meeting educational goals. With an extra $350+billion a
year we can really begin reparations to the social security program,
as well as health care.

The National debt has grown from roughly $5.5 trillion in 2000 to
almost $9 trillion in just over 2000 days.This increase of more than
60% in six years is unacceptable even if the Iraq war had been funded
completely from debt – its total costs are still under$700 billion –
the most expensive war in history.There is another $2.5 - $3 trillion
in debt that has been added to our burden. This is due to fiscal
irresponsibility, tax breaks for the ultra rich and subsidies for the
most profitable industries. I will speak up in the U.S. Senate to keep
a constant focus on fiscal responsibility in our Federal budget.


• I will fight to make sure that New Jersey gets there sources we need
– including investments in renewable energy and other innovative
technology, technology to grow our businesses and create new,
higher-paying jobs. In order to attract new investments and new jobs I
will work hard in the U.S. Senate to get funding to make sure that New
Jersey communities are desirable places to do business by getting
Federal support to maintain and update our infrastructure –including
highways, bridges and water mains -- to bring new opportunities for
economic development.


• New Jersey businesses deserve to have fair access to all
international markets and we must have a level playing field for our
farmers, workers and labor unions. Free trade does not equal fair
trade, and as a U.S. Senator, I will insist that integrated
labor,environmental and socioeconomic minimum standards be apart of
the trade agreements we negotiate with other countries.

Immigration: The question is not whether we should secure our
borders. We need to make sure our borders are secure and enforce them
effectively. That said, I am very much in favor of legal immigration.
Immigration has been the life blood of this country from the very
beginning. We are a nation of immigrants, coming from all around the
world, and we should continue that tradition by improving the ability
of LEGAL guest workers and LEGAL immigrants to enter this country.

A fundamental responsibility of the Federal government is to secure
our borders and enforce them. While our government is spending far too
much attention in areas it shouldn't be operating in, the areas where
it should be operating to the fullest are suffering.

Steps to solve the problems:
• No Amnesty.
Providing amnesty again would further degrade the rule of law in this
country. It is not right to provide the same benefit of citizenship to
those who disregarded our laws as those who regarded them. If we
provide amnesty, which laws do we then choose to obey and which ones
do we choose to disregard?

• Attrition through Enforcement and a no option deadline:
There is no practical way to deport all the illegal aliens in the
United States. However, by removing the employment and entitlement
incentives combined with a no option deadline individuals will be self
motivated to deport themselves and return through a legal process.

No option deadline: At a specified date in the future, anyone caught
in the United States illegally will have no option for future
citizenship or the option to participate in a guest worker program.
Prior to this deadline, all illegal aliens will have the option to
return to their country, and then return to the United States through
the proper channels via the citizenship path or a guest worker path.
Of course, we will also need to speed up and improve the citizenship
process and provide for a guest worker program.


Retirement Plan: Brooks will use actions, not just words, to prove to
our seniors that there is no such thing as a spare New Jerseyan, and
to build a nation where seniors are treated with fairness when it
comes to taxes, retirement security and health care. Our government
must take the lead in making America the most senior-friendly nation.
We need leadership that works to increase the independence of and
secure the retirements of older Americans.


Paths to Progress
As America's next US Senator, Daryl Mikell Brooks will fight for:

• Provide Statewide Prescription Drug Assistance. Brooks will work to
help seniors afford their prescription drugs and implement a statewide
program to help seniors navigate the confusing Medicare prescription
drug plan.

• Strengthen New Jersey Retirement Security. Brooks supports the
strengthening New Jersey state employee retirement system, protect
private-sector pensions, and make smart investments to guarantee the
financial security of our retirees.

• Preserve Financial Independence. Brooks will fight for tax relief to
adults who are covering their own health care expenses independently
of Medicaid. Brooks also supports expanding individual and employer
credits for long-term care insurance, developing caregiver tax
credits, and special assistance for custodial grandparents.

• Support Families with Older Adults. Brooks supports family leave
policies for state employees so that they can take time off to care
for their parents and grandparents without worrying about losing their
job.