"After Congress returns to Washington later this month, we will begin debating a new budget for fiscal year 2003 that will set the priorities for our nation and map out a course for the financial state of our federal government.  We need to develop a budget that truly reflects America’s priorities.  We must all be willing to sit down, roll up our sleeves, and work together in a bipartisan way to come up with a budget that is fair for all Americans. 

"There are a number of important priorities that must be addressed in the budget.  We must help those workers who have lost their jobs, we must provide incentives to grow the economy, and we must make sure that our country is prepared for and protected from future terrorist attacks.  As Democrats, we pledge to work with President Bush and our Republican colleagues to pass a budget that will strengthen homeland defense, boost our economy, assist the unemployed and spur investment that will put people back to work. 

"Millions of Americans have been forced out of their jobs in recent months by a faltering economy.  Many of these workers find themselves unemployed for the first time in their lives, through no fault of their own.  These men and women have families to support, and they need to be able to put food on the table and pay for healthcare coverage for themselves and their families while they search for new jobs or retrain for a new career.

"We as Democrats believe that our first priority should be to extend unemployment and health insurance benefits to these laid-off working families.  Doing this will increase demand and move money quickly into the economy.  And we need to provide incentives, such as the Jobs Creation Tax Credit that Senator Daschle has proposed that would be available to every business in America, to restore jobs and create new ones.  As a small town family business owner myself with twelve employees back home in Prescott, Arkansas, I know first-hand that for the job market to grow, businesses must also grow. 

"As Democrats, we do not think the answer to improving our economy is to provide a welfare bill for big corporations and special interests, as some Republicans in Washington are trying to pass in the name of economic stimulus.  And we think it is wrong to raid Social Security and Medicare to pay for it, as the GOP plan does.  We believe it is time for the politicians in Washington to keep their hands off the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds.

"These are challenging times for America.  The September 11th terrorist attacks left an indelible mark on our great country, impacting people from all walks of life and weakening our nation’s already struggling economy.  While we may have different ideas about how to strengthen our economy, we stand united as one Congress and as one America in our response to terrorism.  As Democrats, we join Republicans in supporting President Bush in waging our military campaign in Afghanistan, and we will continue to ensure that he has the resources necessary to end terrorism the way we all saw it on September 11th. 

"Congress has proven that we can come together and work in a bipartisan manner with President Bush to find common ground on important issues, as we have in the war against terrorism, and we must do so in developing our nation’s budget.  Now is not the time to play politics; now is the time to do what’s right by the American people by developing a budget that puts working families first and that truly allows us to rebuild our economy and make America safe once again.   We owe it to the millions of working families who are now unemployed, and we owe it to our children and grandchildren to ensure that they can grow up in the kind of America we knew before September 11th."

Event:               Coffee with Local Businessmen in Foreman            
Location:          Wooden Spoon Coffee Shop, 724 E. 2nd Avenue, Foreman 
Time:                 7:30 – 8:15am

Event:               Lunch with Retired Teachers of Hempstead County 
Location:          Western Sizzlin Restaurant, Hope
Time:                 12 – 12:45pm           

Event:               Business Expansion Meeting
Location:          Hot Springs Convention Center, Convention Blvd., Hot Springs 
Time:                1:30 – 2:30pm

Event:               Breakfast with Chamber of Commerce in McGehee 
Location:         Municipal Building, 901 Holly Street, McGehee           
Time:                8 – 9:30am 

Event:               Beounf Tensas Water Project Meeting 
Location:          Municipal Complex, Hwy 279, McGehee
Time:                 9:45 – 10:45am 

Event:                Senior Citizen Center Visit
Location:           900 Oak Street, McGehee
Time:                 11 – 11:30am
Notes:               All seniors are invited to attend.

Event:               Court House Visit:  Potluck Lunch
Location:          Desha County Court House, Arkansas City
Time:                 12 – 1:00pm
Notes:               The public is invited to come visit with Congressman Ross.

Event:                McGehee School Visit
Location:           McGehee High School, 1902 East Ash Street, McGehee 
Time:                  1:30 – 2:15pm

Event:                Agriculture Advisory Meeting
Location:           American Agricultural Building-AAM, Hwy 65, north of McGehee
Time:                  2:30 – 4:00pm 

Event:               Garland County NAACP: MLK Prayer Breakfast
Location:          Hot Springs Convention Center, Convention Blvd., Hot Springs 
Time:                 8 – 10am  

Event:               African American Community Leaders Meeting in Arkadelphia
Location:          Community and Family Enrichment Center, 320 North 23rd Street, Arkadelphia
Time:                 10:30 – 11:30am 

Event:               African American Community Leaders Meeting in Fordyce
Location:          Joe’s Restaurant, 1929 Hwy 79-167 Bypass, Fordyce
Time:                12:15 – 1:30pm 

Event:               African American Community Leaders Meeting in Camden 
Location:          TBD, Camden  
Time:                 2:15 – 3:15pm 

Event:               African American Community Leaders Meeting in Hope 
Location:          TBD, Hope  
Time:                 4:15 – 5:15pm 

Event:               Columbia County NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet  
Location:          Southern Arkansas University Cafeteria, Magnolia 
Time:                 6 – 7:00pm  
Notes:              This event begins at 6:00 pm

Event:               El Dorado Martin Luther King Banquet  
Location:         Best Western Kings Inn - Convention Center, 1920 Junction City Highway, El 
                          Dorado
Time:                8:30 – 10:00pm