In Arkansas, small businesses truly are the bedrock of our state's economy. The estimated total number of small businesses in Arkansas today is 215,300, comprising 97% of Arkansas's work force! Given the vital role small businesses play in our state's economy, I am committed to helping small business owners in any way I can. And as a small business owner myself, I have the advantage of knowing first-hand the needs and challenges our small businesses face on a daily basis. 

My wife Holly and I are the proud owners of a pharmacy in my hometown of Prescott, and one of the more difficult issues we face is the ability to provide affordable and quality health insurance for our twelve employees. While health insurance costs for small businesses have risen at a rate of 10-15 percent annually for the past six years, the average profit margin for small businesses has decreased. As a result, many small business owners have been forced to pass along these costs to their employees by raising insurance premiums, co-payments and/or deductibles, or even worse, by cutting out health insurance for their employees all together. 

Additionally, many small businesses could never exist without start up loans and assistance, but unfortunately, the President's proposed budget for 2006 reduces funding for small businesses. These cuts include reductions in technical assistance programs, incentives, and cuts to federal loan programs administered through the U.S. Agriculture Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Small Business Administration. For many rural communities, these loan programs literally support the region's only economic infrastructure. Should these cuts be enacted, the economy of these regions will certainly suffer, and the result will be an increase in the economic gap between rural and urban America.

As your U.S. Representative in Congress, I have pledged and will always be committed to being your economic ambassador. That commitment includes fighting everyday for the needs of our small businesses and the workers they employ. Be assured I will continue to work with my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to work for – not against – our small business community.