[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 98 (Thursday, June 15, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S8521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON SMALL BUSINESS

 Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
just concluded 1995 White House Conference on Small Business, and 
especially to 18 of my fellow Arkansas who traveled a great distance at 
personal expense to participate in this conference. These delegates 
took time away from their work and their families to represent the 
Arkansas business community and are to be commended for their 
dedication and sacrifice. The Arkansas business owners who attended the 
conference as national delegates and their respective businesses are as 
follows:
  J. Baker, Baker Car and Truck Rental, Inc., Little Rock; Bob Boyd, 
Boyd Music and Pro Sound, Inc., Little Rock; Greg Brown, Union 
Bancshares of Benton, Inc., Benton; Mel Coleman, North Arkansas 
Electric Cooperative, Salem; Dexter Doyne, Doyne Construction Company, 
Inc., North Little Rock; Bill Ferren, B-B-F Oil Company, Inc., Pine 
Bluff; Michael Jackson, Jackson Development Group, Brinkley; Thomas 
Jacoway, Artran, Inc., Springdale; Phyllis Kinnaman, P.K. Interiors, 
Little Rock; Charles Mazander, Mazander Engineered Equipment, Inc., 
Little Rock; Bruce McFadden, Improved Construction Methods, Inc., 
Jacksonville; Ron McFarlane, Process 1500, Inc., Little Rock; Mary 
Rebick, Copy Systems, Little Rock; Mary Gay Shipley, That Bookstore, 
Blytheville; Walter Thayer, Walter Thayer & Associates, Inc., Little 
Rock; Daniel Warmack, Warmack and Company, Fort Smith; and George 
White, Delta Vending Enterprises, West Helena.
  Mr. President, the 1995 White House Conference was created by a 
Congress and President who care about small business--specifically, a 
Democratic Congress and a Republican President. In 1993, small business 
in this country was responsible for 50 percent of the gross domestic 
product, while employing 54 percent of the American work force. This 
conference was attended by approximately 2,500 delegates from around 
the country to discuss the most pressing issues facing small 
businesses.
  Although political circumstances have changed, the President and 
Congress still deeply care about the views and interests of small 
business owners. Recently, President Clinton signed into law a 
reauthorization of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1992, a law that was 
originally proposed by the first White House Conference on Small 
Business during the Carter administration in 1980.
  Recognizing the important role that the Small Business Administration 
plays in promoting the entrepreneurial spirit, Congress has said no to 
proposals to abolish that agency. I am proud to say that last year SBA 
was directly responsible for stimulating $10.6 billion in small 
business growth while spending only $232 million of American taxpayer 
money--an amount, I might add, less than the taxes paid by three 
companies that started with SBA loans--Intel, Apple, and Federal 
Express.
  It's time to listen again to the backbone of our country. In the 
weeks to come, the White House Conference delegates will be sending 
their suggestions for the future of small business to both the 
President and the Congress. On behalf of the 18 delegates from my home 
state, I urge this Congress to take a close look at their suggestions 
and debate the legislative agenda set forth by the 1995 White House 
Conference on Small Business.


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