[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 76 (Thursday, June 5, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H3551-H3552]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO SMALL BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from South Dakota [Mr. Thune] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege this evening as well to 
pay tribute as we are this week to the small business entrepreneurs in 
our country, those who continue to drive the economic engine that makes 
this the greatest economy in the world. I have some personal history 
with that. My grandfather came to this country from Norway back around 
the turn of the century to pursue his American dream, and he and my 
great uncle, who did not speak a word of English, came through Ellis 
Island, ended up in the middle of South Dakota, and went into the 
hardware business and had the opportunity like so many people at that 
time who came here, the freedom to succeed and the freedom as well to 
fail. But they came here because the opportunity existed in America. 
The South Dakota landscape just abounds with wonderful stories of 
entrepreneurial success, people who have taken risks. Some have 
succeeded, some have failed.

                              {time}  1945

  But many out there have been willing to move forward in a way that 
will continue to advance the American dream in this country, and I look 
at countless examples of those, and particularly in my State of South 
Dakota most of the businesses in our State are small businesses. We are 
a State which consists of many small towns and many main streets, and 
without those small businesses our State would not have the economic 
life that it does. It is our life blood.
  So this evening and this week we have paid tribute to those many 
people.
  I had the opportunity to have lunch 2 days ago with Richard and Janet 
Cone of Cone Ag Service, Inc., in Pierre, which is this year's small 
business award winner in South Dakota. They were here to celebrate and 
to be recognized, and they are just one of many who have taken again 
advantage of the opportunity that is afforded us in this country and 
then part of the American dream.
  As you look at those that have succeeded in South Dakota I harken 
back to, and for those who have traveled in my State you will know as 
you drive down Interstate 90 you will see countless signs for a place 
called Wall Drug. Wall Drug is a wonderful story about someone who 
started with an idea of free ice water and 5-cent coffee, and to this 
day those continue to be their trademarks, free ice water and 5-cent 
coffee, and they have turned that into a wonderful marketing 
masterpiece. It has been incredibly successful and provides jobs and 
opportunities in that small community.
  I think of Mike's Jack and Jill in Webster, SD, a good friend of 
mine. The mayor of that community is someone who is very involved in 
the community. And one of the things that I think you witness when you 
see small businesses that have success in this country is the 
commitment that they have to corporate and to civic responsibility and 
citizenship. They have enjoyed the freedoms that we have in America, 
and they have also taken very seriously the responsibility to 
contribute and to give back, and most of the people in those small 
towns are those who are consistently involved in their municipal 
governments and their civic organizations and their service 
organizations and the Little League baseball teams, and I can give you 
many, many examples of that.

[[Page H3552]]

  But we have a small business culture in this country, an 
entrepreneurial culture that we want to continue to promote, and one of 
the things I think that we can do is encourage the self-sufficiency, 
the independence that will allow and give those people the environment 
they need in which to prosper and to continue to succeed in their 
businesses. Most of the people who are in small business are people of 
character. They are visionaries. They are people of incredible 
commitment and dedication, and they have a very, very strong work 
ethic, and that is something I think we want to continue to encourage.
  One of the things in the debate that we are about today, this week 
and just earlier today approved the budget resolution which includes 
some tax relief for those who are out there creating the jobs and 
making the investments and taking the risks that continue to drive this 
economy forward, and I believe that we need a government that lends 
them a helping hand, that will be a partner with them and that 
reinforces those values and those traditions rather than destroying 
them. And one of the things that we are talking about doing in this 
budget resolution is bringing estate tax relief, and that is something 
that I think will encourage the family farms to continue, the small 
businesses to continue as we allow and make it easier for small 
business entrepreneurs to pass on that family business to the next 
generation.
  We are talking about lowering the tax burden on savings, investment 
and job creation, the capital gains tax, and that is something as well 
that I think will be an enormous benefit to the small businessowners in 
this country and enable them again to continue to do what they do best, 
and that is to make those investments that build the economies in those 
small towns and continue to contribute to the fabric of this Nation and 
to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship, and many things and many 
qualities that we look to in this country and the things that I think 
have for so long defined what we have come to know as the American 
dream, and that is that when you come to this country, we have the 
opportunity again to succeed, the freedom to fail. But we have 
remarkable success stories out there, and I think it is very fitting 
that this week we pay tribute to those small businesses that continue 
to drive this economy and renew our commitment to making, creating an 
environment that is conducive for them to succeed and to prosper.
  So I look forward to working toward that end.

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