[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21894]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                                ON SCORE

  (Mr. TANCREDO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TANCREDO. Madam Speaker, since coming to the U.S. House of 
Representatives, I have had the opportunity to become familiar with a 
volunteer organization in Colorado known as SCORE, or Service Corps of 
Retired Executives, a great resource partner to the Small Business 
Administration that specializes in counseling, mentoring and educating 
America's small business owners.
  In Colorado, there are 154 men and women volunteering their time, 
business acumen and counsel to the small business community to provide 
a top quality resource at no cost to their clients. Nationally there 
are more than 12,000 volunteer members representing 389 SCORE chapters 
providing individual counseling and business workshops for aspiring 
entrepreneurs and small business owners.
  With over 50 percent of all new businesses failing within the first 6 
years, counseling early on can be the difference between success and 
failure.
  Small businesses account for 99.7 percent of all employers and 54 
percent of employment representing a major contribution to our economic 
growth. It is time we recognized that this organization is the best 
kept secret in the country, that we appreciate their hard work and 
dedication, and that we vote to support its modest budget for this 
year.

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