Tom Tancredo: “since coming to the U.S. House of Representatives, I have had the opportunity to become familiar with a volunteer…”

“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.”