Treasury, SBA chiefs speak to business owners

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Treasury Secretary John Snow and Small Business administrator Hector Barreto touted the Bush administration's tax cuts and proposals to rein in health care costs to small-business owners Monday.

Snow joined Barreto in Kansas City for the last stop of an 11-city tour by the Small Business Administration. It was the first time a member of Bush's cabinet had attended one of the agency's regional meetings on economic growth.

Barreto attributed Snow's presence to the importance of small businesses in the U.S. economy. However, a spokesman for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Snow's appearance had more to do with stumping for President Bush.

In a speech to a group of small-business owners, Snow said the tax cuts need to be made permanent.

"What the tax cuts did is create a lot more purchasing power," he said. "The job we have ahead of us is to make sure this economy continues on this strong upward path."

Other business owners, including Winifred E. Grebe of Regency Gift and Gourmet in Omaha, Neb., expressed concerns about rising health care costs. Grebe told Barreto and Snow that she would like to make some of her part-time employs full-time workers, but that she can't afford to pay health insurance premiums.

Snow and Barreto said Bush's proposal to allow small businesses to band together across state lines through trade associations to offer better, cheaper health insurance to their employees would help.

In response, Burton, Kerry's spokesman, pointed out that under Bush, health insurance costs have gone up while the country lost jobs. More than 2 million jobs have been lost since Bush took office in January 2001.

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On the Net:

Small Business Administration: http://www.sba.gov/