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<b>First Posted:</b> 7/14/2008<br><br>GLEN JOHNSON Associated Press Writer
SAN DIEGO &amp;mdash;  on Sunday proposed up to a 50-percent tax credit for small businesses providing health insurance to their employees, a program he hopes has special appeal to Hispanics and other minority groups struggling for a toehold in the U.S. economy.

The idea had been championed by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, whom Obama vanquished in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.
&amp;ldquo;We know that small businesses are the engines of economic prosperity in our communities, especially in Latino communities,&amp;rdquo; Obama said in an address to several thousand Hispanics attending the annual convention of the National Council of La Raza.
&amp;ldquo;My plan won&amp;rsquo;t impose any new burdens on small businesses. Instead, we&amp;rsquo;ll help them not just create new jobs, but good jobs &amp;mdash; jobs with health care, jobs that stay right here in America, the kinds of jobs we need in our communities,&amp;rdquo; the Illinois senator said.
While the precise cost and details of the program were not immediately available, a campaign statement said the &amp;ldquo;credit would be fully available to small firms, and would be phased out for medium-sized firms. It would also be phased out for small firms with high-income employees.&amp;rdquo;
The speech is the latest in a series of efforts by Obama to reach out to Latino voters, a constituency over which he and his Republican rival, John McCain, are battling.
&amp;ldquo;Make no mistake about it: The Latino community holds this election in your hands,&amp;rdquo; Obama said to cheers. &amp;ldquo;I am here today to make you this promise: I will be a president who stands with you and fights for you and walks with you every single step of the way.&amp;rdquo;
Obama was scheduled to conduct interviews with three Spanish-language media outlets, including Telemundo, later in the day.
Last week, both candidates addressed some 700 Hispanics attending the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference. They agreed to revamp immigration, an issue McCain has made a hallmark but Obama has accused McCain of abandoning after major immigration legislation fell apart last year.

Obama eyes tax credit for small business health care