MN U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn on small business, agriculture relief

Updated: 2:34 p.m.

Lawmakers in the U.S. House are back in Washington this morning. They are set to vote on the next round of stimulus funding. The package would replenish an aid program for small businesses and includes more money for hospitals and testing. It passed the Senate earlier this week after an intense round of negotiation. Though the price tag is staggering, it is just the latest in what is expected to be a string of stimulus measures. Still, some Democrats say it does not go nearly far enough.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Minnesota 1st District GOP Rep. Jim Hagedorn for his perspective. Hagedorn sits on the House Agriculture and Small Business committees.

This interview has been edited for clarity and concision. Listen to the interview on the audio player above.

Well, the biggest chunk of this money, as you know, is going to replenish that small business aid program that quickly ran out of money last week — just swamped by applications. And many struggling small business owners say they never really had a shot at the money. So, I'm curious, what are the guard rails to make sure small businesses get the help they need?

Well, I think the Paycheck Protection Program actually has worked quite well for many businesses, but they ran out of money. So the concept today is to replenish that with about $310 billion to make sure that the people that had their applications in and the money ran out get theirs and others who have decided to apply for it since will be able to have those funds.

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But as you know, some pretty big businesses got a chunk of that money. So how do you make sure that they don’t and the small guys do?

Well, the program was put together in a week and so we probably had to figure there were going to be some glitches. But if there were businesses that didn't qualify, that received the money, that money needs to come back. The government would have some recourse to go get it if they didn't follow proper procedures when they put in their bank loans. And then places like Harvard or whatever, even if technically they qualify, I think we should put enormous pressure on institutions like that to give the money back so our mom and pop, main street and small businesses have access to it.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell yesterday suggested that state and local governments should consider filing for bankruptcy instead of coming to the feds for money. What do you think of that?

I don't know. It's an interesting point that I’m going to have to look into a little bit more. I have heard from a lot of local governments, particularly Olmstead County, Blue Earth County, folks like that, you know, they're really struggling. This is affecting people in a number of ways. It's a really, really tough time. So, we want to be as helpful to all as possible.

I did talk to a Martin County farmer yesterday. Her family raises hogs, corn, and soybeans. She says all three, as you know, are selling now well below the cost of production, and she and other farmers are really struggling. She raised the idea yesterday of perhaps reviving the federal set-aside program, which encourages farmers to keep land out of production to keep the supply down and the prices stable. Is that something that you'd consider?

Well, I've talked to Secretary of Agriculture Perdue about these issues. Pretty much every day, I either get on the phone with the secretary or somebody from agriculture and then my colleagues in the House Agriculture Committee, we're gonna meet here in a few hours, and we're talking about what we have to do for our livestock producers. So I get it. We're working on it, and we're going to do everything possible to keep them going.

Beyond short-term aid for producers, are you looking at any potential structural solutions to shore up this industry against future crises?

Well, our system of agriculture is very efficient. It's been probably the best system ever devised to make sure that we have a food supply that offers affordable choices, but it's fragile. I've had a proposal on especially the hog and cattle industry that would take an average of three- or five-year production costs, and as you sell into that market, the farmers would get that difference. And that would work in the future if we ever had an outbreak of African swine fever or something like that, which affects hogs. I've been talking about that, even before anybody heard about the coronavirus, and last week, the administration came out with a $19 billion package for agriculture. I consider that the first step. That sounds like a lot of money, but when livestock producers are down $13 billion and pork producers are down $5 billion, it goes pretty quick.

Say, before we go, I want to bring this all back to you personally. I am curious. I know you've been battling stage four kidney cancer. How are you navigating that challenge and trying to keep yourself healthy?

Well, over the last year — thanks for asking, I appreciate your concern — I've been treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for advanced kidney cancer. The treatments are going very well. I feel great. I haven't missed any time in Congress. I'm out here this morning getting ready to vote on this bill. The one thing I say is the last time I was in Mayo for my treatment, I was concerned because the place is like a ghost town. I'm really concerned that there's a lot of people that haven't been going to the doctor and to the hospital [in the] last month or so, and that they have underlying conditions, sort of like mine a year ago, that need to be addressed. So, I’ve asked the governor and others, let's set a new plan and let's start opening up our hospitals and getting people back in for care.

Alright. Representative, thank you so much for your time this morning.

Thank you, Cathy. Good to be with you.