Local rep takes stand for restaurant, bar ownersFree Access


Rep. Jim Hagedorn

Jackson County’s local congressional representative is standing up for restaurant and bar owners in his district.

U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn last week led his Republican colleagues on the House Small Business Committee, including ranking member Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri in sending a letter to U.S. Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman responding to the SBA’s May 18 publication announcing the preemptive closure of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Portal on May 24 — action, Hagedorn said, which would effectively shut out “non-priority” restaurant and bar owners from receiving funding.

“Closing the RRF portal entry means that more than 100,000 restaurant and bar owners deemed as non-priority applications will be shut out from receiving any funds, let alone the opportunity to apply,” said Hagedorn, who represents Jackson County in Congress. “This is the Biden administration picking winners and losers and highlights the widespread discrimination of restaurant owners who do not fit its description of ‘priority.’ We are calling on Administrator Guzman to provide an explanation as to why the SBA gave preferences to some, including those that may lack documentation or an unknown immigration status.”

Luetkemeyer agreed, saying fairness needs to be the guiding principle for all government programs.

“I refuse to stand by and allow the SBA to be in the businesses of choosing winners and losers for resources that should be available to small businesses of all backgrounds,” he said. “The fact that the SBA and Biden administration are celebrating undocumented immigrants having access to the RRF before legal, taxpaying American citizens is flat out wrong, and I am calling upon the SBA to fix this immediately.”

Hagedorn was reelected in 2020 to serve Minnesota’s First District in the U.S. House of Representatives for a second term. Hagedorn is a member of the House committees on small business and agriculture.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.