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WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Punchbowl News conference, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined a fireside chat with Punchbowl co-founder, CEO, and North Dakota native Anna Palmer. Cramer and Palmer discussed the future of rural small businesses in rural America, the key to small business growth, government funding, and more.
Government Funding:
With government funding set to expire at the end of this week, Cramer said Congress could get an extension passed quickly, “as long as there’s full cooperation.”
He said funding the government is a high priority for most members. “It’s better than a shutdown, and let’s put 2025 in the rear-view mirror, at least from a funding standpoint,” said Cramer.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE):
With so much talk about the Trump administration cutting red tape, Palmer asked Cramer if he’s worried DOGE is going too far.
“The last four years been sort of outrageous. Part of the reason we have a continuing resolution (CR) today is because, although the appropriations committee passed out 11 of the 12 appropriations bills by the end of July, not one of them was brought to the Senate floor. So, we have this problem that’s not just recent, but decades of waste, fraud, and abuse that’s been tolerated by both political parties, Congress as well as the administrations. We suddenly have a president who wants to fix it all in one term. So I think it had to happen.
“I’m not as concerned about it as some of my colleagues are, but I’m less concerned now that the President’s own cabinet has pushed back a little bit. I think you’re going to see what you often see from Donald Trump, which is an impulse followed by a moderation of pace. But at the same time, I don’t think he wants to take too much off the accelerator. So we ride it out.”
Tariffs:
Palmer asked Cramer about whether he is concerned about what’s happening regarding tariffs.
“I’m not overly concerned. I mean, retaliation sucks, right? But, but one thing about any type of a war, whether it’s a tariff war, trade war, a gun war, if you’re going to start one you better be able to win it. And I think one thing Donald Trump understands well is as leader of the largest consuming nation in the world by far, he has all the ammunition. He has the leverage.”
“I don’t expect a lot of these other countries to push back for very long, because the pain on them is going to be worse than it is on us. Having said that, the last Trump administration did something similar, particularly with China. North Dakota is an ag producing state and soybeans are a big crop for us. But since then, North Dakota has built not one, but two, with a third on the way, soybean crushing plant. And we’ve converted an oil refinery into a renewable fuel refinery, a diesel refinery that uses soybean oil. We were creating our own markets as a necessity from what happened previously. At the same time, Donald Trump did provide some extra funding for farmers to get them through that rough patch. I hope that doesn’t become necessary.”
Washington D.C. Facilitating Access to Capital:
Palmer highlighted a survey from Goldman Sachs which found 76% of small businesses were concerned about access to capital. She asked Cramer how the government could help facilitate the access.
“There are a lot of programs. I talked about the Bank of North Dakota, and there are other state programs. There are federal programs as well, the Small Business Administration, Small Business Investment Companies, Small Business Development Centers. Having nimbleness and knowing how to use those federal tools, along with a state bank and somebody like Goldman Sachs, as well as our community banks and credit unions presents an ecosystem that can be very, very rich.”
Passing Tax Cuts to Extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:
With Congress in the early stages of tax reform, Palmer asked Cramer whether he thought the tax code could be simplified in the negotiations.
“The complexity of the tax code, like most regulations, is a barrier to investment, particularly small business. The 199A piece in the last tax reform bill we did, and the one we have now is important to small business. Pass throughs, as you all understand that, give the opportunity to be able to take at least 20% off the books. I give Senator Ron Johnson all the credit in the world during the last tax reform bill. He was legendary to me as a House member, fighting for that other part of corporate America, if you will.
“In my mind, the most important part of this reconciliation package we’re working on, whether it’s a couple of them or one big, beautiful bill, is to make as much of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as permanent as we can. That’s why I hope we can get enough votes to do a baseline that is based on current policy as opposed to current law. Then we need to stick as close as we can to the script of the previous bill, so that we can, in fact, have that permanency.”
Artificial Intelligence in Small Businesses:
Palmer asked Cramer about the lag between urban, suburban, and rural small businesses using artificial intelligence (AI). She noted that only 52% of rural small businesses are using AI, versus 63% of suburban small businesses, and 61% of urban small businesses.
“Well, access and training would be important. The reason, in my view, there may be a lagging in rural communities is there’s a fear of it. If the fear keeps you from moving forward with it, you are probably not going to make it. Some of it is, in fact, cultural, and that’s where I think the education piece comes in. There’s lots of tools and opportunities to help people get comfortable with AI, but at the same time, AI, like a lot of other things, requires an ethical response.”
Advice to Small Business Owners:
“America is worth it. Hang in there. The American dream is alive and well, as much as it’s ever been. With regard to the uncertainty, you know, timing is everything, and it’s the most common denominator. My point is to hang in there. Ride out the cycle if you can, and ask for help. I think there are some things we can do better, like providing more angel capital opportunities.
“We still have the greatest opportunity for success than any country in the world, and we have access and tools and a government that cares, at least in places like North Dakota.”
