Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
WASHINGTON—Congressman Dan Kildee, chief deputy whip of the House Democratic Caucus, recently applauded the bipartisan passage of the Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act, supported by Democrats and Republicans, to deliver much-needed economic relief to Michigan small businesses impacted by the pandemic.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of Michigan’s economy,” Kildee said. “While our economy is growing and adding jobs, I have heard from many local restaurants, bars, gyms and shops that are still struggling during the pandemic. Global supply chain disruptions and Russia’s war in Ukraine have resulted in rising costs for families and small businesses. They need our support to ensure they can keep workers on payroll and continue operating in communities like Flint, Saginaw, Bay City and Midland.”
In the American Rescue Plan, which Kildee helped to pass, Congress established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide economic relief to restaurants across the nation, including over $30 million for mid-Michigan restaurants, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Michigan small businesses were also eligible for grants through the Shuttered Venues Operators Grant (SVOG) Program to support local entertainment venues, like Saginaw’s Temple Theater.
These vital programs, however, were inundated with applications and only about one in three applicants received relief. Kildee’s bill would replenish the RRF to make these Michigan small businesses, restaurants, gyms and non-profit organizations eligible for assistance. It also establishes robust oversight and reporting requirements to verify proper grant awarding, use of funds and provide maximum transparency. The bill is fully paid for with funds recovered from bad actors who defrauded past COVID-19 relief programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Emergency Injury Disaster Loans, SVOG, RRF or the Hard Hit Industries program.
The Relief for Restaurants and other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act provides:
- $42 billion to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund to provide relief to approximately 150,000 eligible entities that applied during the initial grant program but were not able to receive funding;
- $13 billion for the Hard Hit Industries Award Program; this provides awards to small businesses that suffered significant revenue losses during the pandemic but were not eligible for the RRF or SVOG Program.
“Many restaurants are in dire need of additional funds that were left out of the initial round of RRF funding,” said Dave Dittenber, DRI Restaurants in Bay City and Midland, Mich.
“The increased costs of goods have left many restaurants in a scenario that without additional financial help they will have to close permanently,” Dittenber added. “While many people think the industry is back to normal, that could not be farther from the truth. Shutdowns and lost revenue over the past two years has left the industry in an extremely difficult situation and RRF would help those restaurants to get back to normal. We thank Congressman Kildee for helping pass this crucial legislation.”
