WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) is among 40 members of Congress calling for a replenishment of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RFF). The lawmakers penned a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi last week highlighting the importance of the RRF and urging her to include funding for it any forthcoming reconciliation package.
The RRF was established under the American Rescue Plan, which Pingree helped pass in the House in March 2021, to provide direct assistance to restaurants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the members wrote, “the RRF was quickly overdrawn: the ARP provided a total of $28.6 billion in RRF funding, and the Small Business Administration received over $75 billion in requests, leaving thousands of eligible businesses without relief.”
“Restaurants across our country are still struggling to recover, and the ongoing surge of the delta variant of COVID-19 has placed in jeopardy what recovery has already occurred,” they continued. “The restaurant industry employs millions of Americans, in every State and Congressional district in our country. As Congress moves forward with President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, it is utterly imperative that restaurants receive additional relief.”
Through June of 2021, the RRF has provided more than $136 million in emergency relief to 629 Maine restaurants, bars, and businesses impacted by COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Click here for the full letter or find it below.
Dear Speaker Pelosi:
We are writing to respectfully request that any upcoming reconciliation package include a substantial replenishment of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF).
As you know, the RRF was established by the American Rescue Plan (ARP), and provided direct assistance to restaurants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the RRF provided direct payments to restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue losses, capped at $10 million per business and $5 million per physical location, and funds were not required to be repaid by recipients.
However, the RRF was quickly overdrawn: the ARP provided a total of $28.6 billion in RRF funding, and the Small Business Administration received over $75 billion in requests, leaving thousands of eligible businesses without relief. Restaurants across our country are still struggling to recover, and the ongoing surge of the delta variant of COVID-19 has placed in jeopardy what recovery has already occurred.
The restaurant industry employs millions of Americans, in every State and Congressional district in our country. As Congress moves forward with President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, it is utterly imperative that restaurants receive additional relief. This is critical to both the restaurant industry itself and our overall economic recovery, and we therefore urge you to include a substantial replenishment of the RRF in any forthcoming reconciliation package.
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