Lawmakers ask SBA for disbursement plan for $180M RRF leftovers The Restaurant Revitalization Fund was established in March 2021 to support eligible entities suffering revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), the amounts received from the SBA in the form of a Restaurant Revitalization Grant shall not be included in gross income (non-taxable); additionally, the expenses incurred are deductible. But with Congress having adjourned for a two-week recess, the bill won't be considered anytime soon in the Senate. The Association was first to lay out the plan for a restaurant industry recovery fund to Congress in April 2020. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), signed the letter . Expect to see many more restaurant closures in the coming months. Joanna Fantozzi | Apr 06, 2022. LISTEN TO THE QUICK UPDATE PODCAST BELOW! The Independent Restaurant Coalition, which has spent the last two years lobbying for small restaurants in the face of extreme economic uncertainty, issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the decision to abandon restaurants, calling it catastrophic for these establishments. The SBA closed the program and stopped accepting applications on July 2nd, 2021. The bill would also put $13 billion toward other businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The SBA will work with the Department of Justice to disburse the money, according to the NRA. There are steps the government can take to support restaurants in every community, and we will continue to press for solutions at the federal, state, and local level.". As a restaurant owner, youve most definitely heard about the varying RRF updates throughout the last year, how they could possibly impact your establishment, and more. GAO reviewed SBA documentation, analyzed SBA data on the program's applicants and recipients, and interviewed SBA officials and representatives of industry associations. Most applicants got to the trough too late, when it was empty. 1101 W. Mineral Ave. Ste. 3807), which would refill the Restaurant Revitalization Fund with $42 billion,was reintroduced in. The unions proposals often focus on specific changes to systems workers interact with all day, every day, including equipment and mobile ordering. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. The Small Business Administration confirmed it will distribute $180 million in unspent money allocated for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund as awards, the National Restaurant Association said in an email to Restaurant Dive. But, then, weapons systems have been purchased because suppliers of components were spread across the country like tapenade on toast. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023. If the recipient fully expends their funds prior to December 31, 2021, they will be asked to certify that proceeds have been used on eligible expenses. The National Restaurant Association is asking Congress to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund as the Covid omicron variant hits operators' businesses. We noted in our report, however, that SBA's post-award review procedures for RRF state that flagged awards will be reviewed when the recipients certify that they have spent their entire award or after they submit their final use-of-funds report (not when fraud is initially suspected). In 2020, independent locations declined by 8 percent, according to The NPD Group. The wisdom of those measures is debatable; the pain from them is undeniable. The sector still has myriad challenges ahead, but a glimmer of hope as Congress is expected to vote on further aid on May 19a $48 billion bill that would fully fund the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. "We hear from restaurants and bars owners each day who applied for a grant and never received one. Even the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, with its paltry $28.6 billion in initial funding, wasnt enough to meaningfully help most establishments. Follow. The median award was about $126,000. The U.S. House and Senate passed a bill, S.4008, which wouldve added $40 billion to the plan a significant increase over the approximate $29 billion originally proposed in the RRF. In January 2023, SBA stated that it was weighing potential solutions, such as adding functionality in the RRF platform to allow recipients to report their operating status. This plan should include coordinating with the OIG. 3807, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act of 2021. With so many questions surrounding the RRF, we created this resource and guide to provide answers. | 2 p.m. About the National Restaurant AssociationFounded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises nearly 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of 14.5 million employees. The U.S. House and Senate passed a bill, S.4008, which would've added $40 billion to the plan - a significant increase over the approximate $29 billion originally proposed in the RRF. To amend the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to increase appropriations to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, and for other purposes. www.arffinancial.com/updates-to-the-restaurant-revitalization-fund/, Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/103.0.0.0 Safari/537.36. Rescuing restaurants (again) ought to give Congress indigestion, Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates, Alex Murdaughs conviction rested on a fateful phone video. Restaurant Revitalization Fund Atendimento ao inscrito. From the recruitment of employees to the constantly rising costs for food, running a restaurant right now is a daily struggle. House, Senate introduce bills adding $40B to RRF | Restaurant Dive For more information, visitRestaurant.org and find us on Twitter@WeRRestaurants, Cision Distribution 888-776-0942 According to reporting from CNNs Manu Raju, Senate small business and entrepreneurship committee chairman Ben Cardin said on Tuesday, March 8 that Republican opposition means that the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) will not be replenished. H.R. A requirement for annual reporting submissions applies to any applicant who doesnt fully expend RRF grant funds before December 31, 2021. The legislation would also provide $13 billion for other businesses affected by the pandemic, and it would establish oversight and reporting requirements to ensure grants are awarded properly and to verify the use of funding. This recommendation will remain open until SBA develops and implements policies and procedures for addressing RRF award recipients who do not meet annual reporting requirements. A large chunk of the bill, $42 billion, would replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a grant program launched as a result of the American Rescue Plan, which President Joe Biden signed into law last year. According to the SBA, the RRF provided $28.6 billion to more than 100,000 restaurants, bars, and other businesses that provide on-site food and drink. All Applicants that do not fully expend award funds . However, in May, the Senate didnt pass the proposed increase, which was viewed by many as a setback. Stay informed as we add new reports & testimonies. On Nov. 23, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released a statement about the current state of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RFF), which helped more than 100,000 restaurants and food and beverage business owners during the pandemic. It's unclear whether Democrats in the evenly split Senate will be able to win over at least 10 Republicans to overcome the 60-vote threshold to end any potential filibuster and pass the measure. Or 28,399 closures. Many hoped that would mean more money into the RRF, which wasnt able to distribute the vast majority of monies requested by restaurants due to lawsuits over a rule intended to help that aid reach minority-owned businesses first. Use of Funds Validation is now available for Restaurant Revitalization Fund awardees. Senha. In January 2023, SBA stated that it follows standard operating procedures to refer suspicious activity to the OIG. Nova Inscrio.
Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
, Executive Candidate Assessment and Development Program, Business Regulation and Consumer Protection, The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should conduct and document an assessment of the RRF pre-award controls and address or mitigate deficiencies. In January 2023, SBA stated that it would conduct a review of RRF awards and use the results to inform the effectiveness of pre-award controls. The President has encouraged most people to stop wearing masks in indoor spaces, something that was unthinkable a year ago. UPDATE: April 6, 2022:Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) introduced a bill similar to the one before the House Tuesday night. Nevertheless, the Replenishment bill barely passed the House 223 to 203 in April, with only six Republicans favoring it and only four Democrats opposed. The 177,000 restaurants that applied but didn't receive RRF funding represent around 20% of the industry, according to the National Restaurant Association, suggesting another round of restaurant-specific federal grants could improve the industry's recovery. Restaurant Revitalization Fund Distributes $83M in Remaining Funds "I think right now it's hard to as you saw, even with the $10 billion package of new money for Covid unless they can reprogram or repurpose it, it's going to be a hard sell," he said Thursday afternoon as he exited Capitol. The restaurant industry reacts. The SBA has contacted recipients of the awards. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report in July, noting SBA was holding unobligated RRF funds and the Association was first to send a letter to SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman requesting that the unobligated money be released to unfunded applicants. Last year, lawmakers created. All rights reserved. Esqueci minha senha. If H.R. Including $85 million for certain border region businesses, such as those in (herewith a geography lesson) the Northwest Angle, which CQ Roll Call explains is a region of Minnesota that is separated from the rest of the state by the Lake of the Woods but shares land borders with Canada, whose strict pandemic protocols injured Americans living in the Angle. The Senate has a $48 billion bill, with more than restaurants eligible for revitalization: gyms, minor league sports teams, companies that support live entertainment events (lighting and sound technicians, etc. National Restaurant Association asks Congress for aid amid omicron WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the release of $83 million dollars in unobligated Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grants to 169 operators with pending applications. It includes greater auditing requirements for restaurant grants to prevent fraud, as well as new transparency and customer service provisions to ensure that SBA shares information. Restaurant Revitalization Fund: Opportunities Exist to Improve ABC News reported on the story, where Anon explained how he was fed up with how sensitive people have gotten . (Recommendation 2), The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should develop and implement policies and procedures for addressing RRF recipients who do not meet annual reporting requirements. (Recommendation 4), The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should develop and implement data analytics across RRF awards as a means to detect potentially fraudulent award recipients. By December 31, 2021, all Awardees are required to report through this application portal how much of their award has been used against each eligible use category. Among the 435 congressional districts, surely not one lacks businesses eligible for aid, especially from the Senate bill. Small businesses of long standing, and families who went into debt to launch, say, restaurants or bars or bakeries just before the pandemic, now have blighted futures the caprice of rotten luck. Apr 7, 2022. The bill would provide $42 billion to replenish the RRF. The SBA is set to award an added $180 million in unspent funds allocated for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) back in 2021. Washington, D.C. - The National Restaurant Association today sent a letter to Congressional leadership encouraging passage of Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) Replenishment if the program comes up for a vote this week. Press Releases | National Restaurant Association House passes aid for restaurants, small businesses affected by Covid LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 2, 2022 / The Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) has promising news that funds may be added, however, are not guaranteed just yet. Recipients cannot claim wages paid with RRF grant money as wages for purposes of the ERTC or PPP forgiveness. What are eligible expenses and restrictions that RRF grant recipients should know about? So, however, is this: Once government begins to pursue the chimera of ever-more-perfect fairness, it finds actually, it incites more and more factions claiming that justice demands their inclusion in the governments ever-expanding plans for smoothing lifes rough surfaces. Press Releases | National Restaurant Association The U.S. House of Representatives voted yes on a bill Thursday that would provide $42 billion in relief to foodservice businesses that originally applied for the . By contrast, almost half of restaurants that didn't receive RRF funding said it's unlikely they will survive the pandemic, and 94% reported an RRF grant would allow them to retain or rehire staff, according to NRA research. Updated August 15, 2022 SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grants Until these funds were used up, they were available for eligible entrepreneurs, establishments, and corporations. Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) Updates. LOOK What Happened When This Restaurant Posted a Politically Incorrect Sign The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. Oops. There comes a point where the right policy is: Stop smoothing. Even now that the Omicron wave is receding, and more people are going back to restaurants and living their lives normally again, theres no way for these establishments to get back what theyve lost since the shutdowns began in March 2020. We recommended that SBA do so. JUNE 2022: In 2022, many RRF updates are in the works. The Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act of 2022 (H.R. "This should be the driving factor in bipartisan support for replenishing the RRF. 3807 passes the House and then the Senate, it would be a massive victory for restaurants that are struggling to shake the effects of past dining room restrictions as they navigate supply chain shortages, surging inflation and a historic labor shortfall. Hes also encouraged people to stop working from home and head back into their offices in an effort to move forward after two years of absolute chaos and devastation. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is releasing $83 million in leftover Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) aid to restaurateurs who were denied assistance in 2021 because the program burned through most of its $28.6 billion in about three weeks. Would a grant recipient ever have to pay back any of the funds? More than 90,000 restaurants closed permanently or long-term because of the pandemic. "With the looming threat of another variant and growing challenges of inflation for both operators and consumers, the economic boost RRF will provide for those 177,000 restaurants would reach far into our communities," Sean Kennedy, NRA's executive vice president of public affairs, wrote in the letter. Christian Britschgi is dubious. 3807 (117th). This recommendation will remain open until SBA provides evidence of conducting data analytics across RRF awards to detect potentially fraudulent recipients. The Restaurant Revitalization Fund covered period begins on February 15, 2020 and ends on March 11, 2023. This government aide says it knows what voters want. (Recommendation 1), The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should assess how the design of RRF pre-award controls may have adversely affected applicants from U.S. territories, and identify and document steps to mitigate this issue for future programs. A vague, anti-drag bill in Tennessee has bar and restaurant owners worried for their future, By submitting your email, you agree to our, Congress Wont Send Any More Financial Aid to Restaurants Despite Pleas From the Industry, The Weird (and Wired) Truth Behind Whats Really in Coca-Cola, Why Coca-Cola contracts with a chemical company to manufacture cocaine in New Jersey, there was some hope that more money was coming, just about a third of the grant requests that it received because the demand was so great, exhortations from everyone from Tom Colicchio to Elizabeth Warren for Congress to provide aid to restaurants, that ongoing rise in the cost of doing business, Liquid Deaths New Tea Tallboys Are Coming for AriZonas Neck, If You Took the Drag Away, Then Its Just Another Boring Bar, How to Make Misis Iconic Ricotta-Filled Occhi Pasta. Past-due expenses qualify as RRF expenses. Four mistakes youre making with home internet. (Recommendation 5), The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should develop, document, and implement procedures to use enforcement data on suspected fraud in other SBA programs, such as PPP, to identify potential fraud in RRF recipients. SBA emphasized pre-award controls to detect fraudulent or ineligible applications but has not assessed their effectiveness. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Rebecca Shabad is a politics reporter for NBC News based in Washington. SBA to disburse $180M in remaining RRF funds | Restaurant Dive The $55 billion bill would largely replenish a grant program created by the American Rescue Plan that provides assistance to restaurants. Restaurant Industry News and Resources in Georgia. Copyright 2023 Sawyer Direct LLC | All Rights Reserved. There had, however, been 278,304 applicants seeking $72 billion. Painel do Inscrito. "We must continue to look forward because the enormous challenges of the industry will continue beyond today. It should take place Monday or Tuesday . Is the grant money taxable and are the expenses deductible? As a result, the U.S. Congress introduced legislation called the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to help restaurants get back on their feet. Back in January, a Biden administration official said pretty plainly that the president had no plans to support a new comprehensive stimulus for all Americans, but did hint that there might be something small for restaurants on the way. Congress can talk about refilling the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, but it can never be full enough to service all factions who can claim, with some plausibility, that they experienced unfairness not easily distinguished from that suffered by factions who benefited from the first $28 billion.How Much Does Ernie Johnson Make On Tnt,
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