Letter to Hon. Joseph Biden, President of the United States - Rep. Sherrill Calls On President Biden To Support A Targeted Small Business Relief Package

Letter

Dear President Biden,

As Members of Congress representing broadly bipartisan districts, we strongly urge you to support and help negotiate a small business relief package to assist the industries that continue to suffer from the rapid surge in Omicron-variant transmission. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy, employ tens of millions of Americans, and are critical to our long-term economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Without additional assistance, however, small businesses will face a wave of closures and bankruptcies that could cripple our communities.

For restaurants, live event venues, travel companies, gyms, and other small businesses centered on in-person gatherings, the massive increase in COVID-19 cases over the past two months has led to a large decline in consumer demand. According to OpenTable, in-person dining has fallen by over 30% since the start of December in response to the worsening pandemic. Cancellations of live theater and musical performances have increased at an accelerating rate. And overall retail sales nationwide fell by almost 2% in December, much worse than economists' projections. In addition, the large rise in Omicron transmission has worsened staffing shortages for businesses in our districts, making it even more difficult for them to make ends meet.

To make matters even more dire, the crucial elements of the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan that did so much to help businesses during previous waves of the pandemic have largely expired, meaning that small businesses now have nowhere to turn to receive the assistance needed to stay afloat. We strongly supported the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Shuttered Venue Operators Grants, Employee Retention Tax Credit, and Paycheck Protection Program because they brought badly needed relief to our businesses and communities. This time is no different, and we ask that additional funding be appropriated to save our small businesses.

As we have met with small business owners and local elected officials over the past several months, we have heard unanimous concern about the impact of Omicron on the economic health of our communities. In our districts, as across the country, supporting small businesses is a bipartisan issue, and our constituents are worried that businesses vital to our towns, cities, and main streets will be forced to close without additional assistance.

Over the past year, we have together made strong progress towards rebuilding our economy from this devastating pandemic and recession. Almost 6.7 million jobs were created in 2021, the highest number ever recorded in a calendar year, and real Gross Domestic Product rose by 5.7% last year, the fastest calendar year economic growth since 1984. We cannot now risk this progress and the promises we made to our constituents by allowing a new wave of economic hardship to fall on our small businesses.

Furthermore, we fear that a surge in business closures could exacerbate the high prices facing our communities. Strong consumer demand outstripping the available supply, largely due to a breakdown in supply chains and pandemic-related disruptions, has resulted in rising prices over the past year. If reduced in-person gathering now leads to a large number of business closures that further reduce the supply of these services, we could be faced with resurgent post-Omicron demand for them in the spring alongside significant new supply constraints.

To this end, we urge the Administration to immediately work with Congress to pass a targeted small business relief package that focuses on the industries most hard-hit by the Omicron surge. We ask that key grant programs including the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and Shuttered Venue Operators Grants program be reopened to any eligible businesses that didn't receive initial funding, be made available for a second round of funding for hard-hit businesses where needed, and be funded at such a level as to fully meet demand. We also ask that other at-risk sectors centered on in-person gatherings be made eligible for federal assistance, including the travel and fitness industries and businesses offering indoor recreation and group activities. While not specifically included in previous rounds of support, these industries are critical to our physical and mental health needs that have been impacted by the pandemic. Finally, we ask that the American Rescue Plan's tax credits available to small businesses to cover earned sick leave benefits for employees affected by COVID-19 be extended for this period of high virus transmission.

We greatly appreciate your Administration's work to support our small businesses and the significant funding made available for them in the American Rescue Plan. We now stand ready to work with you on a new effort to ensure that our businesses come out of the Omicron wave stronger than ever, and we look forward to engaging further with the Administration on this critical subject. As Members with strongly bipartisan districts, we made commitments to our constituents to provide the relief that our communities needed and we intend to keep those promises.

Sincerely,