Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, in my hometown of San Francisco, and in so many places across the country, small businesses are the heart of our communities.

They are the engines of our economy: creating good-paying jobs, delivering crucial goods and services, and helping power our historic economic recovery from the pandemic.

But tragically, when the virus struck two years ago, our small businesses--and especially our restaurants--were among the hardest hit.

Many were forced to scale back hours. Others had to lay off workers. And some even closed their doors for good.

That is why Democrats fought for and won billions in economic relief for our small businesses in COVID relief bills. In our historic American Rescue Plan, we established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund: a vital lifeline helping more than 100,000 restaurants reopen and rehire.

And today, the Democratic Congress will take another strong step to help our small businesses not only survive--but thrive.

With our Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act, we deliver urgently needed relief to tens of thousands of businesses struggling in the wake of the latest COVID wave.

We salute Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez of the House Small Business Committee for her leadership and legislative mastery for the benefit of small businesses.

And let us thank Congressmen Earl Blumenauer and Dean Phillips for their tireless, committed leadership on behalf of our nations' restaurants and small businesses.

While small businesses have been on the path to recovery from the COVID crisis, the omicron variant sadly interrupted this progress. Now, many hard-hit businesses are in need of additional support.

Our bill delivers $42 billion to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund: offering a beacon of hope for the more than 170,000 eligible restaurants that applied for RRF funding last year but could not access this relief due to oversubscription.

We will also secure $13 billion to support many of our nation's smallest businesses who saw major revenue losses due to the pandemic.

And we will continue to support the live entertainment venues that bring rich vibrancy, culture and diversity to our communities: ensuring they have more flexibility to best make use of their relief funding.

Delivering desperately needed relief for America's small businesses-- the heart and soul of our nation--is an urgent economic imperative.

In doing so, we:

protect good-paying American jobs;

secure the livelihoods of hard-working small business owners; and

ensure families get goods they need, without added costs of delays.

I urge a strong, bipartisan ``aye'' vote for this relief package--so that our small businesses can continue to flourish and to serve our communities for generations to come.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3807, the ``Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act of 2022,'' which provides $70.6 billion in FY2022 for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased that this Congress is reconsidering this critical piece of legislation for America's restaurant owners. The American Rescue Plan made great progress in providing the funding in an equitable manner, prioritizing women, veteran, and economically and socially disadvantaged restaurant owners. In addition, the majority of funds were reserved for restaurants whose gross receipts were no more than $1,500,000 dollars.

It is essential to promote equity through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Madam Speaker, considering that only 8 percent of restaurants are owned by blacks and 23.8 percent Asian owned businesses are restaurants. As legislators we must do everything we can to ensure their survival.

Unfortunately, the funds appropriated from last year's lifeline did not reach enough of those businesses the Administration prioritized. Due to the efforts of Republican motivated court challenges, the prioritization program was ended just three weeks after it was enacted.

Records reviewed by The New York Times show that hundreds of the 24,000 grants made after the rule change went to applicants who were supposed to have been bumped to the end of the line. During that same period, the agency canceled at least 3,000 already-approved awards.

Additionally, more than 1,000 successful applicants filed their claims on or after May 19, the day after the agency said the fund had effectively run dry.

Countless black owned, veteran owned, and women owned restaurants were shuttered because of this heartless rule change, so it is essential we approve this new appropriation.

To further underscore the personal importance this funding holds to me, I would like to mention a widely loved black owned, and historic Third Ward restaurant: Cream Burger.

Cream Burger sits on the corner of Elgin and Scott and has been in operation for 60 years. It is a cash only restaurant that has only had two additions to the menu across the entirety of its existence: chili cheese fries and bacon.

The Greenwood family has been serving the residents of the Third Ward their delicious burgers and homemade ice cream for decades and has no plans of closing any time soon.

The original owners of the restaurant, Verna and Willie Greenwood, opened the restaurant to generate their own income and create generational wealth, which they certainly have done. Ever since their tragic passing, the business is now owned and operated by their daughters, Beverly and Sandra.

Beverly and Sandra hope to pass the business onto the next generation of children so they can, ``see it through. Maybe 100 years,'' Beverly said.

The restaurant sees a range of Third Ward customers every day, from the students at the University of Houston to the cashiers working at the historic Houston Food Mart just down the street.

Cream Burger is iconic in the city of Houston, and I hold it in the highest reverence. It, and so many restaurants like it, is one of those restaurants that would receive funds from this legislation.

It is for that reason Madam Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 3807, the ``Relief for Restaurants and other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act of 2022.'' It will help save so many businesses like the beloved Cream Burger, so I urge my colleagues to support this critical piece of legislation as well.

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