Democratic Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia called on Senate leadership Wednesday to take up legislation that would provide restaurants with billions more in pandemic relief after tens of thousands of them were left out of the last round of grants, and as the delta variant threatens to accelerate the pandemic.
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In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Warner and Kaine noted that “demand has far outstripped the available funding” for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The vast majority of applicants across the country — about two-thirds — were denied funding because of the shortage, leaving many lagging behind in recovery even as widespread vaccination and lifting of pandemic restrictions led more Americans back to restaurants.
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“In Virginia and across the country, restaurants continue to experience decreased sales, crippling staffing shortages, and significant debt burdens,” they wrote. “Hundreds of Virginia restaurant owners have told us that they may have to close their doors permanently if they do not receive additional federal relief.”
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In an interview, Warner said that two or three weeks ago, few on Capitol Hill were discussing further covid-19 relief, especially as the infrastructure negotiations and reconciliation package dominated senators’ focus. But now, he said, if the delta variant continues to drive cases upward, Congress may have to consider another more targeted relief package to prevent more restaurants and other small businesses from closing.
“Literally in the last two weeks, I think there’s been a mind-set change,” Warner said. “We’ve seen it in people’s behavior changing, people starting to re-mask in the Capitol .？.？. starting to look with a little bit more dread about the delta variant uptick. So what Senator Kaine and I wanted to do was put a marker down again to say, we know there is a lot more need in the restaurant area than there are funds available. .？.？. There’s not lots of talk about another covid package, but unfortunately it may be necessary.”
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The American Rescue Plan — the major covid-19 relief package passed this spring — provided about $28 billion for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, administered by the Small Business Administration. After just two months, the SBA shut down the program July 2, having run out of money. It administered grants to more than 100,000 applicants — but more than 278,000 eligible restaurants and bars had applied, leaving the vast majority in a lurch.
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Ruth Gresser, owner-chef of D.C.’s Pizzeria Paradiso, was among them. She applied for a grant within 10 minutes of the portal opening on May 3. She was elated when it was approved just weeks later. But Gressen was puzzled when no money arrived as weeks went by.
The SBA’s grant rollout was in part complicated by a lawsuit filed by White restaurant owners, represented by a conservative group founded by former Trump advisers Stephen Miller and Mark Meadows. They argued that the SBA’s prioritization of applications from certain restaurant owners — including women, veterans and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups — discriminated against them. A court ordered the SBA on June 11 to begin processing applications for non-prioritized groups while halting others. By the time Gresser heard back from the SBA about her stalled application, it was only to notify her of a minor paperwork error at the end of June. She said she was given no opportunity to fix it before the program’s funds were depleted, causing her to join thousands of other eligible restaurants that did not get the relief they were depending on to counter massive losses incurred during the pandemic.
“What we thought was going to happen in May, the RRF funding helped us all to breathe a little more, because we thought we were on this positive road to recovery, and we thought this was going to help,” Gressen said. “And now .？.？. where are we?”
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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) filed bipartisan legislation in June to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund by $60 billion — the legislation Kaine and Warner urged Senate leadership on Wednesday to move on.
A spokesman for Schumer said he “absolutely supports replenishing the fund to keep local restaurants open and workers employed.” A spokesman for McConnell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kathy Hollinger, president and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, said it’s imperative the legislation passes, especially as the delta variant adds yet more uncertainty to restaurants’ plans for recovery. As a whole, she said, restaurants in the Washington region are still nowhere near their 2019 numbers, even as many have opened to diners again.
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“We knew going in that there wasn’t enough funding in place given the high demand and need of our industry,” she said. “A lot of people were left behind. We are not okay with that. It has become an incredibly polarizing issue, and the only fix is to fully fund RRF.”
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Warner said there probably is not an appetite in Congress for another “broad-based” covid-19 relief package, especially given that Republicans have been vocally opposed to the billions in funds given to state and local governments. But Warner said enough Republicans may get on board with more targeted restaurant relief and, he hopes, his bill to provide relief to minor league baseball clubs — among some sectors of the economy completely left out in previous relief efforts.
He said it was not likely that Congress could move on these items before Labor Day given the August recess, and that the urgency probably will depend on the trajectory of the delta variant.
Gresser said she’s not counting on anything until the relief money is in her business’s bank account this time — but was certain that without it, some in the industry may not survive the winter.
“What do we need in order to make it? That’s the daily puzzle,” Gressen said. “Every day has been a puzzle. Without knowing whether you’re going to get the money, there’s no relying on it.”