By the time it closed in July 2021, the RRF. The Latest Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) Updates In March 2021, Congress appropriated $28.6 billion to the Small Business Administration to help the food service industry weather the COVID-19 pandemic. This news doesnt exactly come as a surprise, but earlier this year, there was some hope that more money was coming. SBA agreed or partially agreed with two recommendations. In addition to restaurants and bars, eligible businesses include food trucks, bakeries, wineries or breweries and inns. Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. 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. Arriving as federal spending has driven inflation to a 40-year high, the Replenishment Act indicates disregard for this rule: When you are in a hole, quit digging. While SBA prevented over 30,000 suspicious applications from receiving awards, GAO identified systemic control weaknesses. The CARES Act includes a provision for GAO to monitor federal efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry still has not recreated 565,000 jobs lost at that time, which is the largest current employment deficit caused by the pandemic among all U.S. industries. By the time it closed in July 2021, the RRF gave out just about a third of the grant requests that it received because the demand was so great. Senha. To amend the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to increase appropriations to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, and for other purposes. Its an AI bot. Taking additional steps to identify and address potentially fraudulent awards in a timely manner could help SBA recover funds. 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. 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. House passes aid for restaurants, small businesses affected by Covid The SBA is set to award an added $180 million in unspent funds allocated for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) back in 2021. This program provides emergency assistance for eligible restaurants, bars, and other qualifying businesses impacted by COVID-19. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions on gathering and other crowd control measures had a huge impact on restaurant owners. 11 a 13 de maio de 2022 - Lavras/MG. How many restaurants originally benefited from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund? 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. This is not an infusion of funds into the RRF currently; in. Restaurant Revitalization Fund: Opportunities Exist to Improve This recommendation will remain open until SBA enhances its post-award reporting procedures to require recipients to report their operating status. 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. There are several strategic . 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. 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. This plan should include coordinating with the OIG to align efforts to address fraud. The restaurant industry reacts. "We must continue to look forward because the enormous challenges of the industry will continue beyond today. 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. SBA stopped accepting applications in July 2021 with the program oversubscribed and almost all its funds disbursed. Hence the Replenishment Act. In 2022, many RRF updates are in the works. They said at least 90,000 restaurants and bars have closed since the pandemic started more than two years ago. the aid could benefit? National Restaurant Association Statement on the Release of $83 Million House, Senate introduce bills adding $40B to RRF | Restaurant Dive Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., the main sponsor of the bill, and Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., said Thursday that more than 80 percent of restaurants that didn't receive grants have reported that they are on the verge of permanent closure, citing a survey from the Independent Restaurant Coalition. CEO of Berryhill Baja Grill restaurants in Houston, Jeff Anon, decided to take matters into his own hands in regards to declaring his right to free speech. H.R.3807 - Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act of 2021 117th Congress (2021-2022) Bill Hide Overview More on This Bill Constitutional Authority Statement CBO Cost Estimates [0] Subject Policy Area: Commerce View subjects Give Feedback on This Bill Contact Your Member Summary (2) Text (3) Actions (17) Titles (3) Amendments (1) Press Releases | National Restaurant Association A requirement for annual reporting submissions applies to any applicant who doesnt fully expend RRF grant funds before December 31, 2021. From independent operators to hospitality groups, most are disappointed and some are angry that there remains no federal aid to support struggling restaurants. The number of people making reservations has also returned to 2019 levels. Furthermore, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that the 11 million people working in restaurants and bars in March 2022 was just 5 percent below the number in March 2019. It should take place Monday or Tuesday . For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Even the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, with its paltry $28.6 billion in initial funding, wasnt enough to meaningfully help most establishments. 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. Updated August 15, 2022 SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grants Number of Restaurant Revitalization Fund Applications by Eligibility and Funding Status. SBA disagreed with five recommendations, including to assess pre-award controls and implement a plan to address fraudulent or ineligible awards. This plan should include coordinating with the OIG. An estimated 90,000 restaurants have already closed their doors during the pandemic, and that number will likely continue to grow. The American Rescue Plan created the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. What to do? 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. For more information about the SBA, visit sba.gov. Are there any reporting requirements for RRF grant recipients? For more information, visitRestaurant.org and find us on Twitter@WeRRestaurants, Cision Distribution 888-776-0942 UPDATE: April 6, 2022:Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) introduced a bill similar to the one before the House Tuesday night. 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. What is the timeframe for using the RRF grant money? The President has encouraged most people to stop wearing masks in indoor spaces, something that was unthinkable a year ago. Oops. from 8 AM - 9 PM ET. The recipient has until March 11th of 2023 to use the RRF grant unless the business has permanently closed. 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. Christian Britschgi is dubious. SBA stated that the agency will review a sample of RRF awards and use the results of this review to inform the effectiveness of its post-award procedures. 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. 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. Even the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, with its paltry $28.6 billion in initial funding, wasn't enough to meaningfully help most establishments. 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. Past-due expenses qualify as RRF expenses. 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. LOOK What Happened When This Restaurant Posted a Politically Incorrect Sign Forty-three Senate Republicans, objecting to the fact that only a smidgen of the Senate bills cost would be offset by economies elsewhere, on May 19 prevented there being 60 votes to proceed with it. The SBA is set to award an added $180 million in unspent funds allocated for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) back in 2021. On April 7, 2022, the House passed H.R. According to the letter, while the rest of the economy continues to quickly add jobs, restaurant industry job growth in . 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.