U.S. House of Representatives approves bill to replenish small business grant program

On April 7, the House passed H.R.3807, the Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Small Business Act of 2022.

The aim of this bill is to deliver $55 billion in relief to restaurants, arts and entertainment venues and small businesses seriously affected by the pandemic.

Under the American Rescue Plan, Congress created the $28.6 billon Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) which supplied over 100,000 small bars and restaurants with grants to help them pay key expenses and stay afloat. Met with overwhelming demand, over 177,000 eligible businesses that applied for grants did not receive them due to lack of funds.

The new Business Act will provide $42 billion to replenish the RRF to help fund those applicants that did not receive an award. The Small Business Administration would handle the funds and oversee the grant program.

The bill will also:

• Provide $13 billion to establish the Hard Hit Industries Award Program, which will assist small businesses with 200 or fewer employees that have experienced 40 percent or more in lost revenue. Expenses such as a mortgage, rent, utility payments, and payroll may be covered by the funds.
   
• Update the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program to provide entertainment venues with more time and flexibility to use federal relief funds.
   
• Offset program funding by utilizing recovered money from fraud cases in pandemic relief programs.
   
• Deliver $30 million total to the SBA Inspector General, DOJ’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, and the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, to further investigate and recover fraudulent funds.

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Date published Apr 21, 2022 | Last updated Jul 22, 2022