restaurant revitalization fund update 2022
Nearly 1 year ago, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RFF) stopped taking applications. Cardin's bill, S.4008, would provide $40 billion in additional funding for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. If the business permanently closes, the covered period will end when the business permanently closes; or, on March 11, 2023 whichever occurs sooner. Restaurant owners have taken on substantial debt and tapped into their own savings accounts, just in an effort to keep the doors open. Supply chain shortages are still a massive problem for restaurants, and the cost of doing business grows by the day. And SBA has not proactively used data analytics or information from enforcement entities to identify potentially fraudulent award recipients. The National Restaurant Association is asking Congress to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund as the Covid omicron variant hits operators' businesses. 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. Nearly 300,000 restaurants and bars applied for grants through the program last year, according to the Small Business Administration, but only a third of applicants received relief. (Recommendation 5), The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should develop, document, and implement procedures to use enforcement data on suspected fraud in other SBA programs, such as PPP, to identify potential fraud in RRF recipients. 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. 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From independent operators to hospitality groups, most are disappointed and some are angry that there remains no federal aid to support struggling restaurants. Painel do Inscrito | Conference Software Consider the House-passed, $55 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act, which could be the No Faction Left Behind Act.. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023. On Nov. 23, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released a statement about the current state of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RFF), which helped more than 100,000 restaurants and food and beverage business owners during the pandemic. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions on gathering and other crowd control measures had a huge impact on restaurant owners. (Recommendation 1), The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should assess how the design of RRF pre-award controls may have adversely affected applicants from U.S. territories, and identify and document steps to mitigate this issue for future programs. However, for expensesses incurred on February 15, 2020 or after, be careful not to use the following: So long as funds are utilized for eligible applications no later than March 11, 2023, there is no requirement for recipients to repay the funding. Congress eventually set aside $28.6 billion dollars for the RRF in the American Rescue Plan Act. For example, SBA considered applications made through external vendors to be low-risk, but over 4,000 recipients who applied through such a channel have been flagged for suspected fraud or ineligibility, including an alleged fraudster who received $8 million. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is releasing $83 million in leftover Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) aid to restaurateurs who were denied assistance in 2021 because the program burned through most of its $28.6 billion in about three weeks. In March 2021, Congress appropriated $28.6 billion to SBA for a Restaurant Revitalization Fund to assist the industry. Press Releases | National Restaurant Association Six weeks ago six weeks of economic recovery ago Britschgi noted that in general, there are more small businesses open today than existed before the pandemic. And almost all government-dictated restrictions on commerce have ended. Restaurant Revitalization Fund Award Disbursements, May 3July 1, 2021. For instance, it prevented over 30,000 suspicious applications from receiving awards. 3807), which would refill the Restaurant Revitalization Fund with $42 billion, was reintroduced in a Rules Committee meeting in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. But with Congress having adjourned for a two-week recess, the bill won't be considered anytime soon in the Senate. Initially, nearly $29 billion was appropriated to award eligible restaurants and other establishments to help their businesses in the wake of the pandemic. The House is expected to vote on the bill,which has a mix of 234 Democratic and Republican sponsors, this week. 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. (Recommendation 3), The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should enhance RRF post-award reporting procedures by adding requirements for recipients to report their operating status. All of the funds had to be used for valid cases and claims up to March 11, 2023. Please enter a valid email and try again. The National Restaurant Association has been requesting these funds be released, and Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Sean Kennedy released the following statement in response: "The SBA's action represents the final chapter of our nearly three-year effort to secure dedicated federal pandemic relief dollars for local restaurants. 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. However, in May, the Senate didn't pass the proposed increase, which was viewed by many as a setback. 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. Even now that the Omicron wave is receding, and more people are going back to restaurants and living their lives normally again, theres no way for these establishments to get back what theyve lost since the shutdowns began in March 2020. The legislation would also provide $13 billion for other businesses affected by the pandemic, and it would establish oversight and reporting requirements to ensure grants are awarded properly and to verify the use of funding. Writing for Reason, he noted six weeks ago that Open Table, the reservation app, shows that close to 95 percent of restaurants open in 2019 are back to accepting reservations. 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. 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. Published May 24, 2022 Thai Phi Le Senior Managing Editor CPF, documento de identificao ou Cdigo da Conta. H.R.3807 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Restaurant Revitalization Fund Stay up to date on the news from Silicon Valley, and how to take back control of your data and devices. SBA to disburse $180M in remaining RRF funds | Restaurant Dive After this money was distributed, more than 177,000 applications were left in limbo at the SBA. Operators receiving funds should receive notification today and SBA will begin transmitting the grants next week. Optimal accounting solutions for small, medium, multi-unit concept, franchise, and enterprise restaurant operators. This program will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. 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. The SBA has contacted recipients of the awards. All rights reserved. There comes a point where the right policy is: Stop smoothing. SBA releases $83M in additional RRF aid Ninety-six percent of RRFrecipients said the grant made it more likely that their business would survive. The freshest news from the food world every day. According to the SBA, the grants are being released to operators in the order their applications were received. According to the Small Business Administration, which handles the fund, restaurants and other eligible businesses can receive funding "equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location." Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., splashed cold water on the prospects of the legislation moving forward, comparing it to the stalled Covid relief bill. 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. Payroll costs claimed as ERTC eligible wages, Forgivable payroll expenses on the PPP forgiveness application, Nonpayroll expenses claimed on the PPP Forgiveness application. More than 90,000 restaurants closed permanently or long-term because of the pandemic. The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and includes additional funds for gyms, live venues and transit systems, among other business categories. A particular section of the legislation, Section 5003, laid the foundation for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. 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. The Restaurant Revitalization Fund covered period begins on February 15, 2020 and ends on March 11, 2023. The RRF is actually part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was established in March 2021. According to reporting from CNNs Manu Raju, Senate small business and entrepreneurship committee chairman Ben Cardin said on Tuesday, March 8 that Republican opposition means that the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) will not be replenished. Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) Updates - August 2022 Restaurant Revitalization Fund Distributes $83M in Remaining Funds Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), signed the letter . Restaurant Revitalization Fund What's the impact of the Senate's failure to pass RRF? Press Releases | National Restaurant Association Even the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, with its paltry $28.6 billion in initial funding, wasnt enough to meaningfully help most establishments. To amend the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to increase appropriations to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, and for other purposes. 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. In March 2021, Congress appropriated $28.6 billion to the Small Business Administration to help the food service industry weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurant Revitalization Fund Most applicants got to the trough too late, when it was empty. "After navigating an unpredictable supply chain, multiple COVID-19 surges, and dealing with revenue-hampering restrictions, these businesses have two years of crushing debt," Erika Polmar, the IRC's executive director, said in a statement. We are beyond disappointed that this massive government funding proposal ignores the needs of 177,300 neighborhood restaurants and bars impacted by the pandemic, IRC executive director Erika Polmar said. Nevertheless, the Replenishment bill barely passed the House 223 to 203 in April, with only six Republicans favoring it and only four Democrats opposed. Apr 7, 2022. The NRA wrote a letter to Congress on Monday urging policymakers to pass legislation that would refill the fund. (Recommendation 7), Restaurant Revitalization Fund: Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight. The unions proposals often focus on specific changes to systems workers interact with all day, every day, including equipment and mobile ordering. Realizar Login. Until these funds were used up, they were available for eligible entrepreneurs, establishments, and corporations. Recipients that are unable to use all of the funds received on eligible expenses by the end of the covered period must return any unused funds to the Treasury. This news doesnt exactly come as a surprise, but earlier this year, there was some hope that more money was coming. From the recruitment of employees to the constantly rising costs for food, running a restaurant right now is a daily struggle. The restaurant industry reacts. (Recommendation 6), The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should develop and implement a plan to respond to potentially fraudulent and ineligible RRF awards in a prompt and consistent manner. Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) Updates. In January 2023, SBA stated that recipients have until March 2023 to exhaust RRF funds.
Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
, Executive Candidate Assessment and Development Program, Business Regulation and Consumer Protection, The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should conduct and document an assessment of the RRF pre-award controls and address or mitigate deficiencies. GAO makes seven recommendations to SBA, including to assess pre-award controls and address deficiencies, strengthen post-award reporting, take additional steps to identify fraudulent or ineligible awards, and develop and implement a plan to address potentially fraudulent award recipients in a timely manner. The U.S. House and Senate passed a bill, S.4008, which wouldve added $40 billion to the plan a significant increase over the approximate $29 billion originally proposed in the RRF. While SBA prevented over 30,000 suspicious applications from receiving awards, GAO identified systemic control weaknesses. The House already has passed H.R. Senha. "This should be the driving factor in bipartisan support for replenishing the RRF. This is not an infusion of funds into the RRF currently; in. In January 2023, SBA stated that it was reviewing 10% of RRF awards to confirm eligibility and use of funds compliance. 2023 Restaurant Accounting Services Inc. All Rights Reserved. SBA stated that the results of the analysis are scheduled to be completed by March 2023. 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 contrast, almost half of restaurants that didn't receive RRF funding said it's unlikely they will survive the pandemic, and 94% reported an RRF grant would allow them to retain or rehire staff, according to NRA research. But, then, weapons systems have been purchased because suppliers of components were spread across the country like tapenade on toast. UPDATE: April 6, 2022:Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) introduced a bill similar to the one before the House Tuesday night. About 43 percent had 2019 revenue of $500,000 or less. These restaurants fighting for survival cannot go it alone any longer, and should not be treated as a spot in the rear-view mirror of Congress.". Today's announcement is great news for those 169 operators fortunate enough to receive an RRF grant, but hundreds of thousands more are struggling with uncertainty. In 2020, independent locations declined by 8 percent, according to The NPD Group. (Recommendation 2), The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should develop and implement policies and procedures for addressing RRF recipients who do not meet annual reporting requirements. 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. The median award was about $126,000. This government aide says it knows what voters want. The Latest Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) Updates They have until March 2023 to spend the money. "I think right now it's hard to as you saw, even with the $10 billion package of new money for Covid unless they can reprogram or repurpose it, it's going to be a hard sell," he said Thursday afternoon as he exited Capitol. But it flagged 4,000 award recipients for suspected fraud and isn't taking timely action to address them. 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. WASHINGTON The House passed a $55 billion bill Thursday that would provide assistance to restaurants and other small businesses that have struggled because of the coronavirus pandemic.