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. Restaurant Revitalization Fund Distributes $83M in Remaining Funds ET, 5 store-level changes driving the Starbucks union, How 6 restaurant giants are hiking menu prices, Starbucks faces corporate employee revolt, Wendys offers franchisees reduced royalty rate, slashes fees on new restaurants, Bonchon to double US presence within 5 years, NRA: One-third of operators predict ghost kitchens will decline, How Retailers Can Embrace New Collaborations with Brands, Reimagining the dine-in experience with technology, How Restaurants Can Turbocharge Loyalty Programs with Payment Data, Starbucks fired a union organizer. This is not an infusion of funds into the RRF currently; in. UPDATE: April 6, 2022:Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) introduced a bill similar to the one before the House Tuesday night. The Small Business Administration (SBA) began accepting applications and awarding funds in May 2021. An estimated 90,000 restaurants have already closed their doors during the pandemic, and that number will likely continue to grow. H.R.3807 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Restaurant Revitalization Fund 3807, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act of 2021. 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. A vague, anti-drag bill in Tennessee has bar and restaurant owners worried for their future, By submitting your email, you agree to our, Congress Wont Send Any More Financial Aid to Restaurants Despite Pleas From the Industry, The Weird (and Wired) Truth Behind Whats Really in Coca-Cola, Why Coca-Cola contracts with a chemical company to manufacture cocaine in New Jersey, there was some hope that more money was coming, just about a third of the grant requests that it received because the demand was so great, exhortations from everyone from Tom Colicchio to Elizabeth Warren for Congress to provide aid to restaurants, that ongoing rise in the cost of doing business, Liquid Deaths New Tea Tallboys Are Coming for AriZonas Neck, If You Took the Drag Away, Then Its Just Another Boring Bar, How to Make Misis Iconic Ricotta-Filled Occhi Pasta. The National Restaurant Association is asking Congress to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund as the Covid omicron variant hits operators' businesses. After congress walked away from the funds replenishment in March 2022 and the Senate failed to pass the replenishment in May 2022, 177,000 establishments were left without aid. 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. There are several strategic . Published: Jul 14, 2022. The government closed restaurants and bars because they were considered particularly apt to endanger the public by spreading the coronavirus, so the public should compensate everyone for losses suffered on the publics behalf. GAO maintains that all of the recommendations are valid, as discussed in this report. 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. In January 2023, SBA stated that it was weighing potential solutions, such as adding functionality in the RRF platform to allow recipients to report their operating status. In GovTrack.us, a database of bills in the U.S. Congress. Washington has succumbed to dangerous groupthink on China, Google releases civil rights review, caving to years of pressure. 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. Restaurant Revitalization Fund This deadline had many restaurants wondering who is eligible, when to expect additional RRF updates to the legislation, if any additional RRF forgiveness has been granted, and which anti-fraud mechanisms were put in place to determine which claims are legitimate. The sector still has myriad challenges ahead, but a glimmer of hope as Congress is expected to vote on further aid on May 19a $48 billion bill that would fully fund the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. There had, however, been 278,304 applicants seeking $72 billion. Taking additional steps to identify and address potentially fraudulent awards in a timely manner could help SBA recover funds. Restaurant Revitalization Fund Award Disbursements, May 3July 1, 2021. SBA took steps to detect fraudulent or ineligible applications. 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. From independent operators to hospitality groups, most are disappointed and some are angry that there remains no federal aid to support struggling restaurants. Its an AI bot. If H.R. Stay up to date on the news from Silicon Valley, and how to take back control of your data and devices. 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.". Many independently owned restaurants havent been anywhere near profitable since the pandemic began, and its clear that many of them are in a hole that theyll never be able to dig themselves out of. (Recommendation 4), The Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access should develop and implement data analytics across RRF awards as a means to detect potentially fraudulent award recipients. "This should be the driving factor in bipartisan support for replenishing the RRF. Follow. This plan should include coordinating with the OIG to align efforts to address fraud. In March 2021, Congress appropriated $28.6 billion to SBA for a Restaurant Revitalization Fund to assist the industry. 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. As such, well continue to see the consequences of that failure in the coming months. This plan should include coordinating with the OIG. 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. They are on the verge of closing permanently as a result.". Lawmakers approved the measure in a 223-203 vote, with only about a handful of Republicans backing it. GAO reviewed SBA documentation, analyzed SBA data on the program's applicants and recipients, and interviewed SBA officials and representatives of industry associations. So, in March 2021, seasonal compassion reinforced a political temptation for all seasons Congresss temptation to make life less unfair. Many hoped that would mean more money into the RRF, which wasnt able to distribute the vast majority of monies requested by restaurants due to lawsuits over a rule intended to help that aid reach minority-owned businesses first. The House is expected to vote on the bill,which has a mix of 234 Democratic and Republican sponsors, this week. 3807 (117th).
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. All rights reserved. Lawmakers ask SBA for disbursement plan for $180M RRF leftovers That is a serious consideration. Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) Updates. 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. WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the release of $83 million dollars in unobligated Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grants to 169 operators with pending applications. 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. 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. House passes aid for restaurants, small businesses affected by Covid Last year, lawmakers created. Restaurant owners have taken on substantial debt and tapped into their own savings accounts, just in an effort to keep the doors open. Four mistakes youre making with home internet. In January 2023, SBA stated that it follows standard operating procedures to refer suspicious activity to the OIG. The first reports were due in December 2021, but 32 percent were overdue as of June 2022. from 8 AM - 9 PM ET. SBA stopped accepting applications in July 2021 with the program oversubscribed and almost all its funds disbursed. 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. However, in May, the Senate didn't pass the proposed increase, which was viewed by many as a setback. Nearly 1 year ago, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RFF) stopped taking applications. 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. According to the SBA, the RRF provided $28.6 billion to more than 100,000 restaurants, bars, and other businesses that provide on-site food and drink. Initially, nearly $29 billion was appropriated to award eligible restaurants and other establishments to help their businesses in the wake of the pandemic. Updated August 15, 2022 SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grants What are eligible expenses and restrictions that RRF grant recipients should know about? Operators receiving funds should receive notification today and SBA will begin transmitting the grants next week. SBA releases $83M in additional RRF aid Lawmakers. And by the third quarter of 2021, Britschgi writes, the number of restaurants had surpassed pre-pandemic levels.. Something went wrong. For instance, it prevented over 30,000 suspicious applications from receiving awards. 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. Assessing controls and addressing deficiencies would help SBA better ensure program integrity. In 2022, many RRF updates are in the works. Restaurant Owners RRF SBA EIDL Restaurant Revitalization Funds - Yahoo! Restaurant Revitalization Fund Distributes $83M in Remaining Funds November 28, 2022 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. This recommendation will remain open until SBA enhances its post-award reporting procedures to require recipients to report their operating status. "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. Until these funds were used up, they were available for eligible entrepreneurs, establishments, and corporations. This program provides emergency assistance for eligible restaurants, bars, and other qualifying businesses impacted by COVID-19. We recommended that SBA do so. Payroll costs claimed as ERTC eligible wages, Forgivable payroll expenses on the PPP forgiveness application, Nonpayroll expenses claimed on the PPP Forgiveness application. Stay informed as we add new reports & testimonies. Number of Restaurant Revitalization Fund Applications by Eligibility and Funding Status. In January 2023, SBA stated that recipients have until March 2023 to exhaust RRF funds. 3807 or, the Relief for Restaurants and other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act of 2022, which would provide about $42 billion to provide fresh funding for the RRF . Restaurant Revitalization Fund Approaches Final Stand The recipient has until March 11th of 2023 to use the RRF grant unless the business has permanently closed. Congress Won't Send Any More Financial Aid to Restaurants - Eater 3807), that included $42 billion to replenish the RRF, on April 7. SBA stated that the results of the analysis are scheduled to be completed by March 2023. But it flagged 4,000 award recipients for suspected fraud and isn't taking timely action to address them. Nova Inscrio. Back in January, a Biden administration official said pretty plainly that the president had no plans to support a new comprehensive stimulus for all Americans, but did hint that there might be something small for restaurants on the way. Ninety-six percent of RRFrecipients said the grant made it more likely that their business would survive. 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. What is the timeframe for using the RRF grant money? 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. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), signed the letter . Let Restaurant Dive's free newsletter keep you informed, straight from your inbox. Even the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, with its paltry $28.6 billion in initial funding, wasnt enough to meaningfully help most establishments. Everything from labor to packaging to utilities have gotten more expensive, and that ongoing rise in the cost of doing business continues to have a disproportionate impact on small businesses like restaurants. Together with 52 State Associations, we are a network of professional organizations dedicated to serving every restaurant through advocacy, education, and food safety. Restaurant owners plead for Congresss help after omicron surge. But what about those other small businesses (gyms, minor league baseball, etc.) In January 2023, SBA stated that SBA's Office of Financial Program Operations had partnered with the agency's Office of the Chief Data Office to execute data analytics across the RRF portfolio. This recommendation will remain open until SBA (1) provides documentation of its review, and (2) addresses or mitigates any deficiencies identified. The bill also would provide $13 billion for a Hard Hit Industries Award Program for small After this money was distributed, more than 177,000 applications were left in limbo at the SBA. According to the SBA, the grants are being released to operators in the order their applications were received. A particular section of the legislation, Section 5003, laid the foundation for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. SBA emphasized pre-award controls to detect fraudulent or ineligible applications but has not assessed their effectiveness. Restaurant Industry News and Resources in Georgia. According to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), the amounts received from the SBA in the form of a Restaurant Revitalization Grant shall not be included in gross income (non-taxable); additionally, the expenses incurred are deductible. 3807), which would refill the Restaurant Revitalization Fund with $42 billion,was reintroduced in. National Restaurant Association asks Congress for aid amid omicron Rebecca Shabad is a politics reporter for NBC News based in Washington. Painel do Inscrito | Conference Software For more information, please check out our Privacy Policy. 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. More than 90,000 restaurants closed permanently or long-term because of the pandemic. This recommendation will remain open until SBA develops and implements a plan to respond to potentially fraudulent and ineligible awards in a prompt manner. The restaurant industry reacts. In March 2021, Congress appropriated $28.6 billion to the Small Business Administration to help the food service industry weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Painel do Inscrito | Conference Software In January 2023, SBA stated that it would offer to participate in a government-wide dialogue to address systemic weaknesses related to IRS and territories' tax validation systems. SBA disagreed with five recommendations, including to assess pre-award controls and implement a plan to address fraudulent or ineligible awards. Restaurant Revitalization Fund What's the impact of the Senate's failure to pass RRF? No later than December 31, 2021, all recipients are required to report to the SBA how much of their RRF grant has been used against each eligible use category. 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. In 2020 and 2021, restaurants, bars, and other food service businesses experienced substantial revenue loss and unemployment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. 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. 2023 Restaurant Accounting Services Inc. All Rights Reserved. From the recruitment of employees to the constantly rising costs for food, running a restaurant right now is a daily struggle. And stop digging. Just over 100,000 businesses received funding (40 percent of eligible applicants). Among the 435 congressional districts, surely not one lacks businesses eligible for aid, especially from the Senate bill. Congress eventually set aside $28.6 billion dollars for the RRF in the American Rescue Plan Act. All Applicants that do not fully expend award funds . This will remain until they fully expend the grant funding or the covered period expires. The SBA, which had $83 million in unobligated RFF money worked with the advice of the Department of Justice to begin distributing the remaining funds to 169 restaurant operators with pending RRF applications. the aid could benefit? Recipients cannot claim wages paid with RRF grant money as wages for purposes of the ERTC or PPP forgiveness. As a restaurant owner, youve most definitely heard about the varying RRF updates throughout the last year, how they could possibly impact your establishment, and more. Published May 24, 2022 Thai Phi Le Senior Managing Editor Less than 10 days after the SBA launched the RRF Portal, the applications submitted equated to more than twice the amount of funds available. Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) Updates - August 2022 Use of Funds Validation is now available for Restaurant Revitalization Fund awardees. ), buses and ferries, etc. And it underscores the inevitable inequities that accompany large-scale government interventions in the economy. The SBA closed the program and stopped accepting applications on July 2nd, 2021. Christian Britschgi is dubious. Updates to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund - ARF Financial National Restaurant Association Nov 23, 2022, 16:51 ET WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the release of $83 million dollars in. Painel do Inscrito. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden.