(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. Will an injustice be done if, with the pandemic receding and the economy reviving, nothing is done for those who missed out in the first-come-first-served scramble for the initial (and perhaps final) $28 billion? The median award was about $126,000. In 2020 and 2021, restaurants, bars, and other food service businesses experienced substantial revenue loss and unemployment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The SBA is set to award an added $180 million in unspent funds allocated for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) back in 2021. By June 2021, the funds $28.6 billion had been disbursed to 100,000 applicants in grants averaging $283,000. LISTEN TO THE QUICK UPDATE PODCAST BELOW! Cardin's bill, S.4008, would provide $40 billion in additional funding for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. 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. An estimated 90,000 restaurants have already closed their doors during the pandemic, and that number will likely continue to grow. Restaurant Industry News and Resources in Georgia. In January 2023, SBA stated that recipients have until March 2023 to exhaust RRF funds. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. New York City got him rehired, KFC is getting rid of 5 menu items but one fan favorite is finally coming back, Wagamamas Food Fight With Hedge Fund Is Delicious, Smart Mobility Data: The Essential Guide to US Retail Location Selection, What Diners Want: 5 Top Trends in the Restaurant Industry, NRA forecasts 2023 job growth, not major recession, Starbucks board opposes labor review backed by NYC pension funds, CA bill would establish joint franchisor-franchisee liability for QSRs, The Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act of 2022 (H.R. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. After this money was distributed, more than 177,000 applications were left in limbo at the SBA. For more information, please check out our Privacy Policy. The President has encouraged most people to stop wearing masks in indoor spaces, something that was unthinkable a year ago. Would a grant recipient ever have to pay back any of the funds? A particular section of the legislation, Section 5003, laid the foundation for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The unfortunate outcome however was that the demand for the funds was far greater than the supply. To amend the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to increase appropriations to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, and for other purposes. The $55 billion bill would largely replenish a grant program created by the American Rescue Plan that provides assistance to restaurants. Keep reading to learn more about RRF grant updates, eligibility, RRF forgiveness, and more. 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. 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 7), Restaurant Revitalization Fund: Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight. 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. More than 90,000 restaurants closed permanently or long-term because of the pandemic. IE 11 is not supported. Is the grant money taxable and are the expenses deductible? Among its objectives, this report examines recipient characteristics, SBA's internal controls and fraud risk management practices, and SBA's efforts to monitor recipients. The SBA has contacted recipients of the awards. 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. Atendimento ao inscrito. It is axiomatic that the titles of congressional bills, like the titles of Marx Brothers movies (Duck Soup, Horse Feathers), are not scrupulously informative. The SBA closed the program and stopped accepting applications on July 2nd, 2021. Nevertheless, the Replenishment bill barely passed the House 223 to 203 in April, with only six Republicans favoring it and only four Democrats opposed. They said at least 90,000 restaurants and bars have closed since the pandemic started more than two years ago. 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. 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. 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. Follow. In the initial shutdowns, more than eight million industry employees were laid off or furloughed. Payroll costs claimed as ERTC eligible wages, Forgivable payroll expenses on the PPP forgiveness application, Nonpayroll expenses claimed on the PPP Forgiveness application. SBA agreed or partially agreed with two recommendations. Publicly Released: Jul 14, 2022. 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. In addition to restaurants and bars, eligible businesses include food trucks, bakeries, wineries or breweries and inns. About 40% of eligible applicants received awards from the resulting Restaurant Revitalization Fund before it was depleted. Are there any reporting requirements for RRF grant recipients? Most applicants got to the trough too late, when it was empty. Esqueci minha senha. 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 (RRF) Updates. Senha. The wisdom of those measures is debatable; the pain from them is undeniable. They are on the verge of closing permanently as a result.". The bill would also put $13 billion toward other businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Published May 24, 2022 Thai Phi Le Senior Managing Editor (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. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R, PA) and Earl Blumenauer (D, OR), and Sens. The Restaurant Revitalization Fund covered period begins on February 15, 2020 and ends on March 11, 2023. In GovTrack.us, a database of bills in the U.S. Congress. We noted in our report, however, that SBA's post-award review procedures for RRF state that flagged awards will be reviewed when the recipients certify that they have spent their entire award or after they submit their final use-of-funds report (not when fraud is initially suspected). Number of Restaurant Revitalization Fund Applications by Eligibility and Funding Status. All of the funds had to be used for valid cases and claims up to March 11, 2023. The American Rescue Plan created the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. In January 2023, SBA stated that it was reviewing 10% of RRF awards to confirm eligibility and use of funds compliance. Restaurant Revitalization Award Portal. 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. "With the looming threat of another variant and growing challenges of inflation for both operators and consumers, the economic boost RRF will provide for those 177,000 restaurants would reach far into our communities," Sean Kennedy, NRA's executive vice president of public affairs, wrote in the letter. Nova Inscrio. Congress eventually set aside $28.6 billion dollars for the RRF in the American Rescue Plan Act. Until these funds were used up, they were available for eligible entrepreneurs, establishments, and corporations. They have until March 2023 to spend the money. As such, well continue to see the consequences of that failure in the coming months. And stop digging. "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. This government aide says it knows what voters want. Joanna Fantozzi | Apr 06, 2022. 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. This recommendation will remain open until SBA (1) assesses how the design of RRF pre-award controls may have adversely affected applicants from U.S. territories, and (2) documents steps to mitigate this issue for future programs. On April 7, 2022, the House passed H.R. Even the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, with its paltry $28.6 billion in initial funding, wasnt enough to meaningfully help most establishments. Its an AI bot. Rebecca Shabad is a politics reporter for NBC News based in Washington. | 2 p.m. In March 2021, Congress appropriated $28.6 billion to SBA for a Restaurant Revitalization Fund to assist the industry. 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. SBA disagreed with five recommendations, including to assess pre-award controls and implement a plan to address fraudulent or ineligible awards. By June 2021, the fund's $28.6 billion had been disbursed to 100,000 applicants in grants averaging $283,000. The U.S. House of Representatives voted yes on a bill Thursday that would provide $42 billion in relief to foodservice businesses that originally applied for the . This will remain until they fully expend the grant funding or the covered period expires. 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. When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type. Both political parties agreed that the RRF should be replenished but couldn't reach a consensus on how to pay for it. The Small Business Administration (SBA) began accepting applications and awarding funds in May 2021. 11 a 13 de maio de 2022 - Lavras/MG. All Applicants that do not fully expend award funds . Past-due expenses qualify as RRF expenses. There had, however, been 278,304 applicants seeking $72 billion. The act illustrates a timeless truth legislative bargaining is additive. 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." But it flagged 4,000 award recipients for suspected fraud and isn't taking timely action to address them. We recommended that SBA do so. U.S. Small Business Administration RRF Award Portal, Restaurant Revitalization Funding Program. And SBA has not proactively used data analytics or information from enforcement entities to identify potentially fraudulent award recipients.