Pennsylvania lawmakers urge passage of legislation that would assist struggling businesses

Nine members of the Pennsylvania delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter last week to House leadership urging the inclusion of the RESTAURANTS Act in future COVID-19 relief legislation.

The act would establish a $120 billion restaurant revitalization fund at the U.S. Department of Treasury to provide grants to small restaurant chains, independent restaurants, and catering firms with 20 or fewer locations doing business under the same name. Grants would be used to cover most expenses such as mortgage, rent, utilities, payroll, benefits, debt obligations to suppliers, and food.

“Without the significant relief that the RESTAURANTS Act would provide, tens of thousands of restaurants, many of them family-owned businesses, may permanently close, and hundreds of thousands of restaurant workers may lose their livelihoods,” the letter said. “We stand ready to work with you to pass substantial support for restaurants into law as part of future coronavirus relief legislation.”

More than 110,000 restaurants nationwide have closed permanently or long term, according to a U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee report in January, and 2.5 million restaurant jobs have been eliminated.

There are 500,000 independent restaurants nationwide, employing 11 million people, and independent restaurants account for more than three-quarters of all restaurants and bars.