Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02) joined over 200 of his House colleagues in a bipartisan letter to Administrator Isabel Guzman of the Small Business Administration urging immediate action to stabilize and improve the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, which provides emergency assistance grants to venues that were unable to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rollout of the SVOG program has been plagued by technical challenges and persistent delays. Since launching the program in April, the SBA has approved roughly 400 grants as of June 14 – despite receiving more than 14,000 applications. In their letter, Huizenga and his colleagues requested a detailed explanation of ongoing issues with the program and demanded the SBA expedite the release of relief funding to struggling venues across the country.
“It’s been six months since Congress created the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program to help some of the hardest hit small businesses in the nation,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga. “The Small Business Administration’s inability to properly administer the funding in a timely manner is completely unacceptable. The more time that passes due to bureaucratic inaction, the more small concert venues will close their doors for good.”
“The slow pace is becoming increasingly untenable for the small businesses in our districts. Their banks have threatened to call in the full amount of small business loans, they do not have the funds to pay their landlords full rent, and they cannot retain staff,” wrote the Members. “We are hearing from venue operators who are days away from closing their doors if these funds are not sent soon. These small businesses not only provide good jobs and contribute economically to our local communities, they contribute to the spirit and local culture as well. We must act now.”
Original source can be found here.
