WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) voted to pass the Relief for Restaurants and other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act, which would replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide assistance to previous applicants that did not receive grant funding because the program was already exhausted. The bill would also establish a new Hard Hit Industries Award Program to assist small businesses across all sectors that experienced at least 40 percent pandemic related revenue loss and were not eligible for RRF or the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program (SVOG).
"Small businesses are the bedrock of our national economy and our economy here in New Jersey," said Congressman Kim. "This bill would finally provide relief for the remaining small businesses that have spent two years struggling to keep their doors open and have been left out of other programs. I'm proud to support this bipartisan effort to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and help give some support and relief to other small businesses in Burlington and Ocean Counties that still need help getting back on their feet after the pandemic."
Congressman Kim, the only member of the New Jersey delegation on the House Committee on Small Business, was an early supporter of the RESTAURANTS Act to create the RRF, which was passed into law as part of the American Rescue Plan. He has also supported the RRF Replenishment Act, the GYMS Act, and other efforts to assist the industries hit hardestby the COVID pandemic.
The legislation includes provisions championed by Congressman Kim to provide the Small Business Administration (SBA) with flexibility to adjust award amounts, if needed, to ensure that no applicant at the end of the queue is left without relief again. In November, Congressman Kim questioned SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman on the need for this flexibility.
Congressman Kim is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Committee on Small Business. More information about Congressman Kim can be found on his website, kim.house.gov.
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