Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today joined Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and several colleagues in a bipartisan letter to Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman urging her to disburse Shuttered Venue Operator Grant funding to struggling live entertainment venues as soon as possible. The legislation that created this program, the Save Our Stages Act, was signed into law more than six months ago, and event venues are going out of business while waiting for these grants.
“The Save Our Stages Act, now the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, was created to prevent widespread closures of venues that have been devastated by the loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As supporters of the SVOG program, we urge you to take immediate action to ensure that the relief reaches eligible applicants without further delay,” the senators wrote.
“Bureaucratic process cannot stand in the way of getting these desperately needed funds out the door,” they concluded.
The letter is also signed by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Angus King (I-Maine), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.).
Full text of the letter can be found HERE.
