Press Releases

Congresswoman Gwen Moore Votes to Provide Needed Support to Local Small Businesses and Restaurants Affected by COVID-19

“Milwaukee’s small businesses, and the workers they employ, are vital to our community and our economy. During the pandemic, small businesses and restaurants faced tremendous hurdles and despite the creation of numerous programs to help them through this pandemic, many couldn’t access critical COVID-19 relief programs as funding quickly ran out. I am proud to support the Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act, which will give small businesses in Milwaukee and across the country another opportunity to access COVID relief funds to recover and prosper.”

Established through Democrats’ American Rescue Plan, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) distributed $28.6 billion to restaurants across the country – including  $379,302,899 for Wisconsin businesses.  Due to its popularity, the program quickly exhausted its funding before more than 170,000 eligible businesses could access relief.  The Relief for Restaurants And Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act would provide $42 billion to help those restaurants that previously applied for help from the RRF but could not receive funding.

In addition, this legislation would also support other struggling small businesses by:

• Providing $13 billion for a Hard Hit Industries Program, to assist certain small businesses with 200 or fewer employees that have experienced 40 percent or more in lost revenue as a result of the pandemic.

• Updating the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program to provide [entertainment venues with more time and flexibility to use federal relief funds.