This post is a guest column submitted by Senator Roger Wicker.
With Congress closing the books on impeachment, lawmakers are pivoting back to coronavirus relief, by far the nation’s most immediate priority. Competing proposals have emerged from both parties, and it remains unclear exactly what will be passed into law. But odds are improving that Congress will provide long-needed relief to our restaurant industry, which has been depleted like no other sector over the course of the pandemic.
Restaurants were among the first to suffer when new public health rules went into effect almost one year ago. To this day, restaurants continue to bear the brunt of limits on public gatherings, even as other parts of the economy are beginning to reopen and recover. Owners have taken extraordinary adaptive measures to serve customers in a safe manner, often relying solely on delivery and curbside pickup options. Yet for thousands of establishments, the uphill battle has been a losing one. One out of six restaurants have now shut their doors permanently, and six out of 10 remain closed to indoor dining. These closures account for roughly one in four job losses owing to the pandemic.
The ripple effects of restaurant closures have caused the entire food supply chain to take a hit. Farmers have struggled with lower demand for crops. Meat producers have had to euthanize millions of animals. In my home state of Mississippi, fishermen have had trouble selling their catch to seafood establishments, which have seen a drop in tourism. Until restaurants can return to full capacity, the entire food supply chain will remain vulnerable.
Federal relief has been crucial to the survival of countless small businesses during this crisis. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which Congress created last year, has provided emergency capital to help employers keep their workers on the payroll. Unfortunately, PPP was not designed to meet the distinct needs of restaurants. In order to have their loans forgiven, PPP recipients are required to spend 60 percent of their loan money on payroll. But restaurants generally have to spend more on fixed costs like food, rent, and utilities, making PPP an impractical option. As a result, thousands of restaurants have yet to receive any federal relief at all, putting them in a uniquely vulnerable position.
Last year, I introduced the RESTAURANTS Act to help close the relief gap and provide restaurants with PPP-style loans to meet their unique needs. The bill would establish a revitalization fund tailored for restaurants and franchisees with 20 facilities or fewer. Grants could be used to cover a wide range of expenses, as well as losses dating back to the very start of the pandemic. This fund would give restaurants the lifeline they need at this critical juncture.
Lawmakers appear to agree. Earlier this month, the Senate adopted the framework of my bill in a budget amendment that passed by a vote of 90-10. This makes it much more likely that restaurant aid will be included in the forthcoming relief package. In addition, lawmakers in committee have allocated $25 billion for the restaurant fund — a down payment I hope will be replenished regularly until the pandemic has passed. Congress now needs to finish the job by adopting these provisions into the unfinished relief bill.
Restaurants are not asking for a special bailout from Congress. They are simply asking for relief on par with the funds that have kept thousands of other small businesses afloat during this exceptionally challenging time. Their voices are now being heard.
20 comments:
It is a special bailout for restaurants. I've seen several restaurants close and now new ones are opening in their former locations. Many are poorly managed and high-risk ventures.
Quit the crap and stop the illegals from crossing. More jobs are here for our people we just need the economy to open up and it
Will get better
I support this much more than I do the continued bailout of airlines and wall street.
2:53. the economy of mississippi is 'opened up'. we dont live in CA or NY where things are still closed.
1:33. i dont want to be stuck with just national fast food chains. local restaurants need help.
Good ole socialism, please Roger, may we have some more?
Why should taxpayers bail out poorly run businesses? I’m guessing Roger is getting wined and dined all over DC for this handout. Get a real job Roger and leave the hard work to the smart people. You’ve embarrassed our state enough already.
3:31..the economy is NOT opened up. We still have restrictions. Get your head outta your ass. Masks are
Restrictions. Social distancing is a restriction. We are not in a normal economy! Just because you can go to a grocery store or a auto parts house or a liquor store and wear a damn mask doesn’t mean it’s an open economy. I’m sick of wearing a damn mask or being forced to wear one into a store. And I’m not taking The damn shot either to ward off the WuhanFauci virus.
Wicker has two specialties:
1) Pandering
2) Taking media credit for shit he had nothing to do with
Governent should aid those businesses that government destroyed with this stupid shutdown. Restaurants are not sustainable when capacity is limited to 25 50 or even 75% and the bar area is shut down.
Complying with government orders is hardly "poorly run business".
No more complaining from Republicans, Libertarians or anybody else regarding socialism, a shitty work force, etc!!!
The pervious Payroll Protection Program (PPP) was anything but;
and proves how completely ill-informed and/or corrupt all 535 members of congress are.
Far left socialists like Bernie Sanders and AOC combined with the most far right Republicans calling themselves Conservatives, all voted to give lottery winnings welfare, 100’s of thousands, even Millions of dollars to companies that ended up having no revenue decrease due to the pandemic, and many that actually profited from the pandemic.
Not one, not a single one of these 535 idiots thought to put one little paragraph in that bill stating that you/the business can get the PPP, but if your business ends up not suffering, or if your business actually prospered, i.e. if you had no need for help with making your payroll, you simply give it back.
Not one of those morons in Congress could get out of that Washington DC box and make a 2 + 2 = 4 observation.
And there are people on that list are laughing the asses off.
They are literally laughing their asses off!
Below is the link to JJ’s “Who Got the Money?” list.
http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2020/07/who-got-money.html
Some got millions of dollars they didn’t need and pocketed that money to savings, bought planes, boats, fancy cars or whatever the F else they want with their tax payer welfare lotto winnings, while millions of Americans are suffering tremendously, and all at the expense of future generations;
compliments of a dip shit congress to stupid and/or corrupt to provide enough help to those that actually needed it, instead of throwing spaghetti on the wall and adding to an already outrageous national debt while making millionaires and millionaires over again with Fed money that those business owners did not earn or need.
And their silence is deafening!
P.S. If anyone ever doubted how corrupt, and/or stupid the media is, here’s your proof because no journalist out there is reporting on this moral financial crime against future generations that is unlike anything we have ever witnessed before.
Wait a minute, why would a restaurant need help? Shiny new menus or something? Oh, wait...maybe the workers, like the servers, clean-up crew, kitchen staff, etc. need the help, not the restaurant itself or the owners. Frankly, screw the owners. RSJ, sorry, but I'm looking at folks like you - the back-to-back items about losing your house contrasted with your gracious entertaining and international travel cost you my respect and sympathy. And if you own 20 (or even 5-10) locations and weren't saving up, let me be clear: tough shit.
If folks want to live and spend like the good times can never end, that's their right. But when they do end and they want Uncle Sugar to use public money to maintain their lifestyle choices, be they restaurateurs, airline execs, Wall Streeters, bankers, or middle managers, the answer should be no.
Had Congress restricted the funds to those who really and truly needed some help, that's what a reasonable society should do if it can. But continuing to bail out bad decisions will just lead to, well, what we have.
3:31 PM on February 19th - You won't be stuck with national chains. The average life span of a restaurant is approximately 5 years and most fail within the first year. Just think of the Jackson area restaurants that have closed over the years. It is a very risky business. I hope this bill does not pass. We are in a "K" shaped economic recovery where some businesses do well and others do not. That is capitalism.
8:56, you keep saying the economy isn’t open, but it’s abundantly clear you have no idea what that means. You’re crying about wearing a mask, not a store being closed or being unable to engage in commerce. Good God! Grow up and be thankful you don’t have real problems to worry about (like owning a restaurant during a once-in-a-century pandemic), you Q-Anon nit-wit.
8:56 I only wish I was as smart as you. Maybe I could be a greeter at Wal Mart if I was.
Did Roger support this while he was Chair of the Fricking Commerce Commission?
Maybe Roger didn't know that "Commerce" is a 50-cent word for "business."
It's bullshit that the average longevity of a chain 'food dive' is five years. Practically every chain restaurant you see has been right there for the past 18 or more years.
10:32 AM said “Had Congress restricted the funds to those who really and truly needed some help, that's what a reasonable society should do if it can. But continuing to bail out bad decisions will just lead to, well, what we have.”
You are absolutely correct 10:32!
But, the last PPP was much, much worse than, for example, bailing out companies, that instead of saving money for a rainy day when profits were good, they took expensive trips and lived high on the hog.
No, it is much much worse than that.
While many Americans suffer tremendously with
unemployment, being
behind on their mortgage and facing foreclosure, being
behind on rent and facing eviction, being
forced to subsidize tenants that can’t pay due to an eviction moratorium, being forced to close restaurants, being
forced to close dental practices, etc….
535 ill-informed idiots and/or corrupt members of congress voted to
give 100’s of thousands of dollars, to even
give MILLION’s of dollars to businesses that not only had no revenue decrease during the pandemic,
but many that actually profited from the pandemic!
And if you own a business that was doing fine, or even profited from the pandemic, and the idiotic federal government gives you, for example, $3,000,000.00 to make your payroll, when you didn’t suffer any, i.e. you didn't need it, well guess what?
You’ve now got $3,000,000.00 of additional profits to go
buy an airplane, some
condos,
a beach house or two, another
rich mans hunting club, or
whatever the F else you want with your
Fed Gov sponsored lotto winnings while laughing your ass off at the dip shits in congress that voted to give to to you.
All while millions of Americans suffer the greatest tragedy of their lifetimes.
To all calling themselves Conservatives,
Delete that word from your vocabulary because no true Conservative would vote for something so grotesque.
To all calling themselves Progressive or a Socialist and claiming to be against corporate welfare and claiming to be a spokesperson that is looking our for the little guy, stop lying!
Because no true Progressive or Socialist would vote for something so grotesque.
Great post 10.32 and 6.32. This is why I am a conservative Libertarian. Government is so inefficient and corrupt that the only answer is to make government as small as possible. I am not a economist but unchecked spending will not end well.
Roger will soon retire with more retirement options that Junior Bush had.
Wicker prances. If you government hides behind weapons and wire they are up to no good.
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