Ohio lawmakers plead for more federal restaurant and bar aid after initial tap runs dry

WASHINGTON, D. C. -- A group of Ohio Congress members wants a second helping of cash for a Restaurant Revitalization Fund, part of the American Rescue Plan established to aid restaurants, food stands, bars and other food-service entities stay open amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The $28.6 billion initially provided to the fund helped more than 101,000 restaurants around the country stay afloat. Lawmakers, including Niles-area Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan and Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur said the need for assistance was far greater than that. Earlier this month, the pair signed a letter asking President Joe Biden to back legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to add $60 billion to the fund.

In addition to Kaptur and Ryan, that legislation is co-sponsored by Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Columbus Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Columbus, Republican U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Rocky River, and Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta.

The letter that Kaptur and Ryan signed with dozens of their colleagues observes that 177,000 of the food and beverage establishments who sought money didn't get any. It said the funding disparity "has resulted in small businesses next door to each other with drastically different financial situations solely because of the federal government's inability to fully fund the RRF."

"These entities are the beating heart of every community, but the COVID-19 pandemic continues to put the survival of these small businesses on the line every day," the letter said, noting that restaurant and bar employment nationwide has been down by 930,500 jobs since the start of the pandemic and more than 90,000 restaurants and bars have closed. "Simply put, thousands of restaurants and bars will not survive the winter unless we replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund."

The fund was meant to provide restaurants with money equal to their pandemic-related revenue losses, capped at $10 million per business and $5 million per location. The Small Business Administration, which gave out the money, says that $7.5 billion of the relief it distributed went to women-owned businesses, $1 billion to veteran-owned businesses and $6.7 billion to small businesses with socially and economically disadvantaged owners.

This article was originally posted by Cleveland.com on November 30, 2021.