ICYMI: Congressman Veasey Votes for New Relief Funding for Restaurants and Small Businesses Across Texas

WASHINGTON – Last week, Congressman Veasey (TX-33) voted to secure urgently needed relief for small businesses across Texas. The Relief for Restaurants & Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act will deliver $55 billion to replenish funding for Texas restaurants and establish a new program supporting other small businesses recovering from the pandemic.

"Small businesses are the lifeblood of Texas' economy and are helping power our historic recovery," said Congressman Veasey (TX-33). "In our American Rescue Plan, Democrats created the Restaurant Revitalization Fund: a lifeline for over 18,000 businesses to help them reopen, recover and rehire. Today, I proudly voted for legislation that will build on that success: enabling restaurants that weren't able to take advantage of this program the first time to access essential relief in the wake of the omicron wave. This bill will also establish a new program to support Texas' hardest-hit small businesses – delivering assistance to businesses that have suffered revenue losses of at least 40 percent during the pandemic. Democrats remain laser-focused on Building a Better America, and I will continue fighting to help entrepreneurs keep Texans on payroll and continue serving our communities."

Established through Democrats' American Rescue Plan, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) distributed $28.6 billion to restaurants across the country – includingover $4 billion for 18,461 Texas 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 & Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act will provide $42 billion to replenish the RRF so that these restaurants can apply for this assistance.

This legislation also takes action to support other struggling small businesses:

• Providing $13 billion to establish the Hard Hit Industries Award Program, which will assist Texas small businesses with 200 or fewer employees that have experienced 40 percent or more in lost revenue.
• Updating the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program to provide Texas entertainment venues with more time and flexibility to use federal relief funds.