WASHINGTON, DC – On April 7, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) voted to secure urgently needed relief for small businesses across New York. The Relief for Restaurants & Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act will deliver $55 billion to replenish funding for restaurants across the country and establish a new program supporting other small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

Established through Democrats’ American Rescue Plan, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) distributed $28.6 billion to restaurants across the country – including $3,667,054,114 for 9,775 New York 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.

“Mom-and-pop shops are the lifeblood of New York City’s economy and are helping power our historic recovery,” said Rep. Maloney. “In our American Rescue Plan, Democrats created the Restaurant Revitalization Fund: a lifeline for New York 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. These businesses are vital to our City’s culture and economy. NYC wouldn’t be the same without them.”

Background

The Relief for Restaurants & Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act also takes action to support other struggling small businesses:

• Providing $13 billion to establish the Hard Hit Industries Award Program, which will assist New York 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 New York entertainment venues with more time and flexibility to use federal relief funds.