Congress Debates Infrastructure Bill

Congress continues to debate the infrastructure package, and while restaurants are mostly left out of the conversation, there are a few key changes that could impact our industry. The country is seeing a spike in COVID-19 related cases, largely due in part to the delta variant, which has brought mask mandates and other COVID-19 related issues back to the forefront.

We cover a lot in today's video update, which can be found here. Here are the highlights:

• ERTC: The bipartisan infrastructure framework proposes to end the COVID-related employee retention tax credit (ERTC) for businesses after September 30, 2021. The infrastructure bill would use previously designated ERTC funds for October-December 2021 in order to help offset costs for the new spending package. Eligibility for the ongoing calendar quarter (July – September 2021) would not be affected, and ERTC is currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2021.
• PPP Loan Forgiveness: Restaurants with a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan under $150,000 can now apply for forgiveness through a new Web Portal (https://forgiveness.sba.gov), beginning August 4th. The SBA says this application can take less than 10 minutes to complete, with a customer service line to answer borrower questions.
• RRF Replenishment Act: 224 lawmakers currently support the bipartisan RRF Replenishment Act, which would fund applicants who remain in queue for the grant program. It is important that your Senator or Representative knows how important it is to help the eligible local restaurants whose need is still unmet.
• ENTRÉE Act: Similar to the RRF Replenishment Act, Rep. Luetkemeyer’s (R-MO) introduced the ENTREE Act to fully fund the RRF program. The introduction of this bill shows that there continues to be strong bipartisan support for restaurants. There is an opportunity to find a path to consensus on how to ensure that the SBA is able to complete their mission by funding the nearly 200,000 applications left pending when the RRF closed.

• Earlier today, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that in the coming weeks restaurants would be required to ensure that all customers are fully vaccinated prior to dining indoors. It is possible that this precedent setting COVID-19 regulation could be adopted in other jurisdictions.

Click here to watch the 90 Second Update with Sean Kennedy.