Restaurant group asks for more coronavirus aid from Congress
National Restaurant Association asked for THIS in its ‘Blueprint for Revival’
Cameron Mitchell Restaurants owner Cameron Mitchell outlines how his restaurants are dealing with reopening after the coronavirus pandemic and how they're all trying to follow the CDC guidelines.
The National Restaurant Association is asking Congress for industry-specific assistance to get through the coronavirus pandemic.
The trade group sent a letter to congressional leaders Wednesday asking for relief “that will allow businesses and employees not to profit, but simply to survive this pandemic,” the letter said.
The association also sent Congress a “Blueprint for Restaurant Revival,” which laid out exactly how the industry can be helped during the pandemic.
“Restaurants are the cornerstone of every community -- we employ people from every walk of life, we offer ownership and management opportunities for minority communities that no industry can match, and we are a critical economic engine for every region in the country,” said the letter, signed by the group’s EVP of Public Affairs Sean Kennedy.
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The restaurant industry “Blueprint” includes a list of ways to bring short-term relief to restaurants, make sure the industry stays stable and “help restaurants support at-risk communities,” according to the National Restaurant Association’s website.
To offer short-term relief to restaurants, the group suggested making a “Restaurant Recovery Fund”; launching another round of PPP loans; making the loans tax-deductible; creating another, more long-term loan program; offering “customer and employee wellness tax credits”; and offering liability protection for businesses, according to the website.
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In order to make sure the country’s food supply chain is stable, the National Restaurant Association suggested prioritizing food supply chain employees -- “after health care workers, first responders and vulnerable populations” -- for coronavirus testing and vaccines and offering payroll tax relief for essential workers.
The National Restaurant Association sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday asking for more aid to help restaurants survive the coronavirus. (iStock)
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The association also suggested restaurants should be given “incentives and payment” when they work with agencies to provide food to people in need.
It also recommended creating government-run programs so more people have access to food and making sure more people on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are eligible for restaurant service, the website said.
According to the National Restaurant Association, the industry is expected to lose $240 billion by the end of this year. The group told Congress in its letter the industry has already lost more than $120 billion.