PA Lawmakers Support Restaurant Aid Bill

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is calling on Congress to pass a bill that would help out restaurants that have been hurt financially by the coronavirus pandemic.

The RESTAURANTS Act would establish a $120 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund to help independent restaurants with the economic challenges they've faced. The bill was introduced in the House last month and has bipartisan support.

"Our nation’s independent local restaurants have been especially harmed by this pandemic and they need federal help," Wolf said. "These small businesses are an important part of every community. They serve as places that help to unite us and are an important economic driver in local communities that create thousands of jobs that working families rely on.

"The RESTAURANTS Act is a critical step to help many of these small businesses and save jobs from the diner to the farm."

In Pennsylvania, restaurants have been allowed to offer curbside pickup service since Wolf first ordered businesses and other public spaces shut down in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus. But their dining rooms were closed and only allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity in the state plan's most-lenient green phase.

Last week, as COVID-19 case numbers began to surge in places like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Wolf ordered that capacity cut back to 25 percent while issuing an order that essentially re-closed bars that don't serve food.

The RESTAURANT Act would provide grants to cover the difference between how much money a restaurant made in 2019 and how much it's projected to make in 2020.

The grant would be available to restaurants and bars that aren't publicly traded or part of a chain with more than 20 locations. The money could be used for payroll, benefits, mortgages and rent, protective equipment, food and other costs.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican who represents Bucks and part of Montgomery County, was a co-sponsor of the bill, which was introduced by Oregon lawmaker Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat.

Pennsylvania representatives Dwight Evans, a Democrat from Philadelphia, and Susan Wild, a Democrat who represents Lehigh and Northampton counties, also are co-sponsors of the bill.

A summary of the bill can be found here.