Congress pushes SBA to accelerate venue bailout payments before it’s too late
More than two months after Congress passed a $15 billion dollar relief measure aimed at the live events industry, venue operators are still waiting for the promised aid.
On Thursday, a bipartisan group of US legislators from the House Small Business Committee sent a letter to the Small Business Administration urging them to act on the relief measures.
According to the New York Times, the SBA has provided some information about its plans for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program but so far, has not announced when the program will begin accepting applications, or published the application itself.
“They had no urgency.”
“This crisis is far from over, and our nation’s small businesses are still struggling. But this bill will provide entrepreneurs with the support they need to make it to the other side of this crisis. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to take quick action on this bill to send it to President Biden’s desk,“ the legislators wrote in the letter signed by Representatives Roger Williams, Republican of Texas, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Republican of Missouri, and committee chair Nydia Velázquez, Democrat of New York.
Rep. Williams told the Times that he also spoke with officials at the S.B.A. last week and came away disappointed.
“They had no urgency,” Williams told the New York Times. “If the S.B.A. can’t do this, we’ve got to find an agency that can.”
