RESTAURANTS Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 255 To establish a $120,000,000,000 Restaurant Revitalization Fund to provide structured relief to food service or drinking establishments, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 4, 2021 Mr. WICKER (for himself and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To establish a $120,000,000,000 Restaurant Revitalization Fund to provide structured relief to food service or drink- ing establishments, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Real Economic Sup- 4 port That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance 5 Needed To Survive Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘RES- 6 TAURANTS Act of 2021’’. 7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 255 IS (1) AFFILIATED BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘affili- 1 ated business’’ means a business in which an eligible 2 entity has an equity or right to profit distributions 3 of not less than 50 percent, or in which an eligible 4 entity has the contractual authority to control the 5 direction of the business, provided that such affili- 6 ation shall be determined as of any arrangements or 7 agreements in existence as of March 13, 2020. 8 (2) COVERED PERIOD.—The term ‘‘covered pe- 9 riod’’ means the period beginning on February 15, 10 2020 and ending on the date that is 8 months after 11 the date of enactment of this Act. 12 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 13 ty’’— 14 (A) means a restaurant, food stand, food 15 truck, food cart, caterer, saloon, inn, tavern, 16 bar, lounge, brewpub, tasting room, taproom, li- 17 censed facility or premise of a beverage alcohol 18 producer where the public may taste, sample, or 19 purchase products, or other similar place of 20 business in which the public or patrons assem- 21 ble for the primary purpose of being served food 22 or drink; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 255 IS (B) includes an entity described in sub- 1 paragraph (A) that is located in an airport ter- 2 minal; and 3 (C) does not include an entity described in 4 subparagraph (A) that— 5 (i) is part of a State or local govern- 6 ment facility, not including an airport; or 7 (ii) as of March 13, 2020, owns or op- 8 erates (together with any affiliated busi- 9 ness) more than 20 locations, regardless of 10 whether those locations do business under 11 the same or multiple names. 12 (4) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Res- 13 taurant Revitalization Fund established under sec- 14 tion 3. 15 (5) PAYROLL COSTS.—The term ‘‘payroll costs’’ 16 has the meaning given the term in section 17 7(a)(36)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 18 636(a)(36)(A)). 19 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 20 the Secretary of the Treasury. 21 SEC. 3. RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION FUND. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Treas- 23 ury of the United States a fund to be known as the Res- 24 taurant Revitalization Fund. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 255 IS (b) APPROPRIATIONS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is appropriated to the 2 Fund, out of amounts in the Treasury not otherwise 3 appropriated, $120,000,000,000, to remain available 4 until the date that is 8 months after the date of en- 5 actment of this Act. 6 (2) REMAINDER TO TREASURY.—Any amounts 7 remaining in the Fund after the date that is 8 8 months after the date of enactment of this Act shall 9 be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury. 10 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall use 11 amounts in the Fund to make grants described in section 12 4. 13 SEC. 4. RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION GRANTS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants 15 to eligible entities in the order in which applications are 16 received by the Secretary. 17 (b) REGISTRATION.—The Secretary shall register 18 each grant awarded under this section using the employer 19 identification number of the eligible entity. 20 (c) APPLICATION.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 22 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec- 23 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 255 IS and containing such information as the Secretary 1 may require. 2 (2) CERTIFICATION.—An eligible entity apply- 3 ing for a grant under this section shall make a good 4 faith certification— 5 (A) that the uncertainty of current eco- 6 nomic conditions makes necessary the grant re- 7 quest to support the ongoing operations of the 8 eligible entity; 9 (B) acknowledging that funds will be used 10 to retain workers and maintain payroll or for 11 other allowable expenses described in subsection 12 (e) and not for any other purposes; 13 (C) that the eligible entity does not have 14 an application pending for a grant under para- 15 graph (36) or (37) of subsection (a) or sub- 16 section (b)(2) of section 7 of the Small Busi- 17 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 636) for the same purpose 18 and duplicative of amounts applied for or re- 19 ceived under this section; and 20 (D) that, during the covered period, the el- 21 igible entity has not received amounts under 22 paragraph (36) or (37) of subsection (a) or 23 subsection (b)(2) of section 7 of the Small 24 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636) for the same pur- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 255 IS pose and duplicative of amounts applied for or 1 received under this section. 2 (3) HOLD HARMLESS.—An eligible entity apply- 3 ing for a grant under this section shall not be ineli- 4 gible for a grant if the eligible entity is able to docu- 5 ment— 6 (A) an inability to rehire individuals who 7 were employees of the eligible entity on Feb- 8 ruary 15, 2020; and 9 (B) an inability to hire similarly qualified 10 employees for unfilled positions on or before the 11 date that is 8 months after the date of enact- 12 ment of this Act. 13 (4) PREVENTION OF WASTE, FRAUD, AND 14 ABUSE.—The Secretary may impose requirements on 15 applicants for the purpose of reducing waste, fraud, 16 and abuse in the application process for a grant 17 under this section in a manner that is not unduly 18 burdensome on applicants. 19 (d) PRIORITY IN AWARDING GRANTS.—During the 20 initial 14-day period in which the Secretary awards grants 21 under this section, the Secretary shall— 22 (1) prioritize awarding grants to marginalized 23 and underrepresented communities, with a focus on 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 255 IS women, veteran, and minority-owned and operated 1 eligible entities; and 2 (2) only award grants to eligible entities with 3 annual revenues of less than $1,500,000 in 2019. 4 (e) GRANT AMOUNT.— 5 (1) AGGREGATE MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The ag- 6 gregate amount of grants made to an eligible entity 7 and any affiliate businesses of the eligible entity 8 under this section shall not exceed $10,000,000. 9 (2) DETERMINATION OF GRANT AMOUNT.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a grant 11 made to an eligible entity under this section 12 shall be equal to the revenues of the eligible en- 13 tity during 2020 subtracted from the revenues 14 of the eligible entity in 2019, if such sum is 15 greater than zero. 16 (B) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES THAT WERE NOT 17 OPEN ALL OF 2019.—In the case of an eligible 18 entity that was not open during the entirety of 19 2019, the amount of a grant made to the eligi- 20 ble entity under this section shall be— 21 (i) equal to the difference between— 22 (I) the product obtained by mul- 23 tiplying the average monthly revenue 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 255 IS of the eligible entity in 2019 by 12; 1 and 2 (II) the product obtained by mul- 3 tiplying the average monthly revenue 4 of the eligible entity in 2020 by 12; or 5 (ii) based on a formula determined by 6 the Secretary. 7 (C) NEWLY-OPENED ELIGIBLE ENTI- 8 TIES.—In the case of an eligible entity— 9 (i) that opened after January 1, 2020, 10 the amount of a grant made to the eligible 11 entity under this section shall be made 12 based on actual expenses described in sub- 13 section (f) incurred by the eligible entity 14 minus any revenues received; or 15 (ii) that has not yet opened as of the 16 date of application for a grant under this 17 section but has verified expenses described 18 in subsection (f) as of that date, the 19 amount of a grant made to the eligible en- 20 tity under this section shall be equal to 21 those expenses. 22 (D) SICK LEAVE.—An eligible entity apply- 23 ing for a grant under this section— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 255 IS (i) may request an additional grant 1 amount based on the amount required to 2 provide 10 days of paid sick leave to each 3 employee of the eligible entity to— 4 (I) care for themselves or an im- 5 mediate family member who is ill; or 6 (II) provide care for children 7 when schools or childcare providers 8 are shut down due to COVID–19; and 9 (ii) shall, if provided a grant under 10 this section that includes an additional 11 amount for sick leave described in clause 12 (i), provide each employee of the entity 13 with such 10 days of paid sick leave. 14 (E) VERIFICATION.—An eligible entity 15 shall submit to the Secretary such revenue 16 verification documentation as the Secretary 17 may require to determine the amount of a grant 18 under this paragraph. 19 (3) NO DUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.—An award 20 granted under this section to an eligible entity that 21 received a loan under paragraph (36) or (37) of sec- 22 tion 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 23 636(a)) shall be reduced by the amount of that loan. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 255 IS (4) LIMITATION.—An eligible entity may not re- 1 ceive more than 1 grant under this section. 2 (f) USE OF FUNDS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the covered period, 4 an eligible entity that receives a grant under this 5 section may use the grant funds for the following ex- 6 penses incurred as a direct result of the COVID–19 7 pandemic: 8 (A) Payroll costs. 9 (B) Payments of principal or interest on 10 any mortgage obligation (which shall not in- 11 clude any prepayment of principal on a mort- 12 gage obligation). 13 (C) Rent payments, including rent under a 14 lease agreement (which shall not include any 15 prepayment of rent). 16 (D) Utilities. 17 (E) Maintenance expenses, including— 18 (i) construction to accommodate out- 19 door seating; and 20 (ii) walls, floors, deck surfaces, fur- 21 niture, fixtures, and equipment. 22 (F) Supplies, including protective equip- 23 ment and cleaning materials, as required by ap- 24 plicable public health departments. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 255 IS (G) Food and beverage expenses that are 1 within the scope of the normal business practice 2 of the eligible entity before the covered period. 3 (H) Debt obligations to suppliers that were 4 incurred before the covered period. 5 (I) Operational expenses. 6 (J) Paid sick leave. 7 (K) Any other expenses that the Secretary 8 determines to be essential to maintaining the el- 9 igible entity. 10 (2) RETURNING FUNDS.—If an eligible entity 11 that receives a grant under this section permanently 12 ceases operations on or before the date that is 8 13 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 14 eligible entity shall return to the Treasury any funds 15 that the eligible entity did not use for the allowable 16 expenses under paragraph (1). 17 (3) CONVERSION TO LOAN.—Any grant 18 amounts received by an eligible entity under this sec- 19 tion that are unused after the date that is 8 months 20 after the date of enactment of this Act shall be im- 21 mediately converted to a loan with— 22 (A) an interest rate of 1 percent; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 255 IS (B) a maturity date of 10 years beginning 1 on the date that is 8 months after the date of 2 enactment of this Act. 3 (g) TAXABILITY.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Internal 5 Revenue Code of 1986— 6 (A) the amount of a grant awarded to an 7 eligible entity under this section shall be ex- 8 cluded from the gross income of the eligible en- 9 tity; and 10 (B) no deduction shall be denied or re- 11 duced, no tax attribute shall be reduced, and no 12 basis increase shall be denied, by reason of the 13 exclusion from gross income provided by this 14 subsection. 15 (2) EMPLOYEE RETENTION TAX CREDIT.—Pay- 16 roll costs for which grant funds are used under this 17 section shall not include qualified wages taken into 18 account in determining the credit allowed under sec- 19 tion 2301 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136), 20 if the costs are used for different expenses. 21 (h) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 15 days after the 22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 23 regulations to carry out this section without regard to the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 255 IS notice and comment requirements under section 553 of 1 title 5, United States Code. 2 (i) APPROPRIATIONS FOR STAFFING AND ADMINIS- 3 TRATIVE EXPENSES.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is appropriated to the 5 Secretary, out of amounts in the Treasury not other- 6 wise appropriated, $300,000,000, to remain avail- 7 able until the date that is 8 months after the date 8 of enactment of this Act, for staffing and adminis- 9 trative expenses related to administering grants 10 award [Text truncated for display. 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