Opening remarks:
Thank you, Sheryl, for that warm welcome! I’m so excited to be here on Facebook Live with you, and all these amazing small businesses.
It’s an honor and a privilege for me to serve as the voice for America’s 30 million small businesses and innovative startups, who have faced enormous challenges during this once-in-a-hundred-years pandemic.
While things are looking up -- we’ve administered 250 million shots since President Biden took office, we’re quickly approaching 60 percent of adult Americans who have taken at least one shot, and as of last week, COVID-19 deaths were at the lowest point since April 2020 – we know that millions are still struggling.
The truth is that our nation’s small businesses won’t be able to fully recover and reopen until, as President Biden said, “we can celebrate our independence from this virus.”
At the SBA, we’ve been working hard to get immediate relief into the hands of our small business owners who have suffered the most, to make sure they can survive until our COVID Independence Day … and build the resilience they need to thrive into the future.
Restaurants and other food and beverage businesses – which were the first to close and will likely be the last to reopen -- have been among the hardest-hit.
The American Rescue Plan created the $28.6 billion dollar Restaurant Revitalization Fund to deliver targeted relief – in the form of grants, not loans – to a wide range of food and beverage businesses, including restaurants, of course, and also food carts, food trucks, caterers, brewpubs and taprooms.
We’re so proud that we were able to turn this program around and launch it successfully in just over a month.
We opened the application portal two weeks ago and we’ve received more than 303,000 applications representing over $69 billion in requested funds. Nearly 57 percent of those who submitted applications are women, veterans or socially and economically disadvantaged business owners.
So far, we’ve been able to deliver nearly $6 billion in funds relief to more than than 38,000 food and beverage businesses owned by women, veterans, and people of color – who, as mandated by Congress, were given priority access to the program.
And to make sure that the smallest of the small food and beverage businesses wouldn’t be left out, as they have been in earlier rounds of relief, we set aside $9.5 billion of the total specifically for them.
This includes a special set-aside of $500 million for businesses with revenue of $50,000 dollars or less. And the good news is that we still have funding left for businesses in this category, so if your 2019 annual revenue did not exceed $50,000, be sure to get your application in before May 24.
The success we’ve seen with this program in reaching our underserved businesses is just the beginning. While we’re proud of the work we’ve done, we know there’s so much more work to do.
The American entrepreneurial spirit built this country. At the SBA, I’m committed to doing everything I can to nurture that spirit and help it soar. I look forward to working together to make that happen.
Closing remarks:
What a great conversation. Thank you to Lila and Alexis for taking time out from your busy schedules to be here to share with us how you’ve been impacted by pandemic and how SBA can help you recover and rebuild. I will take your perspectives and your comments back to the SBA with me to make sure that we incorporate them into our programs.
And remember, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Restaurants, bars, and other small businesses are slowly but surely beginning to recover.
The share of restaurant and bar owners planning to hire in the next six months has nearly doubled, from just 30 percent in January to more than 57 percent in mid-April.
The share of restaurant and bar owners that have returned to normal operations has more than doubled since January and the share expecting to return to normal operations in the next six months has increased from just 17 percent to more than 26 percent.
However, we know that our economy cannot fully reopen and get back on track until our workplaces are safe from COVID.
Unfortunately, many restaurants and bars remain partially closed, with reduced revenue and a shortage of workers, in part, because of weariness of getting sick.
Getting vaccinated protects not only you, but those around you – in and out of the workplace.
The Biden-Administration is making it easier for everyone to get vaccinated. Many adults have not been vaccinated because they have found it confusing or to inconvenient to get a short.
If you’re small- or medium-sized business, you may be eligible for a tax credit that will fully offset cost of paid leave provided to employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Passed under American Rescue Plan, small businesses and nonprofits get tax credits for paid leave given to employees to get inoculated, as well as recover from any related illness or condition. This tax credit applies until September 30.
Every employee can get paid leave to get a shot without a hit to the bottom line. There’s really no excuse to not get it done.
To find a vaccine site, and make an appointment, visit vaccines.gov. OR text your zip code to 4-3-8-8-2-9. You’ll get a text back with the nearest location with vaccines in stock.
Thanks again to you Sheryl, for hosting this important event, and for the team at Facebook for putting it together. And thank you to all our entrepreneurs out there who are listening today.
One of my key priorities as SBA Administrator is to make you feel like the giants you are in our economy. Because the truth is, small businesses are our greatest economic engine.
So, thank you for all that you do to create jobs, support our communities, and define our neighborhoods. We’re here to support you. Go to SBA.gov to find out about all our amazing programs and to connect with your local SBA district office or resource partner today.