U.S. Rep. Tom Reed said Wednesday he has signed on with 150 fellow congressmen seeking to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
Reed told reporters on a weekly conference call that the bipartisan group of lawmakers have asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for $60 billion to help restaurants that were left out of the earlier round of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
There are many restaurants across the Southern Tier that did not apply for the program before it ran out of money, Reed said, and many are finding it hard to hire employees and face other post-COVID challenges.
The Corning Republican said the restaurant funding will probably be linked to other future COVID-19 spending. That future spending could be coupled to include more than $15 billion in proposed COVID-19 spending for testing, vaccines, medicines and protective medical equipment that was removed from the $1.5 trillion appropriations bill Congress passed earlier this month.
“We care about our restaurant owners and those who work in the restaurant industry who are still struggling from the hardships of the pandemic. That is why we will continue to work in a bipartisan fashion to help secure the much-needed funding to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund,” Reed said. “Restaurant owners and their employees are a vital part of our communities, and we want to make sure that they get the help they need to survive and prosper.”
Reed said depending on circumstances a new round of funding for restaurants might include some who were previously denied aid.
“As we go through the closing chapter of COVID — and I hope that’s where we are,” Reed said, adding he is hearing from restaurant owners who are suffering from a shortage of workers.
“This is their life investment,” he said. “Many have gone bankrupt. We don’t want any more to go bankrupt.”
The reason the bipartisan group of legislators is raising the issue now is that negotiations seem to be ongoing about additional COVID-19 relief, Reed said.
“It will have to be part of a larger COVID package,” he added. “I don’t have a timeframe.”
On another issue, Reed said he applauded the decision of Cummins Engines of Jamestown to pull their operations out of Russia in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many U.S. companies have announced plans to suspend their Russian operations and no more Russian oil can be imported here.
“It sent a message to Russia that this aggression cannot stand,” Reed said. “Hopefully others will join.”
