press release

Delgado and Gillibrand visit Bethel Woods

Advocate for RESTART Act

Posted 9/8/20

On Monday, September 7, Rep. Antonio Delgado (NY-19) and  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand visited Bethel Woods Center for the Arts to push for the bipartisan Reviving the Economy Sustainably Towards a …

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press release

Delgado and Gillibrand visit Bethel Woods

Advocate for RESTART Act

Posted

BETHEL, NY — On Monday, September 7, Rep. Antonio Delgado (NY-19) and  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand visited Bethel Woods Center for the Arts to push for the bipartisan Reviving the Economy Sustainably Towards a Recovery in Twenty-Twenty (RESTART) Act to support live event venues and small- and mid-sized businesses that have been hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis. While the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was intended to help small- and mid-sized businesses weather the economic crisis, many businesses have slipped through the cracks and are struggling to maintain operations and pay their employees. Theaters and live event venues, restaurants, and hospitality providers in particular have been largely unable to access PPP benefits despite unprecedented revenue losses since March. PPP required businesses to maintain their pre-pandemic employee headcount for up to 24 weeks. The current realities of the hospitality and entertainment industries have left many of those businesses unable to bring all of their staff back, making them ineligible for relief.

For example, Bethel Woods has been forced to close until the 2021 season, cutting hundreds of jobs and projecting $12 million in lost revenue. To support small businesses like historic Bethel Woods,  Delgado and  Gillibrand are calling for the RESTART Act  in the next coronavirus relief package to provide a lifeline for those unable to access PPP. The legislation would create a new loan program to fund six months of payroll, benefits, and fixed operating expenses for businesses that have lost substantial revenue due to the pandemic.

“Last month, I held a roundtable at the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association where I heard from business owners about the dire situation faced by venues and mid-sized businesses across the county that are unable to reopen due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is clear from my conversations throughout the district that small and mid-size businesses need additional support,” said Delgado, member of the House Small Business Committee. “That’s why I’m calling on the House and Senate to urgently pass supplemental relief for NY-19 through the bipartisan RESTART Act. This legislation builds on the Paycheck Protection Program to provide flexible loans for the hardest hit businesses in our area. Congress has a duty to respond to the needs on the ground in our rural communities, and I’ll keep pushing to get this bill included in the next coronavirus relief package.”

“Arts venues, restaurants, and tourist attractions across the Catskills and the state are suffering. These small businesses make New York a world renowned entertainment destination and we must help them survive this economic crisis,” said  Gillibrand. “The PPP program clearly did not work for those hit hardest by this crisis, but the RESTART Act  would help fill the gaps and ensure they receive the support they deserve. I will continue fighting to include this legislation as we work to pass the next relief package.”

Specifically, the RESTART Act  would: 

·               Provide access to loans to cover 6 months of payroll, benefits, and fixed operating expenses for small and mid-sized businesses and nonprofits that have suffered significant revenue losses and would provide an extended 12-month covered loan period for businesses that have seen revenues decline by at least 80 percent;

·               Forgive a share of loans based on revenue declines suffered by the recipient in 2020 (or during the six-month covered loan period) compared to a year earlier, with the remainder to be paid back over 7 years, with generous loan terms. Businesses with fewer than 5,000 employees would receive even more favorable terms on loan forgiveness;

·               Offer more favorable loan terms to nonprofits, including a longer duration and a lower interest rate;

·               Defer interest payments for the first year of the loan, and defers principal payments for the first 2 years, with additional deferral available to economically distressed firms;

·               Build an origination fee structure designed to provide an incentive for banks and other financial institutions to assist the smallest businesses;

·               Allow businesses to choose when to rehire their workers and when to deploy the capital; 

·               Provide a 100 percent loan guarantee from the federal government. 

Delgado, Bethel Woods, RESTART

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