[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 2, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H338-H339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HARDSHIPS OF SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS CONTINUE DURING THE PANDEMIC

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Phillips) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PHILLIPS. Mr. Speaker, it has been 2 years, image that, since the 
beginning of the pandemic. Two years marked by hardship that none of us 
had ever known and hope we never know again. As the world continues to 
adapt to the challenge, it is my belief that there is light at the end 
of the tunnel. Yet, as we continue to push toward that optimism, we are 
reminded every single day that the pandemic is not over. It is not over 
for us; it is not over for the nurses and doctors who tend to our sick; 
it is not over for our frontline workers, for teachers, for police, for 
families, for anyone.
  I am here today to speak for a group of Americans who are too often 
ignored in our pandemic discourse, our Nation's entrepreneurs and small 
business owners, the bedrock of our economy, particularly those who 
work in public-facing enterprises, like restaurant owners, gym owners, 
hospitality owners in the live-events industry. Those whose livelihoods 
depend on public gathering in person, whether it is to break bread, to 
work up a sweat, or to enjoy booths that you might see in the Minnesota 
State Fair, as my friend and colleague, Angie Craig, would agree is 
America's finest.
  In 2020 and early last year, both parties worked together to pass 
pandemic aid to help keep the lights on at those businesses. It was an 
aid that was effective in saving countless jobs, and while not perfect, 
of course, it did save our country from economic disaster. 
Unfortunately, for those public-facing industries, that aid has not 
been enough, not with the rise of the delta variant and then omicron, 
and potentially future variants that we might face in the future.
  Last week, I held a roundtable in Minnesota to hear from 
entrepreneurs representing those industries in my district. Some had a 
quarter million dollars in debt, others had lost a quarter million 
dollars in revenue. Some had taken out government-subsidized emergency 
loans from the programs

[[Page H339]]

that we in Congress created, but others were left out entirely. They 
told me that between the pandemic and the supply chain and inflation 
costs that the pandemic has wrought, that those old relief programs are 
simply not enough. They need help, and they need it now. It is our job 
and it is not done yet.
  The cost of congressional inaction is real. Small business owners 
across America are dipping into their personal savings and taking on 
significant debt. In Minnesota alone, almost 60 percent of restaurants 
have taken on debt during the pandemic, with an average of over half a 
million dollars per restaurant. Even in the best of times it is a tough 
industry, but particularly difficult right now.
  We all know what will happen if we don't pass relief soon: many of 
those restaurants will close and many of their staff will be 
unemployed. Too many small business owners are simply running out of 
hope.
  That is where we come in. I am encouraged by comments made by the 
President and lawmakers in both parties that there is an appetite to 
solve the problem and provide relief. In fact, I secured a commitment 
from Speaker Pelosi not long ago that a targeted relief package would 
get a vote on the House floor, which is an important step. We are not 
at the finish line, my friends, and I implore that we, together, work 
on such a package.
  Small businesses like restaurants, hospitality, gyms, and live events 
companies, they make up the social, cultural, and the economic fabric 
of our communities and our entire country. We must fight to ensure that 
they can keep their doors open.
  Mr. Speaker, we must meet the challenge of the moment with urgency 
and refill the RRF and include hard-hit industries in a future relief 
package. We must get the job done so that others can keep theirs.

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