[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 62 (Thursday, April 13, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E308-E309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION TAX CREDIT ACT

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                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 13, 2023

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today I introduced the Restaurant 
Revitalization Tax Credit Act. This legislation creates a tax credit to 
offset restaurants' payroll tax liabilities and help the industry stay 
afloat as it rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  The restaurant industry was uniquely devastated by the pandemic, at 
one point accounting for a quarter of all job losses. The pandemic cost 
restaurants and bars more than $280 billion in sales and left 
devastating impacts on the entire food supply chain. 90,000 restaurants 
have permanently closed and hundreds of thousands more have 
significantly scaled down their operations.
  Created in the American Rescue Plan Act, the Restaurant 
Revitalization Fund provided $28.6 billion for restaurants, bars, food 
trucks, caterers, tasting rooms, and taprooms to recover from the 
COVID-19 pandemic. Within days of opening the Fund, the Small Business 
Administration received requests for more funding than was available 
and was forced to close the application portal on May 24, 2021, leaving 
177,000 applicants without any aid.
  My Restaurant Revitalization Tax Credit Act provides restaurants who 
applied for, but did

[[Page E309]]

not receive, aid with long overdue support. Despite months of steady 
job growth and families dining out again, restaurants and bars are 
still under a mountain of debt from years of anemic business in wave 
after wave of the pandemic. I appreciate the support of my colleague 
Dean Phillips (MN) on this legislation and I look forward to working 
with him to provide the support our independent restaurants so 
desperately need.

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