2 Tennessee Congress Members Push Bill To Help Musicians, Local Businesses

Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Nashville) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) are among a group pushing for the United States Congress to pass three bills aimed to help industries impacted by COVID-19.

Venue owners, musicians and restauranteurs are joining Rep. Cooper and Rep. Cohen in calling for the passage of the Reviving the Economy Sustainability Towards A Recovery in Twenty-twenty (RESTART) Act, the Save Our Stages (SOS) Act, and the Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed To Survive (RESTAURANTS) ACT, FOX 17 News reports.

The RESTART Act establishes a loan program whereby the Small Business Administration (SBA) shall guarantee loan amounts to certain businesses affected by COVID-19. Specifically, the bill requires the SBA to guarantee 100% of program loan amounts made to certain small businesses that have not more than 5,000 full-time employees and the terms for such loans shall include a maximum duration of not more than seven years, an amount greater than 45% of 2019 gross receipts up to $12 million and no payment on principal for the first two years of the loan.

The SOS Act authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to make grants to eligible live venue operators, producers, promoters or talent representatives to address the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on certain live venues. Specifically, the SBA may make an initial grant of up to $12 million to an eligible operator, promoter, producer or talent representative and a supplemental grant that is equal to 50% of the initial grant, with the initial grant being used for cost incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020, but a supplemental grant may be used for expenses incurred through June 30, 2021.

The RESTAURANTS Act temporarily establishes and provides funding for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, from which the Department of the Treasury shall make grants to eligible food and beverage purveyors to cover specified costs. The amount of such a grant shall be reduced by the amount of any emergency grant received for an economic injury disaster loan or any paycheck protection loan amount forgiven under the Paycheck Protection Program establishes to support small businesses in response to COVID-19.

Rep. Cohen (D-Memphis) believes the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) did not help smaller venues and businesses and said "the music will die" if independent music venues do not receive proper funding, FOX 17 News reports.

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