II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 255 

To establish a $120,000,000,000 Restaurant Revitalization Fund to provide 

structured relief to food service or drinking establishments, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2021 

Mr. WICKER (for himself and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To establish a $120,000,000,000 Restaurant Revitalization 

Fund to provide structured relief to food service or drinking establishments, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Real Economic Sup5 port That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance 

6 Needed To Survive Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘RES7 TAURANTS Act of 2021’’. 

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 


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1 (1) AFFILIATED BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘affili2 ated business’’ means a business in which an eligible 

3 entity has an equity or right to profit distributions 

4 of not less than 50 percent, or in which an eligible 

5 entity has the contractual authority to control the 

6 direction of the business, provided that such affili7 ation shall be determined as of any arrangements or 

8 agreements in existence as of March 13, 2020. 

9 (2) COVERED PERIOD.—The term ‘‘covered pe10 riod’’ means the period beginning on February 15, 

11 2020 and ending on the date that is 8 months after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti14 ty’’— 

15 (A) means a restaurant, food stand, food 

16 truck, food cart, caterer, saloon, inn, tavern, 

17 bar, lounge, brewpub, tasting room, taproom, li18 censed facility or premise of a beverage alcohol 

19 producer where the public may taste, sample, or 

20 purchase products, or other similar place of 

21 business in which the public or patrons assem22 ble for the primary purpose of being served food 

23 or drink; 


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1 (B) includes an entity described in sub2 paragraph (A) that is located in an airport ter3 minal; and 

4 (C) does not include an entity described in 

5 subparagraph (A) that— 

6 (i) is part of a State or local govern7 ment facility, not including an airport; or 

8 (ii) as of March 13, 2020, owns or op9 erates (together with any affiliated busi10 ness) more than 20 locations, regardless of 

11 whether those locations do business under 

12 the same or multiple names. 

13 (4) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Res14 taurant Revitalization Fund established under sec15 tion 3. 

16 (5) PAYROLL COSTS.—The term ‘‘payroll costs’’ 

17 has the meaning given the term in section 

18 7(a)(36)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

19 636(a)(36)(A)). 

20 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Treasury. 

22 SEC. 3. RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION FUND. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Treas24 ury of the United States a fund to be known as the Res25 taurant Revitalization Fund. 


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1 (b) APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is appropriated to the 

3 Fund, out of amounts in the Treasury not otherwise 

4 appropriated, $120,000,000,000, to remain available 

5 until the date that is 8 months after the date of en6 actment of this Act. 

7 (2) REMAINDER TO TREASURY.—Any amounts 

8 remaining in the Fund after the date that is 8 

9 months after the date of enactment of this Act shall 

10 be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury. 

11 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall use 

12 amounts in the Fund to make grants described in section 

13 4. 

14 SEC. 4. RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION GRANTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants 

16 to eligible entities in the order in which applications are 

17 received by the Secretary. 

18 (b) REGISTRATION.—The Secretary shall register 

19 each grant awarded under this section using the employer 

20 identification number of the eligible entity. 

21 (c) APPLICATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 

23 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec24 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 


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1 and containing such information as the Secretary 

2 may require. 

3 (2) CERTIFICATION.—An eligible entity apply4 ing for a grant under this section shall make a good 

5 faith certification— 

6 (A) that the uncertainty of current eco7 nomic conditions makes necessary the grant re8 quest to support the ongoing operations of the 

9 eligible entity; 

10 (B) acknowledging that funds will be used 

11 to retain workers and maintain payroll or for 

12 other allowable expenses described in subsection 

13 (e) and not for any other purposes; 

14 (C) that the eligible entity does not have 

15 an application pending for a grant under para16 graph (36) or (37) of subsection (a) or sub17 section (b)(2) of section 7 of the Small Busi18 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 636) for the same purpose 

19 and duplicative of amounts applied for or re20 ceived under this section; and 

21 (D) that, during the covered period, the el22 igible entity has not received amounts under 

23 paragraph (36) or (37) of subsection (a) or 

24 subsection (b)(2) of section 7 of the Small 

25 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636) for the same purVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Feb 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S255.IS S255

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1 pose and duplicative of amounts applied for or 

2 received under this section. 

3 (3) HOLD HARMLESS.—An eligible entity apply4 ing for a grant under this section shall not be ineli5 gible for a grant if the eligible entity is able to docu6 ment— 

7 (A) an inability to rehire individuals who 

8 were employees of the eligible entity on Feb9 ruary 15, 2020; and 

10 (B) an inability to hire similarly qualified 

11 employees for unfilled positions on or before the 

12 date that is 8 months after the date of enact13 ment of this Act. 

14 (4) PREVENTION OF WASTE, FRAUD, AND

15 ABUSE.—The Secretary may impose requirements on 

16 applicants for the purpose of reducing waste, fraud, 

17 and abuse in the application process for a grant 

18 under this section in a manner that is not unduly 

19 burdensome on applicants. 

20 (d) PRIORITY IN AWARDING GRANTS.—During the 

21 initial 14-day period in which the Secretary awards grants 

22 under this section, the Secretary shall— 

23 (1) prioritize awarding grants to marginalized 

24 and underrepresented communities, with a focus on 


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1 women, veteran, and minority-owned and operated 

2 eligible entities; and 

3 (2) only award grants to eligible entities with 

4 annual revenues of less than $1,500,000 in 2019. 

5 (e) GRANT AMOUNT.— 

6 (1) AGGREGATE MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The ag7 gregate amount of grants made to an eligible entity 

8 and any affiliate businesses of the eligible entity 

9 under this section shall not exceed $10,000,000. 

10 (2) DETERMINATION OF GRANT AMOUNT.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a grant 

12 made to an eligible entity under this section 

13 shall be equal to the revenues of the eligible en14 tity during 2020 subtracted from the revenues 

15 of the eligible entity in 2019, if such sum is 

16 greater than zero. 

17 (B) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES THAT WERE NOT

18 OPEN ALL OF 2019.—In the case of an eligible 

19 entity that was not open during the entirety of 

20 2019, the amount of a grant made to the eligi21 ble entity under this section shall be— 

22 (i) equal to the difference between— 

23 (I) the product obtained by mul24 tiplying the average monthly revenue 


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1 of the eligible entity in 2019 by 12; 

2 and 

3 (II) the product obtained by mul4 tiplying the average monthly revenue 

5 of the eligible entity in 2020 by 12; or 

6 (ii) based on a formula determined by 

7 the Secretary. 

8 (C) NEWLY-OPENED ELIGIBLE ENTI9 TIES.—In the case of an eligible entity— 

10 (i) that opened after January 1, 2020, 

11 the amount of a grant made to the eligible 

12 entity under this section shall be made 

13 based on actual expenses described in sub14 section (f) incurred by the eligible entity 

15 minus any revenues received; or 

16 (ii) that has not yet opened as of the 

17 date of application for a grant under this 

18 section but has verified expenses described 

19 in subsection (f) as of that date, the 

20 amount of a grant made to the eligible en21 tity under this section shall be equal to 

22 those expenses. 

23 (D) SICK LEAVE.—An eligible entity apply24 ing for a grant under this section— 


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1 (i) may request an additional grant 

2 amount based on the amount required to 

3 provide 10 days of paid sick leave to each 

4 employee of the eligible entity to— 

5 (I) care for themselves or an im6 mediate family member who is ill; or 

7 (II) provide care for children 

8 when schools or childcare providers 

9 are shut down due to COVID–19; and 

10 (ii) shall, if provided a grant under 

11 this section that includes an additional 

12 amount for sick leave described in clause 

13 (i), provide each employee of the entity 

14 with such 10 days of paid sick leave. 

15 (E) VERIFICATION.—An eligible entity 

16 shall submit to the Secretary such revenue 

17 verification documentation as the Secretary 

18 may require to determine the amount of a grant 

19 under this paragraph. 

20 (3) NO DUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.—An award 

21 granted under this section to an eligible entity that 

22 received a loan under paragraph (36) or (37) of sec23 tion 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

24 636(a)) shall be reduced by the amount of that loan. 


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1 (4) LIMITATION.—An eligible entity may not re2 ceive more than 1 grant under this section. 

3 (f) USE OF FUNDS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the covered period, 

5 an eligible entity that receives a grant under this 

6 section may use the grant funds for the following ex7 penses incurred as a direct result of the COVID–19 

8 pandemic: 

9 (A) Payroll costs. 

10 (B) Payments of principal or interest on 

11 any mortgage obligation (which shall not in12 clude any prepayment of principal on a mort13 gage obligation). 

14 (C) Rent payments, including rent under a 

15 lease agreement (which shall not include any 

16 prepayment of rent). 

17 (D) Utilities. 

18 (E) Maintenance expenses, including— 

19 (i) construction to accommodate out20 door seating; and 

21 (ii) walls, floors, deck surfaces, fur22 niture, fixtures, and equipment. 

23 (F) Supplies, including protective equip24 ment and cleaning materials, as required by ap25 plicable public health departments. 


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1 (G) Food and beverage expenses that are 

2 within the scope of the normal business practice 

3 of the eligible entity before the covered period. 

4 (H) Debt obligations to suppliers that were 

5 incurred before the covered period. 

6 (I) Operational expenses. 

7 (J) Paid sick leave. 

8 (K) Any other expenses that the Secretary 

9 determines to be essential to maintaining the el10 igible entity. 

11 (2) RETURNING FUNDS.—If an eligible entity 

12 that receives a grant under this section permanently 

13 ceases operations on or before the date that is 8 

14 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

15 eligible entity shall return to the Treasury any funds 

16 that the eligible entity did not use for the allowable 

17 expenses under paragraph (1). 

18 (3) CONVERSION TO LOAN.—Any grant 

19 amounts received by an eligible entity under this sec20 tion that are unused after the date that is 8 months 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act shall be im22 mediately converted to a loan with— 

23 (A) an interest rate of 1 percent; and 


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1 (B) a maturity date of 10 years beginning 

2 on the date that is 8 months after the date of 

3 enactment of this Act. 

4 (g) TAXABILITY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986— 

7 (A) the amount of a grant awarded to an 

8 eligible entity under this section shall be ex9 cluded from the gross income of the eligible en10 tity; and 

11 (B) no deduction shall be denied or re12 duced, no tax attribute shall be reduced, and no 

13 basis increase shall be denied, by reason of the 

14 exclusion from gross income provided by this 

15 subsection. 

16 (2) EMPLOYEE RETENTION TAX CREDIT.—Pay17 roll costs for which grant funds are used under this 

18 section shall not include qualified wages taken into 

19 account in determining the credit allowed under sec20 tion 2301 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136), 

21 if the costs are used for different expenses. 

22 (h) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 15 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

24 regulations to carry out this section without regard to the 


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1 notice and comment requirements under section 553 of 

2 title 5, United States Code. 

3 (i) APPROPRIATIONS FOR STAFFING AND ADMINIS4 TRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is appropriated to the 

6 Secretary, out of amounts in the Treasury not other7 wise appropriated, $300,000,000, to remain avail8 able until the date that is 8 months after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, for staffing and adminis10 trative expenses related to administering grants 

11 awarded under this section. 

12 (2) SET ASIDE.—Of amounts appropriated 

13 under paragraph (1), $60,000,000 shall be allocated 

14 for outreach to traditionally marginalized and under15 represented communities, with a focus on women, 

16 veteran, and minority-owned and operated eligible 

17 entities, including the creation of a resource center 

18 targeted toward these communities. 

19 (j) LIMITATION WITH RESPECT TO PRIVATE

20 FUNDS.— 

21 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

22 (A) AFFILIATE.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘affil24 iate’’ means, with respect to a person, any 

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1 ling, controlled by, or under direct or indi2 rect common control with the person. 

3 (ii) CONTROL.—For purposes of 

4 clause (i), a person shall be deemed to con5 trol another person if the person possesses, 

6 directly or indirectly, the power to direct or 

7 cause the direction of the management and 

8 policies of the other person, whether 

9 through the ownership of voting securities, 

10 by contract, or otherwise. 

11 (B) EXECUTIVE.—The term ‘‘executive’’ 

12 means— 

13 (i) any individual who serves as execu14 tive or director of a person, including the 

15 principal executive officer, principal finan16 cial officer, comptroller or principal ac17 counting officer; and 

18 (ii) an executive officer, as defined in 

19 section 230.405 of title 17, Code of Fed20 eral Regulations. 

21 (C) PRIVATE FUND.—The term ‘‘private 

22 fund’’ means an issuer that would be an invest23 ment company, as defined in the Investment 

24 Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–1 et 


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1 seq.), but for paragraph (1) or (7) of section 

2 3(c) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 80a–3(c)). 

3 (2) ANTI-EVASION.—No company in which a 

4 private fund holds an ownership interest that has, 

5 directly or indirectly, received amounts under this 

6 section may pay any distributions, dividends, con7 sulting fees, advisory fees, interest payments, or any 

8 other fees, expenses, or charges in excess of 10 per9 cent of the net operating profits of the company op10 erating profits for the calendar year ending Decem11 ber 31, 2021 (and for each successive year until the 

12 covered period has ended and all loans created under 

13 this section have been repaid), to— 

14 (A) a person registered as an investment 

15 adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 

16 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–1 et seq.) who advises a 

17 private fund; 

18 (B) any affiliate of such adviser; 

19 (C) any executive of such adviser or affil20 iate; or 

21 (D) any employee, consultant, or other per22 son with a contractual relationship to provide 

23 services for or on behalf of such adviser or affil24 iate. 

25 (k) DEMOGRAPHIC DATA AND TRANSPARENCY.— 


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1 (1) DEMOGRAPHIC DATA.—In establishing an 

2 application process for carrying out this section, the 

3 Secretary shall include a voluntary request for cer4 tain demographic data with respect to the majority 

5 ownership of eligible entities, including race, eth6 nicity, gender, and veteran status. 

7 (2) MONTHLY REPORTS.—Not later than the 

8 end of the first month in which initial grants are 

9 disbursed under this section, and every month there10 after until the date on which the last grant has been 

11 disbursed under this section, the Secretary shall sub12 mit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

13 Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

14 Financial Services of the House of Representatives 

15 a report providing the number and dollar amount of 

16 grants approved for or disbursed to all eligible enti17 ties, including— 

18 (A) a list of eligible entities with the grant 

19 amount received by each eligible entity; and 

20 (B) a breakout of the number and dollar 

21 amount of grants by State, congressional dis22 trict, demographics (including race, ethnicity, 

23 gender, and veteran status), and business type. 

24 (3) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Not later than the 

25 end of the first quarter beginning after the date of 


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1 enactment of this Act, and every subsequent quarter 

2 until the last grant that was converted to a loan 

3 under this section is repaid, the Secretary shall sub4 mit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

5 Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

6 Financial Services of the House of Representatives 

7 a report on— 

8 (A) the number and dollar amount of 

9 grants approved for or disbursed to all eligible 

10 entities, including a breakout of grants by 

11 State, congressional district, demographics (in12 cluding race, ethnicity, gender, and veteran sta13 tus), and business type; and 

14 (B) the number and dollar amount of 

15 grants that converted to loans under this sec16 tion, including a breakout of outstanding loans 

17 by State, congressional district, demographics 

18 (including race, ethnicity, gender, and veteran 

19 status), and business type. 

20 (4) DATA TRANSPARENCY.—Not later than 30 

21 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

22 Secretary shall make available on a publicly available 

23 website in a standardized and downloadable format, 

24 and update on a monthly basis, any data contained 

25 in a report submitted under this subsection. 


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1 SEC. 5. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided by this Act 

3 are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to 

4 section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 

5 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

6 (b) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the Senate, this 

7 Act is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant 

8 to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), 

9 the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 

10 2018. 

Æ 


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