Restaurant Relief Act

Bill: 117-s-4282
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2022-05-19
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Accounting and auditing

Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Appropriations

Business expenses

Cardiovascular and respiratory health

Congressional oversight

Department of Health and Human Services

Emergency medical services and trauma care

Food industry and services

Fraud offenses and financial crimes

Government information and archives

Government studies and investigations

Government trust funds

Health care costs and insurance

Infectious and parasitic diseases

Medicaid

Medicare

Prescription drugs

Wages and earnings
Latest action: action_date: 2022-05-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-05-19
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Restaurant Relief Act</strong></p> <p>This bill provides support for restaurants and other businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and extends the moratorium on the implementation of a Department of Health and Human Services rule related to prescription drug pricing.</p> <p>Specifically, the bill provides additional funding for the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide grants to support the ongoing operations of eligible restaurants and similar establishments. The SBA must report weekly and biweekly information about grant applications, awards, and denials.</p> <p>The bill also establishes procedures for the SBA to implement and provide administrative support for these grant programs. The SBA must institute an oversight and audit plan to review the use of grants under these programs. The funds provided to the SBA by the bill are designated as an emergency requirement, which exempts the funds from discretionary spending limits and other budget enforcement rules.</p> <p>Finally, the bill extends until January 1, 2028, the moratorium on the implementation of the rule revising certain safe harbor protections for prescription drug discounts, drug pricing, and pharmacy benefit manager service fees.</p>

tv_txt: II 117th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4282 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 19 (legislative day, May 17), 2022 Mr. Portman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship A BILL To provide COVID relief for restaurants, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Restaurant Relief Act . 2. Table of contents The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. TITLE I—Restaurant Revitalization Fund replenishment and improvements Sec. 101. Appropriation. Sec. 102. Insufficient funding. Sec. 103. Data transparency and customer service. Sec. 104. Oversight and audits. Sec. 105. Requirement of continuing operation. TITLE II—Extension of suspension of rebate rule Sec. 201. Extension of moratorium on implementation of rule relating to eliminating the anti-kickback statute safe harbor protection for prescription drug rebates. TITLE III—Budgetary effects Sec. 301. Emergency designation. I Restaurant Revitalization Fund replenishment and improvements 101. Appropriation Section 5003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ( 15 U.S.C. 9009c ) is amended— (1) in subsection (b)(2)— (A) in subparagraph (A)— (i) by striking $28,600,000,000 and inserting $68,600,000,000 ; and (ii) by inserting , of which not more than $250,000,000 shall be for administrative expenses to carry out this section and of which $20,000,000 shall be for the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration for audits of grants under this section to investigate fraud and to identify improper payments and ineligible recipients, and for other necessary expenses of the Office of the Inspector General before the period at the end; and (B) in subparagraph (B)(i)(II), by striking $23,600,000,000 and inserting any remaining amounts not used for a purpose authorized under subparagraph (A) or clause (i) of this subparagraph ; and (2) in subsection (c)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking and paragraph (3) ; and (B) by striking paragraph (3). 102. Insufficient funding Section 5003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ( 15 U.S.C. 9009c ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (d) Insufficient funding (1) In general If the Administrator determines that the amounts made available to carry out this section are insufficient to make grants in the amount provided in subsection (c)(4) to each eligible entity that has submitted an application in accordance with the program guidelines in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this subsection, but has not received an award as of such date, the Administrator shall make grants with the available amounts to each such eligible applicant— (A) such that the amount of the grant that each such eligible entity would have otherwise received under this section is reduced by an equal percentage; (B) by establishing a maximum amount for a grant made under this subsection to ensure that smaller eligible entities still receive grants in the amounts provided under subsection (c)(4); or (C) by providing full awards in the amounts provided under subsection (c)(4) below a certain threshold (as the Administrator may establish) and reducing grants above that threshold by an equal percentage. (2) Reserving funds Nothing in paragraph (1) shall prevent the Administrator from— (A) reserving funding for applicants that may be determined to be eligible for a grant under this section upon reconsideration; or (B) making partial awards to eligible entities on a preliminary basis until the amount of funding required to fund grants to all eligible applicants is established, upon the completion of the reconsideration process. . 103. Data transparency and customer service Section 5003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ( 15 U.S.C. 9009c ), as amended by section 102 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: (e) Reports The Administrator shall— (1) on a biweekly basis until the amounts made available to carry out this section are fully expended, publish data that shows, for the period beginning on the date on which the Administrator began making grants under this section and ending on the date on which the information is published— (A) with respect to applications for grants under this section, the number of those applications— (i) that the Administrator has received; (ii) that the Administrator has reviewed or is in the process of reviewing; and (iii) with respect to which the Administrator has made a decision; and (B) the number and dollar amount of grants under this section— (i) that have been awarded; and (ii) that have been disbursed; (2) on a weekly basis until the amounts made available to carry out this section are fully expended, publish, with respect to the period beginning on the date of enactment of this subsection and ending on the date on which the information is published— (A) with respect to each eligible entity to which a grant is made under this section— (i) the name of the eligible entity, including the name or names under which the eligible entity does business if that name is different from the name of the eligible entity; and (ii) the address of— (I) the eligible entity; and (II) the physical location or locations for the eligible entity listed on the application, if different from the address of the eligible entity; (B) the amount of each grant described in subparagraph (A); and (C) the business category listed in subsection (a)(4)(A) to which the eligible entity belongs; and (3) with respect to an applicant that applies for a grant under this section and is denied by the Administrator— (A) make available to the applicant a brief explanation identifying the reason why the Administrator denied the application of the applicant, which shall include, where applicable, a citation to the statutory, regulatory, or guidance provision with which the applicant failed to comply and that was the basis for the denial; and (B) establish a reconsideration process through which the applicant may— (i) submit to the Administrator additional information the applicant determines to be relevant to whether the applicant is eligible for the grant; (ii) challenge the decision of the Administrator; and (iii) receive a second review of the application submitted by the applicant. . 104. Oversight and audits Section 5003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ( 15 U.S.C. 9009c ), as amended by section 103 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: (f) Oversight and audits (1) In general The Administrator shall institute an oversight and audit plan with respect to eligible entities receiving grants under this section, which shall include— (A) documentation requirements that are consistent with the eligibility and other requirements under this section, including by requiring an eligible entity that receives a grant under this section to retain records that demonstrate compliance with those requirements; and (B) reviews of the use, by eligible entities, of grants made under this section to ensure compliance with the requirements of this section, which shall include— (i) the review and audit, by the Administrator, of grants made under this section; and (ii) in the case of fraud or other material noncompliance with respect to a grant made under this section— (I) a requirement that the applicable eligible entity repay to the Administrator the amount of the misspent funds; or (II) the pursuit, by the Administrator, of legal action to collect the misspent funds. (2) Submission of plan Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives the plan required under paragraph (1), which shall describe— (A) the policies and procedures of the Administrator for conducting oversight and audits of grants made under this section; and (B) the metrics that the Administrator will use to determine which grants made under this section will be audited under that plan. (3) Reports Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, and once every 30 days thereafter until the date that is 180 days after the date on which all amounts made available to carry out this section have been fully expended, and upon request thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report on the oversight and audit activities of the Administrator under this subsection, which shall include— (A) the total number of grants approved and disbursed under this section; (B) the total amount of each grant received by each eligible entity; (C) the number of active investigations and audits of grants made under this section; (D) the number of completed reviews and audits of grants made under this section, including a description of— (i) any findings of fraud or other material noncompliance with the requirements of this section; (ii) questionable costs identified by the Administrator; and (iii) the total amount recouped from ineligible recipients; and (E) a description of any substantial changes made to the plan required under paragraph (1). (4) Retroactive application This subsection shall apply to grants and decisions made under this section before, on, or after the date of enactment of this subsection. . 105. Requirement of continuing operation For any application for a grant under section 5003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ( 15 U.S.C. 9009c ) that is pending on the date of enactment of this Act or for which the applicant has received an award notice but the Administrator of the Small Business Administration has not disbursed amounts under the grant, the Administrator may not disburse amounts under the grant unless the applicant submits a statement to the Administrator indicating the applicant is still operating, or intends to reopen not later than 180 days after the date on which the statement is submitted, the applicable place of business. II Extension of suspension of rebate rule 201. Extension of moratorium on implementation of rule relating to eliminating the anti-kickback statute safe harbor protection for prescription drug rebates Section 90006 of division I of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b note) is amended by striking January 1, 2026 and inserting January 1, 2028 . III Budgetary effects 301. Emergency designation (a) In general The amounts provided under the this Act and the amendments made by this Act are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 ( 2 U.S.C. 933(g) ). (b) House and Senate This Act and the amendments made by this Act are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of section 4001 of S. Con. Res. 14 (117th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2022.