FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 18, 2022
Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, sent a letter to Isabella Guzman, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), requesting information on the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), which provided grants to some eligible restaurants, bars, and other businesses impacted by COVID-19.
“As you know, the RRF obligated nearly $28.6 billion to more than 100,000 eligible entities. As reported by the SBA, more than 278,000 eligible applicants requested grants accounting for more than $72.2 billion. Despite the program window closing seven months ago, this Committee does not have sufficient information regarding the current applicant queue and their funds requested to aid business losses,” Dr. Paul stated in the letter.
Dr. Paul is requesting the following data no later than February 23, 2022.
- The entire underlying dataset for RRF including entities whose status is “fully canceled”
- The entire underlying dataset of RRF grant applicants, including those who were ultimately denied
- The entire underlying dataset for the RRF grant queue including entities that were selected but unfunded due to the injunction issued by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
In addition, Dr. Paul’s office previously requested the following information on the RRF on May 18, 2021.
- A copy of the oversight and/or audit plans, including appendix documents, for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund
- Copies of all contracts and/or agreements entered into by the SBA for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund
You can read the full letter HERE.
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