Young, Bennet Introduce RESTART Act to Support Hardest-Hit Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) introduced the Reviving the Economy Sustainably Towards a Recovery in Twenty-twenty (RESTART) Act to support the small- and mid-sized businesses most affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. Answering the calls of the hardest-hit restaurants, gyms, hotels, retailers, and other businesses, the RESTART Act would give business owners who took out Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans the flexibility they need to utilize the PPP effectively. The RESTART Act would also create a loan program to provide funding to jump-start the hardest-hit businesses for the remainder of 2020 and provide loan forgiveness as a backstop against ongoing economic challenges. 

“The Paycheck Protection Program has been a tremendous asset, providing nearly $10 billion in loans to Indiana recipients, and saving more than 50 million American jobs. However, after speaking with some of the hardest hit businesses, it’s clear more is needed to help job creators navigate this pandemic. The RESTART Act addresses these issues by providing longer-term loans and more flexibility so that the businesses who have suffered the greatest economic hardship can resume operations. The RESTART Act will jumpstart the next phase of recovery to allow businesses to reopen, paychecks to continue, and people to get back to work,” said Senator Young.

“This is the first and only bipartisan proposal that supports the hardest-hit businesses by fixing the Paycheck Protection Program and providing relief through the rest of the year,” said Senator Bennet. “Based on input from business owners across Colorado, we’ve proposed a bill that provides the flexibility they need to weather the next six months and get their businesses back up and running.” 

The RESTART Act bill text is available HERE. For the one-pager, click here.