Restaurant Relief Act
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.
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.
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.
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.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4282 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4282
To provide COVID relief for restaurants, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Restaurant Relief Act''.
SEC. 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.
TITLE I--RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION FUND REPLENISHMENT AND IMPROVEMENTS
SEC. 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).
SEC. 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.''.
SEC. 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.''.
SEC. 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.''.
SEC. 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.
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.
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''.
TITLE III--BUDGETARY EFFECTS
SEC. 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.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
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