April 27, 2022

Duckworth Reinforces Support for Restaurants in Meeting with Illinois Restaurant Association

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with members of the Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA) to discuss the ongoing support needed for restaurants as they work to recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19. Duckworth is a strong supporter of replenishing the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) and is a co-sponsor of the Continuing Emergency Support for Restaurants Act.

“No one should be surprised that among the restaurants that managed to survive the deadly pandemic, far too many are struggling to achieve the same scale and capacity they had pre-pandemic, which is why passing legislation to replenish the RRF is critical,” Duckworth said. “Supporting neighborhood restaurants should be a bipartisan effort – and it’s deeply disappointing that despite broad support throughout the Democratic Caucus – we still lack 60 votes to get it done. I’ll keep working with organizations like the Illinois Restaurant Association to help ensure our Illinois restaurants have the support they deserve.”

Duckworth today met with IRA President and CEO Sam Toia, Lettuce Entertain You Executive Vice President Jay Stieber, Third Coast Hospitality CEO Sam Sanchez, Vaughan Hospitality Owner Kevin Vaughan, Manny’s Deli Owner Dan Raskin and other Illinois restaurant leaders.

As a member of the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee, Duckworth has been a strong supporter of providing restaurants with critical relief throughout the pandemic. Duckworth is a co-sponsor of U.S. Senator and Small Business Committee Chair Ben Cardin (D-MD)’s Continuing Emergency Support for Restaurants Act, as well as the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Replenishment Act. Duckworth was also a co-sponsor of the RESTAURANTS Act, provisions of which were included in the American Rescue Plan.

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