Chamber Members:
The portal has opened for those looking to apply for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and we’re going to join Congressman Foster and Bo Steiner from the Illinois SBA this Wednesday afternoon. Additionally, today’s update has updates on the President’s plans, the reaction from the business world on transportation and taxes, covid updates from around the country, child vaccines by fall, and an adult vaccine update.
SBA began accepting applications via the application portal today at 11 AM. The application portal will remain open to any eligible establishment until all funds are exhausted.
In preparation, qualifying applicants should familiarize themselves with the application process in advance to ensure a smooth and efficient application. Follow the steps below.
- If you haven’t already, register for an account on the application portal at restaurants.sba.gov. If you are working with Square or Toast, you do not need to register.
- Review the sample application, program guide and cross-program eligibility chart on SBA COVID-19 relief options. SBA also added screenshots of the application portal that are available here.
- Applications must be submitted in English or Spanish. SBA has documents in additional languages to help you understand eligibility requirements, fill out applications, and answer frequently asked questions. See the additional languages and materials here.
- If you were unable to attend one of the webinars held last week which covered program details and a demonstration of the application portal, you can watch the recording here.
For more information, visit sba.gov/restaurants.
On this Wednesday afternoon at 4 PM we will host Congressman Bill Foster and Bo Steiner from the Illinois District office of the SBA for a program about the funds and application. Here is the link to register for that event on Zoom. It will also run on Congressman Foster’s Facebook page as a live event. Link: http://jolietchamber.chambermaster.com/events/details/2021-restaurant-revitalization-fund-video-conference-6053
*Daily Coronavirus update brought to you by Silver Cross Hospital
Latest on Presidential Plans & Discussions
President Biden and his team are playing a long legislative game, albeit with a short time frame. As weekend television talk shows revealed, the president’s efforts are at the starting point to secure another $4 trillion in spending for infrastructure and expanded government benefits, plus tax hikes, in perhaps two or more mammoth measures by the fall. Front and center for the West Wing: selling details to the American people in key states, using television, radio and podcast interviews, ad campaigns, appearances by officials, and special outreach briefings organized for sub-sub-constituencies who back Democratic policies.
The president today will be in Yorktown, Va., talking about how his infrastructure and jobs plan would help schools. Later this week, he’ll be in New Orleans, a city that supported his presidential bid, but in a state, Louisiana, that voted 58 percent for former President Trump.
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (R), a conservative who leads a Senate group’s efforts to reach a compromise with Democrats on infrastructure, told “Fox News Sunday” that lawmakers in each party remain at odds over billions of dollars in spending for various projects. White House officials played defense on Sunday, advocating for Biden’s plans in the face of GOP opposition, while also suggesting that the president is pleased with behind-the-scenes “progress” he perceives in discussions with some senators. President Biden and his advisers will continue to talk with those senators who are seeking a compromise, including Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), according to the White House. Capito has said she is upbeat about conversations so far and Biden says he hopes to meet with her.
Biden allies say they’re seeking bipartisanship by a Memorial Day deadline, but the president has made no specific public commitments about accepting GOP recommendations. The Senate is not in Washington this week. President Biden plans to sit down at the White House on May 12 with the Democratic and Republican leaders from the House and Senate.
President Biden’s aides and surrogates sidestepped questions on Sunday about legislative timetables, any decisions about how reconciliation will be used, how many bills Congress will ultimately consider for Biden’s American Jobs Plan and for the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, and how the White House envisions offsetting proposed tax hikes when powerful corporate and investor stakeholders say they will work to scuttle the plans Biden has unveiled.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a centrist who favors a stripped-down, compromise infrastructure measure that would cost less than a third of what Biden’s is seeking with his $2.3 trillion proposal, said on Sunday that the president could get some GOP support if he reached for the scissors. “Well, at this point, I think now that the Republicans have put forth a reasonable offer, it’s up to the president to do a counteroffer to us,” Collins said, pointing to a $4 trillion investment sought by the president. “That’s the amount that we spent to win World War II,” Collins continued on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“So this is an enormous package when you take both the traditional core infrastructure parts and the huge expansion of social programs that the president is advocating.”
What Business Thinks of Biden’s Plans on Infrastructure & Taxes
Business leaders see much to like—and much that worries them—in President Biden’s first 100 days in office. Executives in manufacturing, automotive, construction and other industries say they see opportunity in the trillions of dollars Biden wants to spend to build infrastructure, boost domestic manufacturing, and curb greenhouse-gas emissions linked to climate change. That is tempered by wariness over President Biden’s plans to achieve those goals via higher corporate taxes, and expected new regulations on fossil fuels, telecommunications, and other industries.
Business and industry leaders are also mindful that the President hasn’t filled many key oversight jobs, leaving questions about his approach to trade, antitrust and other policies. Brendan Bechtel, chief executive of construction giant Bechtel Corp., said there is strong support for spending on infrastructure, but that the administration’s proposals for paying for it could “inhibit job creation and get in the way of U.S. company competitiveness both at home and abroad.”
Mr. Bechtel said he and other members of the Business Roundtable are in talks with administration officials and members of Congress on alternatives to President Biden’s plans to pay for infrastructure with higher corporate taxes over 15 years. These alternatives might include fees on those who use the infrastructure, deficit financing and public-private partnerships, he said. “It doesn’t feel fair to expect business to shoulder the entire cost of public infrastructure, but we realize we need to be a constructive partner,” he said.
The centerpiece of Biden’s plans is $2.3 trillion in spending on transportation infrastructure, manufacturing, housing, high-speed internet, research and more. Mr. Biden’s plan to boost spending on infrastructure to make alternative energy more accessible is also seen as a benefit for companies developing solar and wind projects. “We feel like it’s absolutely the right thing to do, right thing for the planet and the right thing for customers and the right thing for the country,” James Robo, CEO of NextEra Energy Inc., a major generator of solar and wind power, recently told investors, though he said it was too early to say how the company would specifically benefit.
Amid a global shortage of semiconductors, the U.S. chip industry supports President Biden’s plan to spend $50 billion to help subsidize chip manufacturing, building on efforts initiated by the Trump administration last year. “It is so critical for our nation that we must step in and close those competitive gaps, and that’s why we’ve seen this very positive response from the Biden administration,” Intel Corp. CEO Patrick Gelsinger said in an April 23 interview on Fox Business. The company has a $20 billion plan to build two new chip manufacturing plants in Arizona, counting on state and federal incentives.
President Biden wants to raise corporate tax rates from 21% to 28%. Nearly all of the 178 CEOs surveyed by the Business Roundtable, a trade group of corporate executives, said it would have an adverse impact on their companies’ competitiveness. Many in the financial industry oppose other of Mr. Biden’s tax proposals, such as increases in capital-gains and carried-interest tax rates. The changes would raise tax bills for wealthy households and investment managers. The American Investment Council, a private-equity trade group, said the taxes would discourage investment.
Trade policy is another area of friction between business and the Biden administration. The White House has retained tariffs imposed by Mr. Trump on about $370 billion in annual imports from China, adding to the costs U.S. importers and consumers pay for a range of products, including furniture, electronics, and tennis shoes. “There’s this perspective that tariffs give us leverage,” said American Apparel & Footwear Association leader Steve Lamar. “It just makes it more expensive for us to get dressed every day.”
Mr. Lamar’s group and others want Biden to remove the tariffs, but the administration has indicated it is in no hurry to do so. Mr. Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs not just targeted China but snared allies, prompting the European Union to impose retaliatory levies on American products including whiskey, jeans, and motorcycles. Those tariffs are set to double to 50% on June 1 unless an agreement is reached.
Covid-19 Update from Around the Country
As the United States works to get more Americans vaccinated, particularly those who are hard to reach due to where they live or those reluctant to accept COVID-19 vaccines, the administration is working to stamp out sources of misinformation. Experts and trusted influencers are working to dispel concerns that cause people to feel hesitant, while also trying to turn back waves of myths and misinformation.
State and local governments are experimenting with offering incentives and privileges for residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Last week, West Virginia said it would give those aged 16 to 35 who get the vaccine a $100 savings bond, and Connecticut launched #CTDrinksOnUs, a program offering a free drink to those who prove their vaccination. Public health and psychology experts said as long as the incentives are reasonable, it could be successful.
In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) today is promising a “major announcement” on easing restrictions imposed in the Garden State due to COVID-19. Murphy said on Twitter on Sunday that because COVID-19 metrics are “decisively trending in the right direction,” his 1 p.m. announcement will deal with “easing restrictions and ramping up our vaccinations.”
Update: York and New Jersey are lifting most capacity limits on businesses put in place last spring to stem the spread of Covid-19 as more people get vaccinated and infections continue to decline. Capacity limits will end May 19 for New Jersey and New York retail stores, restaurants, gyms, amusement parks, salons, barber shops, offices, museums, and theaters, including Broadway, state officials said Monday. Businesses will be limited only by social-distancing measures, which require patrons and parties to be kept 6 feet apart. Both states are keeping their indoor mask mandates.
Connecticut previously ended many capacity restrictions and announced in April that it is ending all restrictions on businesses beginning May 19, except for indoor masking requirements.
In Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis (D) on Sunday extended a statewide mask mandate for another 30 days, but loosened face covering requirements for groups of people who are vaccinated against COVID-19. Under the new executive order, people gathering inside in groups of 10 or more are no longer required to wear masks if at least 80 percent of the group is vaccinated. People must show proof of vaccination, but the order does not elaborate on what proof is considered acceptable.
In Iowa, state authorities are refusing nearly three-quarters of the vaccine doses available to the state from the federal government because demand for the shots remains weak. The Iowa Department of Public Health and Safety said on Saturday that the state asked the federal government to withhold 71 percent of the 105,300 vaccine doses that were available for the week of May 10. This is the second week in a row the state has asked the federal government to hold back part of its allocation of vaccine doses.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order on Monday that immediately suspends the state’s remaining Covid-19 public health restrictions. “I think that’s the evidence-based thing to do,” DeSantis said at a Monday news conference. Private businesses can still require masks and enforce social distancing and other protective measures.
“The fact is, we are no longer in a state of emergency,” DeSantis said during a news conference. He acknowledged that Florida was still not done with its fight against the coronavirus but reiterated the nation’s decline in Covid-19 cases and deaths.
Ten Million Kids Could Get Vaccinated Before Fall if Pfizer Vaccine is Approved
Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Sunday predicted that 10 million kids would be vaccinated against the coronavirus before fall if the Pfizer vaccine is authorized for use on younger teens. During an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Gottlieb, who sits on Pfizer’s board of directors, told host John Dickerson he thinks as many as 5 million children between the ages of 12 and 15 will immediately get vaccinated once the company’s vaccine is approved for the age group, with another 5 million to 7 million gradually being vaccinated before the start of the next school year.
“Look, I’m hopeful that the FDA is going to authorize the Pfizer vaccine, the company I’m on the board of, [which] has applied for permission to start giving its vaccine to 12- to 15-year-olds,” Gottlieb told Dickerson. “I’m hopeful the FDA is going to authorize that in a very short time period. And I think once that gets authorized, I think you’ll pick up probably 5 million kids [who] will get immediately vaccinated. There are about 17 million children between the age of 12 and 15. I think we’ll pick up about 5 million immediately. I think probably another 5 million, 5 [million] to 7 million, would get vaccinated over the course of the summer before the school year.”
He added, “That’ll be incremental, Americans getting vaccinated against COVID and hopefully providing protection in an age group that has been susceptible to the infection. Older kids are more susceptible, certainly, than younger kids.” Gottlieb also told Dickerson that while vaccine sites and pharmacies will likely begin to offer vaccines to children, pediatricians will be key to getting the age group vaccinated.
Adult Vaccine Update
Nearly 45% of Americans have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 32% are fully vaccinated. More than 1.16 billion doses have been administered across 174 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 21.1 million doses a day. In the U.S., 246 million doses have been given so far.
The U.S. is averaging 2.4 million reported vaccinations per day over the past week, down from a high point of 3.4 million daily shots on April 13. The rate of new infections is also declining. The country is reporting an average of 49,000 cases per day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, down from more than 70,000 just a few weeks ago.
Meeting demand for shots is no longer the main challenge in many places, as states confront vaccine access and hesitancy barriers in their populations. Seventeen states have reported a decrease in shots given for three weeks in a row or more, according to a CNBC analysis of CDC data.
Program Notices & Reminders – Expanded Information
Small Business Administration Restaurant Revitalization Fund
SBA began accepting applications via the application portal Monday 5/3 at 11 AM. The application portal will remain open to any eligible establishment until all funds are exhausted.
In preparation, qualifying applicants should familiarize themselves with the application process in advance to ensure a smooth and efficient application. Follow the steps below.
- If you haven’t already, register for an account on the application portal at restaurants.sba.gov. If you are working with Square or Toast, you do not need to register.
- Review the sample application, program guide and cross-program eligibility chart on SBA COVID-19 relief options. SBA also added screenshots of the application portal that are available here.
- Applications must be submitted in English or Spanish. SBA has documents in additional languages to help you understand eligibility requirements, fill out applications, and answer frequently asked questions. See the additional languages and materials here.
- If you were unable to attend one of the webinars held last week which covered program details and a demonstration of the application portal, you can watch the recording here.
For more information, visit sba.gov/restaurants.
On this Wednesday afternoon (5/5) at 4 PM we will host Congressman Bill Foster and Bo Steiner from the Illinois District office of the SBA for a program about the funds and application. Here is the link to register for that event on Zoom. It will also run on Congressman Foster’s Facebook page as a live event. Link: http://jolietchamber.chambermaster.com/events/details/2021-restaurant-revitalization-fund-video-conference-6053
Details on application requirements, eligibility, and a program guide are now available in English at www.sba.gov/restaurants or in Spanish at www.sba.gov/restaurantes.
As the SBA builds and prepares to roll out the program, this dedicated SBA website is the best source for up-to-date information for eligible restaurants interested in the RRF.
Small Business Administration Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program
The SBA has completed rigorous testing and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant application portal reopened on Saturday, April 24 at 12:30pm ET. Updated guidance documents have been posted below. Applicants may continue to register for an application portal account.
Supplemental documents
- FAQ regarding Shuttered Venue Operators Grant
- SVOG preliminary application checklist
- Cross-program eligibility on SBA COVID-19 relief options
- SVOG-specific version of IRS Form 4506-T
- SVOG applicant user guide
Comment on Joliet Intermodal Master Plan by May 17
Will County and the City of Joliet have developed the Joliet Intermodal Master Plan for the Elwood/Joliet subregion of Will County. The plan’s purpose is to identify transportation needs that support anticipated development of the area’s intermodal industry while simultaneously working to improve quality of life for area residents. The study area boundary is Interstate 80 on the north, U.S. 52 on the east, West Hoff Road on the south, and Interstate 55 on the west.
Public input is being sought on the draft Transportation Improvement Program that identifies transportation priorities. All members of the public are invited to comment through Monday, May 17. Visit the Joliet Intermodal Master Plan website, and provide your input on the public involvement section of the webpage.
Finally, make plans to join us for our May member luncheon on Thursday, the 13th and meet Dawn Malec, Chief of the Joliet Police Department and Greg Blaskey, Chief of the Joliet Fire Department. For more info and to register, click here – http://jolietchamber.chambermaster.com/events/details/2021-member-lunch-may-13-meet-greet-with-joliet-police-fire-chiefs-6046
Stay well,
Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry Staff and Board of Directors
Mike Paone
Vice President – Government Affairs
Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry
mpaone@jolietchamber.com
815.727.5371 main
815.727.5373 direct