Originally Published in the Daily Local

U.S. Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Roger Williams (R-TX), Angie Craig (D-MN) and Dean Phillips (D-MN) led more than 200 of their House colleagues in a bipartisan letter to Administrator Isabel Guzman of the Small Business Administration urging immediate action to stabilize and improve the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, which provides emergency assistance grants to venues that were unable to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rollout of the SVOG program has been plagued by technical challenges and persistent delays. Since launching the program in April, the SBA has approved roughly 400 grants – despite receiving more than 14,000 applications.

In their letter, Houlahan and her colleagues requested a detailed explanation of ongoing issues with the program and demanded the SBA expedite the release of relief funding to struggling venues across the country.

“The slow pace is becoming increasingly untenable for the small businesses in our districts,” wrote the members. “Their banks have threatened to call in the full amount of small business loans, they do not have the funds to pay their landlords full rent, and they cannot retain staff. We are hearing from venue operators who are days away from closing their doors if these funds are not sent soon. These small businesses not only provide good jobs and contribute economically to our local communities, they contribute to the spirit and local culture as well. We must act now.”

The program, which is administered by the SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance, was originally created as part of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act last December. The program includes over $16 billion in grants to shuttered venues, and also received additional funding from the American Rescue Plan Act earlier this year. Eligible applicants may qualify for grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award of $10 million. On April 8, the program’s portal crashed, halting applications for nearly three weeks. Even after relaunching the application portal, there have been significant delays in the processing of applicants and the awarding of funds. According to the Office of Disaster Assistance, as of June 9, the SBA has only approved 90 grants out of the over 14,000 applications submitted, and nearly two-thirds of the applications have not yet reached the review stage.

“Our small venues play a vital role in our community’s local economy,” said Houlahan. “After a number of venues in Southeastern Pennsylvania reached out to my office for assistance regarding the unreleased funds, I quickly started working with other Members on both sides of the aisle to find a solution. We appropriated these dollars for small venues because we knew how devastated they had been by this pandemic. Our letter today makes clear the dire needs of small venues across the United States as we work to reopen our economy. The fact that so many of my colleagues have joined my effort is a testament to the situation’s urgency. I look forward to hearing from the SBA and will continue to push to get those dollars into the hands of small venue owners and employees.”

The effort came about as a direct result of Pennsylvanians contacting Rep. Houlahan’s office for assistance.

“The past few months have been grueling,” said Adam Valen, Pennsylvania Precinct Captain, National Independent Venue Association. “While we understand the mammoth of an undertaking the SVOG program was for the SBA, the delay in these funds have potentially detrimental effects. As states begin to reopen, many venues are relying very heavily on this funding to be able to rehire their staff, place deposits on artists, and make incredibly necessary adjustments to their businesses to be able to make our customers feel safe and welcome back into our venues."