Fischer, Colleagues Urge SBA to Speed Up Relief for Live Event Venues

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) joined her colleagues in sending a letter to Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman urging swift disbursement of Shuttered Venue Operator Grant funding to struggling venue operators as soon as possible. The legislation that created this program, the Save Our Stages Act, was signed as part of the December 2020 COVID-relief bill and supported by Senator Fischer. Event venues are going out of business while waiting for these grants.

'The Save Our Stages Act, now the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, was created to prevent widespread closures of venues that have been devastated by the loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As supporters of the SVOG program, we urge you to take immediate action to ensure that the relief reaches eligible applicants without further delay,' they wrote.

'It has been nearly six months since Congress passed the Save our Stages Act, nearly two months since the second launch of the program, and 51 days since the Small Business Administration (SBA) began receiving applications.'

'Bureaucratic process cannot stand in the way of getting these desperately needed funds out the door,' the letter continued.

The bipartisan letter included 57 Senators and was led by Senators John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). It can be read in full here.