If you’ve been following along on these pages lately you know that restaurants are in dire financial straits. We’re already seeing permanent closings and I fear more are to come.

But a bill with bipartisan support has been introduced in in the Congress that would provide financial support to restaurants.

It has a longwinded name (Congress, as I pointed out): the Real Economic Support that Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive Act of 2020.

Call it the RESTAURANTS Act for short.

The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR 3) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), would provide $120 billion in grant programs specifically for small restaurants – no large chains or publicly traded companies. The aim is to cover the difference between 2019 revenue and anticipated revenue of 2020, with a cap of $10 million. You can read the full text of the bill here.

The RESTAURANTS Act is a long way from being approved, but you can communicate your support by sending a message to your Members of Congress through the Independent Restaurant Coalition portal.