Vermont Support of Pending COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Legislation
Grace Potter
Since the beginning of 2020, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the live performance industry. Vermont’s culture is deeply rooted in the arts and has since lost an essential part of its heritage. Now more than ever is the time for pandemic relief packages to be passed in Congress as many small businesses, individuals, and families are struggling to make ends meet. With the emergence of COVID-19, it is up to our Vermont delegates to save the arts to protect and preserve what it means to be Vermont.
Both Senator Patrick Leahy and Senator Bernie Sanders believe that Congressional action to assist small businesses and workers is long overdue, particularly for the live performance sector here in Vermont. Among other industries, the arts are essential to tourism, historic preservation, and the uniqueness of our state.
Since early 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has established some policy that provides economic relief for Vermonters. Opportunities provided from this act include the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. These programs increased unemployment insurance benefits as well as offering forgivable loans for small businesses to keep workers on payroll and pay other operating expenses. Today, all federal funds from the CARES Act have been exhausted. As a result, several of Vermont’s live performance venues found no economic relief and thus no peace of mind in the midst of the global pandemic.
With live performance industries suffering, several bills are being proposed in the House and the Senate proposing increased federal assistance for workers in the entertainment industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these important pieces of legislation are the Save our Stages (SOS) Act and the Reviving Economic Sustainability towards a Recovery in 2020 (RESTART) Act.
The SOS Act asks the Small Business Administration (SBA) to make available specific grants for live venue operators, producers, and other entertainment firms to address the economic effects of the pandemic. In Vermont, this would offer economic relief for thousands of everyday people who rely on the entertainment industry to earn money. The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) encourages people like us to tell our legislators how important it is to save our independent music venues in Vermont. To act now, contact the elected officials in Congress and use your voice to promote Congressional action to pass the SOS Act. Let’s uplift Vermont’s entertainment community, small businesses, and artists, today!
The RESTART Act, on the other hand, is a bipartisan act that would extend the PPP as well as expand the number, scope, and flexibility of loans distributed by the SBA. Small businesses, like independent theaters and concert venues, will be provided the opportunity to cover costs, support employees, and recover from the pandemic. This is the aim of our Vermont delegates in 2020.
Taking a step even further is Senator Bernie Sanders with the Paycheck Security Act (PSA), a program to cover the wages and benefits of employees of affected businesses and nonprofits until the economic and public health crisis is resolved. While all of these important pieces of legislation are pending in Congress and the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, it is up to us to push for COVID-19 relief. The Vermont music and entertainment industry needs your support to persist through the global pandemic. By using our voices to contact our elected officials, we are able to save the arts in Vermont and get the pandemic aid we deserve. Democracy doesn't work unless every voice is heard and accounted for, so make your voice count for Vermont’s musicians, music scene, and culture.
Text by Izzy Mousseau