[SML] Fwd: Live Event Relief Plan

[herrick goldman]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Michael T. Strickland <MStrickland at banditlites.com>
Date: Fri, Jul 17, 2020, 19:34
Subject: Live Event Relief Plan
To: Michael T. Strickland <MStrickland at banditlites.com>


*THIS IS A SIMPLE WAY FOR YOU TO SEND YOUR LETTER TO YOUR SENATOR IF THE
BIGGER LETTER WAS DIFFICULT.*

*FIND YOUR SENATORS CONTACTS IN THE EXCEL SPREADSHEET ABOVE.*

*INSERT YOUR SENATORS CHIEF OF STAFF AND LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR E-MAIL
ADDRESS*

*REMOVE THE EXCEL LIST OF CONTACTS ABOVE (GREEN)*

*ERASE THE RED PART*

*HIT SEND.*

Dear (fill in Senator and/or staffer name):

I write to bring your attention to challenges facing the live event
industry and to urge the inclusion of targeted relief for the industry as
Congress considers additional coronavirus relief measures this month.

Live event venues were among the first to close and will likely be the last
to reopen. Workers in the live event sector were among the first to have
their jobs disrupted, and they will be among the last to return to their
jobs. By its very nature, live events work cannot be done from home. In
recent decades, a significant and growing share of employment and economic
activity has come from the business of “getting people together.” Live
event venues — many of which are owned by local governments – generate
millions in tax revenue and sustain jobs in communities across the country.
Restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and other local businesses also
directly benefit from the hundreds of millions of concert, theater,
festival, fair and eventgoers who attend millions of events each year.
Events, both commercial and nonprofit, are central to our individual and
collective identity. Live performance venues and the artists and workers in
the industry are the lifeblood of the cultural and social identity of our
neighborhoods. Social distancing, capacity limitations and other
restrictions mean that the live event industry will not recover in any
meaningful way until next year, and likely not until summer or later. It is
impossible to operate in a viable manner at low capacity.

We appreciate the leadership Congress has shown by providing vital,
short-term assistance with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), expanding
unemployment insurance eligibility to “gig” workers and the self-employed,
and extending other relief. Businesses such as the live event industry that
are facing prolonged closure, however, need additional help.

Due to the unique circumstances of our industry, we support
industry-specific federal assistance through payroll support, tax relief,
and loan guarantees. Allowing the hardest hit businesses with demonstrated
losses to receive a second PPP loan would help, as would the bipartisan
“RESTART Act” (S. 3814), which proposes seven-year, low-interest loans with
deferred interest and principal repayments.

Sincerely,

NAME
Title, company
City, state
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