The U.S. House of Representatives May Vote on a $120 Billion Restaurant Aid Bill This Week

The RESTAURANTS Act Picks Up Speed in the House

Monday morning, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) announced that the House of Representatives is expected to vote on his RESTAURANTS act as early as this week, which would set aside $120 billion in grants for independent restaurants. Those grants would not need to be paid back and could only go to restaurants or chains with fewer than 20 locations under the same name, unlike the Paycheck Protection Program. The bill has been included as a part of the House’s larger, amended coronavirus-related relief package introduced by House Democrats last night. Blumenauer says the bill has more than 200 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, as well as 40 co-sponsors in the senate. “With winter coming, independent restaurants that are holding on by a thread will face even greater challenges to survive,” Blumenauer said in a statement. “Congress must seize this opportunity to provide restaurants the relief they need.” [WWeek]

Gov. Kate Brown Has Banned Some Residential Evictions Through December

Yesterday, Gov. Kate Brown announced a moratorium on non-payment and other no-cause residential evictions through December 31, 2020, in response to the financial impact of both the wildfires and COVID-19. However, that ban does not extend to commercial evictions — aka, restaurants and bars. Multnomah County has given renters an additional buffer; last week, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners voted to ban residential evictions through January 8, 2021. [O]

In Other News...

• The state’s latest coronavirus numbers are the lowest they’ve been in two weeks [O]
• Most Oregonians who started getting regular unemployment benefits last month waited more than ten weeks [OPB]
• The Portland Mercury reviews new takeout options [Merc]