{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/2021/12/reps-sewell-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-help-small-businesses", "Reps. Sewell Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Help Small Businesses Rehire Workers Let Go Due to COVID-19", "2021-12-07", "2021", "2021-12", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri A. Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", "sewell", "https://sewell.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) joined Reps. Carol Miller (R-WV), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), and Kevin Hern (R-OK) to introduce the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) Reinstatement Act. The ERTC was designed to help small businesses rehire and retain employees they had to let go due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was overwhelmingly supported in the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed in March 2020.\n\n\u201cFrom our biggest cities to our rural towns, our nation\u2019s small businesses help our communities thrive,\u201d said Rep. Sewell. \u201cAs we build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic and grow our economy, we must make supporting our small business owners a top priority. By reinstating the Employee Retention Tax Credit, this bipartisan bill will provide much needed relief to Alabama\u2019s small businesses, helping them rehire workers lost due to the pandemic. I was proud to join my colleagues in introducing this commonsense legislation and urge swift passage!\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m pleased to lead my Ways and Means colleagues in introducing the Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act,\u201d said Rep. Carol Miller, lead Republican sponsor. \u201cBy reinstating the ERTC, struggling small businesses can access one of the last remaining pandemic recovery programs to receive the help they need to replenish their workforce and get back on track. As we continue to emerge from this public health emergency, we must remember that small businesses in West Virginia and across the country still need our support. I urge Congressional leaders and President Biden to pass our bill into law as soon as possible to give these businesses and employees the certainty they need.\u201d\n\n\u201cOver the last year and a half I was proud to lead the bipartisan effort to establish the employee retention tax credit, which provides financial support to businesses who retain or rehire workers, rather than lay them off,\u201d said Rep. Stephanie Murphy, lead Democratic co-sponsor. \u201cThis provision has helped thousands of businesses and their workers recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic, and so my fellow Ways and Means colleagues and I are introducing this bipartisan legislation to ensure this program can continue and give small businesses and hardworking Americans the support they need.\u201d\n\n\u201cEliminating the Employee Retention Tax Credit was the wrong decision and hurts our small businesses who are still recovering from the economic fallout of the pandemic. We must provide certainty and predictability to American small business owners. I am proud to join my colleagues in support of this legislation and I hope to earn strong bipartisan support in the House,\u201d said Rep. Kevin Hern, lead Republican co-sponsor.\n\nBackground:\n\nOriginally, to be eligible for the ERTC, business owners had to demonstrate at least a 20% decline in gross receipts in either a given quarter compared to the same quarter in 2019 or the immediately preceding quarter. Alternatively, the business owner may have been eligible if the business is subject to a full or partial suspension of business operations due to a government order.\n\nSpecifically, for this year\u2019s third and fourth quarters, business owners can qualify for the ERTC as a \u201crecovery startup business\u201d or qualify as a \u201cseverely financially distressed employer.\u201d To claim the ERTC as a \u201cseverely financially distressed employer,\u201d the business must have suffered at least a 90% decline in gross receipts in a specific quarter compared to the same quarter in 2019.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:37:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://sewell.house.gov/2021/12/reps-sewell-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-help-small-businesses"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.4005260784178972, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}