Save Hotel Jobs Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1519 To provide assistance to the hotel industry, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 29, 2021 Mr. SCHATZ introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide assistance to the hotel industry, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Save Hotel Jobs Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. SUPPORTING HOTEL OPERATORS AND WORKERS 5 THROUGH GRANTS FOR PAYROLL COSTS. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) COVERED PERIOD.—The term ‘‘covered pe- 8 riod’’, with respect to a grant, means the 270-day 9 period beginning on the date on which the grant 10 funds have been disbursed. 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1519 IS (2) COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 1 The term ‘‘COVID–19 public health emergency’’ 2 means the public health emergency declared by the 3 Secretary of Health and Human Services under sec- 4 tion 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 5 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with respect to 6 COVID–19. 7 (3) HOTEL OWNER OR OPERATOR.—The term 8 ‘‘hotel owner or operator’’ means a group which is 9 primarily engaged in owning or operating an estab- 10 lishment known to the public as a hotel that pro- 11 vides lodging for the general public. 12 (4) LAID-OFF EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘laid-off 13 employee’’ means an individual whose employment 14 with a hotel owner or operator has been terminated 15 during the COVID–19 public health emergency. 16 (5) PAYROLL COSTS.—The term ‘‘payroll 17 costs’’, with respect to a hotel owner or operator— 18 (A) means, except as provided in subpara- 19 graph (B)— 20 (i) the sum of payments of any com- 21 pensation with respect to employees of the 22 owner or operator that is— 23 (I) a salary, wage, commission, 24 or similar compensation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1519 IS (II) a payment of cash tip or 1 equivalent; 2 (III) a payment for vacation, pa- 3 rental, family, medical, or sick leave; 4 (IV) an allowance for dismissal 5 or separation; 6 (V) a payment required for the 7 provisions of group health care or 8 group life, disability, vision, or dental 9 insurance benefits, including insur- 10 ance premiums; 11 (VI) a payment of any retirement 12 benefit; or 13 (VII) a payment of State or local 14 tax assessed on the compensation of 15 employees; and 16 (ii) the sum of payments of any com- 17 pensation with respect to employees paid 18 by a hotel owner or operator to a third- 19 party hotel management company oper- 20 ating the hotel that is compensation for 21 any of the items described in subclauses 22 (I) through (VII) of clause (i); and 23 (iii) the sum of payments of any com- 24 pensation provided by the hotel owner or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1519 IS operator to or as income of a sole propri- 1 etor or independent contractor that is a 2 wage, commission, income, net earnings 3 from self-employment, or similar com- 4 pensation; and 5 (B) shall not include— 6 (i) with respect to an individual em- 7 ployee, any total payments described in 8 subclauses (I) or (II) of subparagraph 9 (A)(i) that are in excess of $100,000 on an 10 annualized basis, as prorated for the pe- 11 riod during which the payments are made 12 or the obligation to make the payments are 13 incurred; 14 (ii) with respect to a sole proprietor or 15 independent contractor, any total payments 16 described in subparagraph (A)(iii) that are 17 in excess of $100,000 on an annualized 18 basis, as prorated as described in clause 19 (i); 20 (iii) taxes imposed or withheld under 21 chapters 21, 22, or 24 of the Internal Rev- 22 enue Code of 1986; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1519 IS (iv) any compensation of an employee 1 whose principal place of residence is out- 2 side of the United States; 3 (v) qualified sick leave wages for 4 which a credit is allowed under section 5 7001 of the Families First Coronavirus 6 Response Act (Public Law 116–127); or 7 (vi) qualified family leave wages for 8 which a credit is allowed under section 9 7003 of the Families First Coronavirus 10 Response Act (Public Law 116–127). 11 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 12 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s del- 13 egate. 14 (b) GRANTS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 16 grants under this section to hotel owners or opera- 17 tors for the purpose of assisting with payroll costs 18 during the covered period in accordance with sub- 19 section (d). 20 (2) INITIAL AWARDS.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each hotel owner or 22 operator that applies for an initial grant under 23 this section and meets the requirements under 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1519 IS subsection (c) shall, subject to funding available 1 under subsection (h), receive such grant. 2 (B) AMOUNTS.— 3 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 4 determine the amount of an initial grant 5 awarded under this section on an individ- 6 ualized basis with respect to each hotel 7 owner or operator and in accordance with 8 this subparagraph. 9 (ii) STANDARD MAXIMUM AMOUNT.— 10 The maximum amount of an initial grant 11 awarded under this section to a hotel 12 owner or operator shall, except as provided 13 in clause (iii), be the lesser of— 14 (I) subject to clause (iv), 15 $20,000,000; or 16 (II)(aa) in the case of a grant 17 with respect to a hotel that was oper- 18 ating for a 3-month period during cal- 19 endar year 2019, the product obtained 20 by multiplying by 3 the average total 21 monthly payments for payroll costs of 22 the hotel incurred in a 3-month pe- 23 riod, selected by the owner or oper- 24 ator, during calendar year 2019; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1519 IS (bb) in the case of a grant with 1 respect to a hotel that was not oper- 2 ating for a 3-month period during cal- 3 endar year 2019 and was operating 4 for a 3-month period during calendar 5 year 2020, the product obtained by 6 multiplying by 3 the average total 7 monthly payments for payroll costs of 8 the hotel, incurred in a 3-month pe- 9 riod, selected by the owner or oper- 10 ator, during calendar year 2020. 11 (iii) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.— 12 (I) IN GENERAL.—In the case of 13 a grant for a hotel that was not in op- 14 eration for a 3-month period in cal- 15 endar year 2019 or 2020, the max- 16 imum amount of an initial grant 17 awarded under this section shall be 18 the lesser of— 19 (aa) subject to clause (iv), 20 $20,000,000; or 21 (bb) the amount applicable 22 under subclause (II), (III), or 23 (IV). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1519 IS (II) OPERATING IN 2019 AND 1 2020.—In the case of a grant with re- 2 spect to a hotel that was in operation 3 in calendar years 2019 and 2020, but 4 not in operation for a 3-month period 5 in either of those calendar years, the 6 applicable amount for purposes of 7 subclause (I)(bb) is— 8 (aa) the difference be- 9 tween— 10 (AA) the product ob- 11 tained by multiplying the av- 12 erage monthly gross receipts 13 of the hotel in calendar year 14 2019 by 12; and 15 (BB) the product ob- 16 tained by multiplying the av- 17 erage monthly gross receipts 18 of the hotel in 2020 by 12; 19 or 20 (bb) an amount based on a 21 formula determined by the Sec- 22 retary. 23 (III) OPERATIONS BEGINNING IN 24 2020 AND PRIOR TO SUBMISSION OF 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1519 IS THE APPLICATION.—In the case of a 1 grant with respect to a hotel that 2 began operating during the period be- 3 ginning on January 1, 2020, and end- 4 ing on the day before the date on 5 which the application for the grant 6 was submitted under subsection (c) 7 and that was not in operation for a 3- 8 month period in calendar year 2020, 9 the applicable amount for purposes of 10 subclause (I)(bb) is— 11 (aa) the total amount of 12 fixed and operating expenses that 13 were incurred for the hotel prior 14 to the submission of the applica- 15 tion minus any gross receipts re- 16 ceived; or 17 (bb) an amount based on a 18 formula determined by the Sec- 19 retary. 20 (IV) HOTELS NOT IN OPERATION 21 AS OF SUBMISSION OF THE APPLICA- 22 TION.—In the case of a grant with re- 23 spect to a hotel that is not in oper- 24 ation on the date on which the appli- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1519 IS cation for the grant was submitted 1 under subsection (c), but has incurred 2 payroll costs as of the date of enact- 3 ment of this Act, the amount applica- 4 ble for purposes of subclause (I)(bb) 5 is— 6 (aa) the amount of such 7 payroll costs; or 8 (bb) an amount based on a 9 formula determined by the Sec- 10 retary. 11 (iv) REDUCTION IN AWARD FOR PPP 12 LOANS.—In the case that a hotel owner or 13 operator receives a loan guaranteed under 14 paragraph (36) or (37) of section 7(a) of 15 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) 16 before, on, or after the date of enactment 17 of this Act and is approved for a grant 18 under this section, the amount of 19 $20,000,000 applicable under clauses 20 (ii)(I) and (iii)(I)(aa) shall be reduced by 21 the total amount of loans to such owner or 22 operator guaranteed under such paragraph 23 (36) or (37) that is forgiven under— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1519 IS (I) section 1106 of the CARES 1 Act (as in effect on the day before the 2 date of enactment of the Consolidated 3 Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 4 116-260)); 5 (II) section 7A of the Small 6 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636m); or 7 (III) paragraph (37)(J) of sec- 8 tion 7(a) of the Small Business Act 9 (15 U.S.C. 636(a)). 10 (3) SUPPLEMENTAL AWARDS.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 12 make a supplemental grant in accordance with 13 this section to a hotel owner or operator that 14 has received an initial grant under paragraph 15 (2) if, in the 3-month period following the dis- 16 bursement of amounts from the initial grant, 17 the revenue of the hotel owner or operator is 18 not more than 50 percent of the revenue of the 19 hotel owner or operator for the corresponding 20 3-month period during 2019, due to the 21 COVID–19 pandemic. 22 (B) AMOUNT.—A supplemental grant 23 under this paragraph shall be in the amount 24 equal to 50 percent of the amount of the grant 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1519 IS received by the hotel owner or operator under 1 paragraph (2). 2 (C) QUALIFIED OWNERS OR OPERATORS.— 3 An owner or operator may not receive a supple- 4 mental grant under this paragraph if the owner 5 or operator was not in operation for the 3- 6 month period in 2019 corresponding to the 3- 7 month period following the disbursement of 8 amounts from the initial grant under paragraph 9 (2). 10 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 11 under this section, a hotel owner or operator shall submit 12 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such man- 13 ner, and containing such information as the Secretary 14 shall specify, including— 15 (1) in the case of an application for an initial 16 grant, an assurance that, if applicable, the hotel 17 owner or operator had a decline of not less than 40 18 percent in gross receipts during any 3-month period 19 in calendar year 2020, as compared to the same 3- 20 month period in calendar year 2019; 21 (2) an assurance the hotel owner or operator 22 has a policy for providing recall rights as described 23 in subsection (e); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1519 IS (3) an assurance that the hotel owner or oper- 1 ator will use the funds of the grant during the cov- 2 ered period in accordance with the requirement 3 under subsection (d); and 4 (4) an assurance that— 5 (A) the hotel of the owner or operator was 6 in operation on the date of enactment of this 7 Act; or 8 (B) if not in operation on such date, had 9 incurred payroll costs as of such date. 10 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A hotel owner or operator re- 11 ceiving a grant under this section shall use the full amount 12 of such grant during the covered period for payroll costs. 13 (e) RECALL RIGHTS.— 14 (1) POLICY.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The policy described in 16 this subsection shall, except as provided in 17 paragraph (4), include a requirement that the 18 hotel owner or operator offers to the laid-off 19 employees of the hotel supported by the grant 20 all positions which become available after the 21 owner or operator receives funding under this 22 section for which the laid-off employees are 23 qualified, as described in subparagraph (C). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1519.IS S1519 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •S 1519 IS (B) FORM.—The policy described in this 1 subsection shall be provided to laid-off employ- 2 ees in writing— 3 (i) by registered mail to the last 4 known physical addresses of such employ- 5 ees; and 6 (ii) by email and text message to the 7 extent the owner or operator possesses 8 such information. 9 (C) QUALIFICATIONS FOR A POSITION.— 10 For purposes of this subsection, a laid-off em- 11 ployee is qualified for a position if the laid-off 12 employee— 13 (i) held the same or a similar position 14 with the hotel at which the laid-off em- 15 ployee was pre [Text truncated for display. 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