It's been eight months since the Restaurant Revitalization Fund ran out of money. Even though pandemic restrictions have eased, many U.S. restaurants still struggle because of the ongoing effects of COVID-19.

“They provided relief to some restaurants and that’s incredible, that is great, those businesses can pay some of the higher wages but then you have businesses who have basically been struggling,” NYC Hospitality Alliance Executive Director Andrew Rigie told Yahoo Finance Friday. "Not replenishing the revitalization fund has picked winners and losers and it makes it very difficult.”

Now, as Congress tries to pass a massive agenda before the upcoming Easter break, lawmakers are negotiating options to provide more relief for restaurants. The options under consideration on Capitol Hill include a stand-alone bill for restaurants and other small businesses as well as adding money directly to a $10 billion COVID-relief bill that's nearing passage.

The new movement in Washington comes as the hospitality industry struggles with hiring. There were 11.5 million people employed in food services and drinking places in March 2022, according to Friday's jobs report. That's still well below the 12.4 million employed in the industry on the eve of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, a recent report from the National Restaurant Association found restaurant employment down in most areas with only seven states having seen restaurant employment return to pre-pandemic levels.

Restaurants ‘require immediate relief’

"With restaurants, hotels, and other sectors hit the hardest during the pandemic leading this jobs surge, it is imperative that we use all available resources to keep COVID-19 on the decline," House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) said Friday.

The way aid would be dispersed is still under debate, according to Punchbowl News. The money could replenish the existing Restaurant Revitalization Fund or perhaps target only restaurants that qualified for aid last time around but didn’t receive money before the fund ran dry.

Lawmakers and their aides are set to work throughout the weekend to determine how — or if — they can make a run at passing the money before Congress's Easter recess begins next Friday.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) has pushed for more help to restaurants. “For the last two years of the pandemic, nearly all restaurants have been under great strain,” he said at a hearing Wednesday. “There are still hundreds of thousands of restaurants and other hard-hit small businesses that require immediate relief.”

Forty-four House Democrats recently sent a letter to House Leadership asking that help for restaurant, fitness, hospitality, live events, and travel industries be prioritized in the COVID bill. The signers said they would hesitate to support legislation that did not include that aid.

‘Two steps back with every variant’

According to the National Restaurant Association, 177,000 restaurants were approved but then never received grants as the Restaurant Revitalization Fund ran out of funds.

“The pandemic is over for much of the economy, but small business restaurant owners have taken two steps back with every variant,” Sean Kennedy, a spokesperson for the association, recently stated.

Restaurateur Bo Peabody, co-owner of the New York-based Mezze Restaurant Group and a board member of Boqueria Restaurants, told Yahoo Finance that while “more money for the industry is great,” smaller restaurants will likely need assistance filling out the necessary forms to actually access that cash.

Brooke DiPalma is a producer and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.

Ben Werschkul is a writer and producer for Yahoo Finance in Washington, DC.

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