KNOXVILLE, TN – PLSN and FOH are once again joining Bandit Lites chair Michael T. Strickland in calling on everyone in our live event industry to reach out to their representatives in Congress for an expansion in PPP funding. Strickland notes that the PPP application extension to Aug. 8 and the PPP Flexibility Act that became law July 4 and July 5 are welcome enhancements, but they do NOT add funding. “That will [hopefully] come in the next session, before July 30,” he noted. To help that come to pass, it’s time to reach out to Congress.
Below is the letter you need to copy, paste and e-mail to your Congresspeople and Senators. Please use the link provided below to locate your Congresspeople and Senators.
Go to their website (listed below).
Insert their name at the top of the letter, then your name address and phone at the bottom of the letter.
Then cut and paste the letter into the box provided on the legislators website and send.
The link will guide you to them https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
The letter to copy is below
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July 5, 2020
Dear Senator / Congressperson XXXXXXX,
I am writing you concerning the survival of the Live Entertainment Production Industry. Please consider the following:
PPP EXPANSION FOR LIVE ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION INDUSTRY
The Live Entertainment Production Industry is a 38 billion dollar a year industry with over 10 million people working in the industry.
The Live Entertainment Production Industry will have zero income until January 2021.
To survive, the Live Entertainment Production Industry must have the following PPP Expansion from the SBA.
An additional 20-week PPP fund to be provided to all firms that received the initial PPP. This will allow firms to pay employees until December 31, 2020
This funding needs to be in the hands of the industry by August 14, 2020.
Full liability protection from all COVID 19 legal actions.
The new tranche of PPP will not require any additional vetting, but simply the execution of new notes under the same conditions as the original notes. This new PPP is needed for all the Live Entertainment Production Industry firms to survive while at zero income.
Absent this relief, the entire industry will cease to exist.
Time is of the essence as the original PPP funding expired June 15, 2020.
