False: Restaurants owned by white men in the U.S will be the last to receive funding under President Biden's Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

By: Rachel Muller-Heyndyk
May 7 2021

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The Restaurant Revitalization Fund will prioritize women, veterans, and socially or economically disadvantaged individuals in its first 21 days. An article on the far-right website Breitbart News states that President Biden's Restaurant Revitilization Fund will "prioritize applicants according to gender and race", with white men left last in line to receive funding. The article, which was also reported by the fake news site Gateway Pundit, asserts that white Americans had been discriminated against based on "the color of their skin". In response, Republican commentator Ann Coulter tweeted that the Democrats are "explicitly anti-white" in their actions. There is no evidence to substantiate these claims, as there is nothing to suggest that white men will not be considered for the funding. The bill, which will provide $28.6 billion in funding for restaurants hit by financial problems due to COVID-19, states that it will prioritize women owned businesses, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. According to the U.S Small Business Association, the bill defines socially disadvantaged individuals as those who have been subjected to "racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity" and economically disadvantaged individuals as "those socially disadvantaged individuals whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired due to diminished capital or credit opportunities." The stories in Breitbart and Gateway Pundit fail to account for the fact that it is possible for white men to fall under either or both of these categories. Furthermore, individuals from these groups will be prioritized for the first 21 days of the program. After this date, everyone will be able to apply for the program, with all applicants allocated funding on a first come, first serve basis. The grants given are equal to losses restaurants experienced during the pandemic, covering up to $10 million per business group. According to CBS, of the applications received in the first two days of the program, roughly a third, or 61,700, came from businesses with less than $500,000 in annual revenue before the COVD-19 pandemic. The Restaurant Revilitilization Fund was passed on on 3 May 2021, as part of the Biden administration's American Rescue Plan.