AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: The related video was published in May 2020.
Nearly 100 U.S. lawmakers signed a letter Thursday to show their support for economic relief for independent live music venues, whose bottom line has been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The letter was addressed to the U.S. House of Representatives' Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
The lawmakers are asking for targeted legislation that includes live music venues as Congress works on additional economic relief legislation in response to the pandemic.
"Live event venues were among the first to close as COVID-19 spread across the country, and they are likely to be among the last to reopen. Concerts and live events may not be possible until a vaccine is readily available to the public, which could be months away. Until that time, live event venues will remain shuttered, leaving employees without jobs and businesses without revenue. The continued closures will impact the hundreds of contractors, suppliers, and business partners that support the live entertainment industry in our states and districts," part of the letter reads.
U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, a Republican representing Texas' 25th Congressional District, which includes parts of Austin and Travis County, is helping lead the effort along with the U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, II, a Democrat representing Missouri's 5th Congressional District.
Several live music venues in the Austin area -- like Mohawk Austin, Graceland Grocery, The Carousel Lounge, Barracuda Austin, Hudson’s on Mercer and Poodie’s Roadhouse -- have indicated their support for the letter, according to a press release from Rep. Williams' office.
"Live music venues like Mohawk were the first to close and will be the last to reopen. In addition to serving as cultural hubs, independent venues are vehicles of economic vitality, employing hundreds of thousands of Texans, attracting businesses to our cities and adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the tax base. We must preserve independent venues or risk losing our cultural and economic identity as a state,” Austen Bailey of Mohawk Austin wrote.
You can read the full letter below.
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