In case you missed it, MarketWatch wrote about the ongoing struggles that community gyms and fitness facilities are facing and how the GYMS Act, a necessary piece of legislation that will provide gym owners with specific support, could become part of the infrastructure package that is set to pass in Congress later this year.
The bipartisan GYMS Act, which currently has over 80 co-sponsors, will help preserve America’s health and fitness infrastructure. This is important given that data shows existing federal relief programs have failed to help small gyms and fitness studios, with nearly two thirds of owners saying existing programs have not been useful.
Washington has delivered aid to industries hammered by the COVID-19 crisis, with the relief ranging from $28.6 billion for restaurants to $16 billion for performance venues.
Operators of gyms, fitness centers and related facilities haven’t secured that type of targeted assistance. But their advocates are hoping that the GYMS Act, a bill that would provide $30 billion in aid, could end up becoming part of a huge infrastructure package that looks poised to pass later this year through a process known as budget reconciliation.
“I think that this is a great candidate for the infrastructure package because fitness facilities are an essential part of our health and fitness infrastructure,” Brett Ewer, part of the Community Gyms Coalition and head of government relations at CrossFit, told MarketWatch. “They are the front line of primary prevention. If you look at the data on COVID mortality, it’s highly, highly linked with obesity, and obesity responds to exercise.”
Read the full article here.
###