A technical snag is delaying the delivery of more than $16 billion allocated by Congress to help entertainment venues shuttered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant was passed by lawmakers last year after extensive lobbying by the National Independent Venue Association and other players in the entertainment industry. Grants are available to entertainment venues such as movie theaters, music halls and comedy clubs as well as certain museums, zoos and aquariums.

The program is run by the Small Business Administration but the online portal where users go to apply for aid crashed on its first day, April 8, and has been down since. The agency said on its website it is seeking to get the portal up and running by the end of the week.

The situation has improved from a few days ago when the agency couldn't provide any clarity about when the portal would be back up. That lack of certainty put venues with bills to pay in a tough spot, according to Politico.

"We're grateful for this focus and sense of urgency and look forward to seeing the updated user guide and the program back online this week, because we're hearing from more small businesses that are going to have to call it quits because they cannot hold out any longer, all the while $16 billion is waiting to save them," Audrey Fix Schaefer, Audrey Fix Schaefer, a NIVA board member, told the newspaper.

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