1.This Act may be cited as the
Gulf Coast Back to Business Act of
2007
.
2.Congress finds that—
(1)43 percent of
businesses that close following a natural disaster never reopen;
(2)an additional 29
percent of businesses close down permanently within 2 years of a natural
disaster;
(3)Hurricane Katrina
struck the Gulf Coast of the United States on August 29, 2005, negatively
impacting small business concerns and disrupting commerce in the States of
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama;
(4)Hurricane Rita
struck the Gulf Coast of the United States on September 24, 2005, negatively
impacting small business concerns and disrupting commerce in the States of
Texas and Louisiana;
(5)according to the
United States Chamber of Commerce, more than 125,000 small- and medium-sized
businesses in the Gulf Coast were disrupted by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane
Rita;
(6)due to a slow
initial Federal response and the widespread devastation in the affected States,
businesses impacted by Hurricane Katrina are in dire need of increased access
to capital and technical assistance to recover and prosper; and
(7)without the full
recovery and prosperity of affected businesses, the Gulf Coast, and the rest of
the United States, will be negatively impacted.
3.In this Act—
(1)the term
Disaster Area means an area in which the President has declared a
major disaster in response to Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of
2005;
(2)the term
major disaster has the meaning given that term in section 102 of
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5122); and
(3)the term
small business concern has the meaning given that term in section
3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
4.Small business concern
recovery grants
(a)There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
of Commerce $100,000,000 for the Economic Development Administration of the
Department of Commerce to make grants to the appropriate State government
agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi, to carry out this section.
(b)
(1)Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of Commerce shall
disburse the funds authorized under subsection (a) as follows:
(A)$75,000,000 to
the State of Louisiana.
(B)$25,000,000 to
the State of Mississippi.
(2)Regardless of the amount appropriated under subsection
(a), the amount appropriated shall be allocated among the States listed in
paragraph (1) of this subsection in direct proportion to the allocation under
that paragraph.
(c)
(1)Grants awarded to a State under subsection (a) shall be
used by the State to provide grants, which may be made to any small business
concern located in a Disaster Area that was negatively impacted by Hurricane
Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005, to assist such small business
concern for the purposes of—
(A)paying
employees;
(B)paying bills,
insurance costs, and other existing financial obligations;
(C)making
repairs;
(D)purchasing
inventory;
(E)restarting or
operating that business in the community in which it was conducting operations
prior to Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005, or to a
neighboring area or county or parish in a Disaster Area;
(F)compensating such
small business concerns for direct economic injury suffered as a result of
Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005; or
(G)covering
additional costs until that small business concern is able to obtain funding
through insurance claims, Federal assistance programs, or other sources.
(2)
(A)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in making
grants under paragraph (1), a State may use such criteria as the State
determines appropriate, and shall not be required to apply eligibility criteria
for programs administered by the Federal Government, including the Department
of Commerce.
(B)In
making grants under paragraph (1), a State may not exclude a small business
concern based on any increase in the revenue of that small business concern
during the 12-month period beginning on October 1, 2005.
(3)The Department of Commerce may use not more than
$1,500,000 of the funds authorized under subsection (a) to administer the
provision of grants to the designated States under this subsection.
5.Disaster loans
after Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita
(a)Section 7(b) of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b))
is amended by inserting immediately after paragraph (3) the following:
(4)Disaster loans
after Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita in a disaster area
(A)In
this paragraph—
(i)the term
Disaster Area means an area in which the President has declared a
major disaster in response to Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of
2005; and
(ii)the term
qualified borrower means a person to whom the Administrator made a
loan under this section because of Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita
of 2005.
(B)Deferment of
disaster loan payments
(i)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, payments of
principal and interest on a loan to a qualified borrower made before December
31, 2006, shall be deferred, and no interest shall accrue with respect to such
loan, during the time period described in clause (ii).
(ii)The time period for purposes of clause (i) shall be 1 year
from the later of the date of enactment of this paragraph or the date on which
funds are distributed under a loan described in clause (i), but may be extended
to 2 years from such date, at the discretion of the Administrator.
(iii)At the end of the time period described in clause (ii),
the payment of periodic installments of principal and interest shall be
required with respect to such loan, in the same manner and subject to the same
terms and conditions as would otherwise be applicable to any other loan made
under this
subsection.
.
(b)Increasing
collateral requirements
(1)Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, including section 7(c)(6) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 636(c)(6)), the Administrator may not require collateral for any covered
loan made by the Administrator.
(2)In
this subsection, the term covered loan means a loan in an amount
of not more than $35,000 made—
(A)under section
7(b)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1));
(B)as a result of
Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005; and
(C)after the date of
enactment of this Act.
6.
(a)Section 3(p) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 632(p)) is amended—
(1)in paragraph
(1)—
(A)in subparagraph
(D), by striking or
;
(B)in subparagraph
(E), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; or
;
and
(C)by adding at the
end the following:
(F)an area in which
the President has declared a major disaster (as that term is defined in section
102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5122)) as a result of Hurricane Katrina of August 2005 or Hurricane Rita
of September 2005, during the time period described in paragraph
(8).
;
and
(2)by adding at the
end the following:
(8)The time period for the purposes of paragraph
(1)(F)—
(A)shall be the
2-year period beginning on the later of the date of enactment of this paragraph
and August 29, 2007; and
(B)may, at the
discretion of the Administrator, be extended to be the 3-year period beginning
on the later of the date of enactment of this paragraph and August 29,
2007.
.
(b)Section 711(d)
of the Small Business Competitive Demonstration Program Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C.
644 note) is amended—
(1)by striking The Program
and
inserting the following:
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Program
;
and
(2)by adding at the end the following:
(2)
(A)The Program shall not
apply to any contract related to relief or reconstruction from Hurricane
Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005 during the time period described in
subparagraph (B).
(B)The time period for the purposes of subparagraph
(A)—
(i)shall be the
2-year period beginning on the later of the date of enactment of this paragraph
and August 29, 2007; and
(ii)may, at the
discretion of the Administrator, be extended to be the 3-year period beginning
on the later of the date of enactment of this paragraph and August 29,
2007.
.