1.This Act may be cited as
the Small Business Disaster Recovery
Assistance Improvement Act of 2007
.
2.Business
expedited disaster assistance loan program
(a)In
this section—
(1)the terms
Administration and Administrator mean the Small
Business Administration and the Administrator thereof, respectively;
(2)the term
immediate disaster assistance means assistance provided during the
period beginning on the date on which a disaster declaration is made and ending
on the date that an impacted small business concern is able to secure funding
through insurance claims, Federal assistance programs, or other sources;
(3)the term
program means the expedited disaster assistance business loan
program established under subsection (b); and
(4)the term
small business concern has the meaning given that term in section
3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
(b)The Administrator shall take such administrative action
as is necessary to establish and implement an expedited disaster assistance
business loan program to provide small business concerns with immediate
disaster assistance under section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
636(b)).
(c)In establishing the program, the Administrator shall
consult with—
(1)appropriate
personnel of the Administration (including District Office personnel of the
Administration);
(2)appropriate
technical assistance providers (including small business development
centers);
(3)appropriate
lenders and credit unions;
(4)the Committee on
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
(5)the Committee on
Small Business of the House of Representatives.
(d)
(1)Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Administrator shall promulgate rules establishing and implementing the
program in accordance with this section. Such rules shall apply as provided for
in this section, beginning 90 days after their issuance in final form.
(2)The
rules promulgated under paragraph (1) shall—
(A)identify whether
appropriate uses of funds under the program may include—
(i)paying
employees;
(ii)paying bills and
other financial obligations;
(iii)making
repairs;
(iv)purchasing
inventory;
(v)restarting or
operating a small business concern in the community in which it was conducting
operations prior to the declared disaster, or to a neighboring area, county, or
parish in the disaster area; or
(vi)covering
additional costs until the small business concern is able to obtain funding
through insurance claims, Federal assistance programs, or other sources;
and
(B)set the terms and
conditions of any loan made under the program, subject to paragraph (3).
(3)A loan made by the Administration under this
section—
(A)shall be a
short-term loan, not to exceed 180 days, except that the Administrator may
extend such term as the Administrator determines necessary or appropriate on a
case-by-case basis;
(B)shall have an
interest rate not to exceed 1 percentage point above the prime rate of interest
that a private lender may charge;
(C)shall have no
prepayment penalty;
(D)may be refinanced
as part of any subsequent disaster assistance provided under section 7(b) of
the Small Business Act; and
(E)shall be subject
to such additional terms as the Administrator determines necessary or
appropriate.
(e)Not later than 5 months after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Administrator shall report to the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House
of Representatives on the progress of the Administrator in establishing the
program.
(f)There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator such sums as are
necessary to carry out this section.