[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 208 Engrossed in House (EH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 208

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To improve the disaster assistance programs of the Small Business 
                            Administration.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Superstorm Sandy Relief and Disaster 
Loan Program Improvement Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 2012, Superstorm Sandy caused substantial physical 
        and economic damage to the United States, and New York in 
        particular.
            (2) For businesses and homeowners, the primary means of 
        obtaining long-term Federal financial assistance in the wake of 
        disasters such as Superstorm Sandy is through the Small 
        Business Administration's Disaster Loan Program.
            (3) With regard to the Small Business Administration's 
        operation of the Disaster Loan Program after Superstorm Sandy, 
        the Government Accountability Office found that the 
        Administration did not meet its timeliness goals for processing 
        business loan applications.
            (4) According to the Government Accountability Office, the 
        Small Business Administration stated that it was challenged by 
        an unexpectedly high volume of loan applications that it 
        received early in its response to Superstorm Sandy.
            (5) As a result, many businesses and homeowners affected by 
        Superstorm Sandy were unable to apply for financing from the 
        Small Business Administration.

SEC. 3. REVISED DISASTER DEADLINE.

    Section 7(d) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(d)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) Disaster loans for superstorm sandy.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other 
                provision of law, and subject to the same requirements 
                and procedures that are used to make loans pursuant to 
                subsection (b), a small business concern, homeowner, or 
                renter that was located within an area and during the 
                time period with respect to which a major disaster was 
                declared by the President under section 401 of the 
                Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) by reason of Superstorm 
                Sandy may apply to the Administrator--
                            ``(i) for a loan to repair, rehabilitate, 
                        or replace property damaged or destroyed by 
                        reason of Superstorm Sandy; or
                            ``(ii) if such a small business concern has 
                        suffered substantial economic injury by reason 
                        of Superstorm Sandy, for a loan to assist such 
                        a small business concern.
                    ``(B) Timing.--The Administrator shall select loan 
                recipients and make available loans for a period of not 
                less than 1 year after the date on which the 
                Administrator carries out this authority.''.

SEC. 4. USE OF PHYSICAL DAMAGE DISASTER LOANS TO CONSTRUCT SAFE ROOMS.

    Section 7(b)(1)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
636(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``mitigating measures'' and all 
that follows through ``modifying structures'' and inserting the 
following: ``mitigating measures, including--
                    ``(i) construction of retaining walls and sea 
                walls;
                    ``(ii) grading and contouring land; and
                    ``(iii) relocating utilities and modifying 
                structures, including construction of a safe room or 
                similar storm shelter designed to protect property and 
                occupants from tornadoes or other natural disasters''.

SEC. 5. COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.

    Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is 
amended by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
            ``(10) Collateral requirements for small businesses.--In 
        the case of a loan made pursuant to this subsection in an 
        amount not greater than $250,000, the Administrator may not 
        require a borrower to pledge his or her primary residence as 
        collateral if--
                    ``(A) other collateral exists, including assets 
                related to the operation of a business; and
                    ``(B) such an option does not delay the 
                Administrator's processing of disaster applications for 
                a disaster.''.

SEC. 6. REDUCING DELAYS ON CLOSING AND DISBURSEMENT OF LOANS.

    Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is 
further amended by inserting after paragraph (10) (as added by section 
5) the following:
            ``(11) Reducing closing and disbursement delays.--The 
        Administrator shall provide a clear and concise notification on 
        all application materials for loans made under this subsection 
        and on relevant websites notifying an applicant that the 
        applicant may submit all documentation necessary for the 
        approval of the loan at the time of application and that 
        failure to submit all documentation could delay the approval 
        and disbursement of the loan.''.

SEC. 7. INCREASING TRANSPARENCY IN LOAN APPROVALS.

    Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is 
further amended by inserting after paragraph (11) (as added by section 
6) the following:
            ``(12) Increasing transparency in loan approvals.--The 
        Administrator shall establish and implement clear, written 
        policies and procedures for analyzing the ability of a loan 
        applicant to repay a loan made under this subsection.''.

SEC. 8. SAFEGUARDING TAXPAYERS' INTERESTS.

    Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is 
further amended by inserting after paragraph (12) (as added by section 
7) the following:
            ``(13) Ensuring accountability in loan approvals.--The 
        Administrator shall establish requirements for the approval of 
        economic injury disaster loan assistance made available 
        pursuant to paragraph (2), which shall include the review of 
        applicant eligibility and shall require that all supporting 
        documentation is submitted prior to loan approval. The 
        Administrator shall require that personnel involved in the 
        approval of such loans be trained on such procedures.''.

SEC. 9. DISASTER PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

    Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is 
further amended by inserting after paragraph (13) (as added by section 
8) the following:
            ``(14) Reporting on disaster performance measures.--The 
        Administrator shall report the average processing time for all 
        other disaster loan applications, including disaggregated data 
        on disaster loan applications that were declined by the 
        Administration's automated disaster processing system and 
        applications in which the Administrator performed loss 
        verification. For each disaster described in paragraph (2), the 
        Administrator shall report such average processing times on its 
        website and to the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and 
        Entrepreneurship of the Senate.''.

SEC. 10. DISASTER PLAN IMPROVEMENTS.

     The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall 
revise the comprehensive written disaster response plan required in 
section 40 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657l), or any successor 
thereto, to incorporate the Administration's response to a situation in 
which an extreme volume of applications are received during the period 
of time immediately after a disaster, which shall include a plan to 
ensure that sufficient human and technological resources are made 
available and a plan to prevent delays in loan processing.

SEC. 11. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN PROGRAMS.

    (a) Initial Report.--The Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration shall report to Congress not later than 30 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act on the implementation and status of 
the private disaster loan program established in section 7(c) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(c)), the Immediate Disaster 
Assistance program established in section 42 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
657n), and the expedited disaster assistance business loan program 
established in section 12085 of the Small Business Disaster Response 
and Loan Improvements Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 636j).
    (b) Required Consultation With Depository Institutions and Credit 
Unions.--The Administrator shall require the Associate Administrator 
for the Office of Disaster Assistance to consult with depository 
institutions (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Act (12 U.S.C. 1813)) and credit unions regarding their potential 
participation in any of the programs described in subsection (a).
    (c) Report on Consultation.--Not later than 6 months after date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall report to Congress on 
the consultation required under subsection (b).

            Passed the House of Representatives July 13, 2015.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
114th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 208

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

   To improve the disaster assistance programs of the Small Business 
                            Administration.