[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1811 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 254
114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1811

 To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to 
 establish a program to make loans to certain businesses, homeowners, 
               and renters affected by Superstorm Sandy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 21, 2015

   Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mr. 
    Booker) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

                            October 8, 2015

                Reported by Mr. Vitter, with amendments
  [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to 
 establish a program to make loans to certain businesses, homeowners, 
               and renters affected by Superstorm Sandy.

    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,  
                nonprofit entity, 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 begins carrying out this 
                authority.
                    ``(C) Inspector general review.--Not later than 6 
                months after the date on which the Administrator begins 
                carrying out this authority, the Inspector General of 
                the Administration shall initiate a review of the 
                controls for ensuring applicant eligibility for loans 
                made under this paragraph.''.

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, if 
                such safe room or similar storm shelter is constructed 
                in accordance with applicable standards issued by the 
                Federal Emergency Management Agency''.

<DELETED>SEC. 5. COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL BUSINESS 
              CONCERNS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) 
is amended by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) other collateral exists, including 
                assets related to the operation of a business; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) such an option does not delay the 
                Administrator's processing of disaster applications for 
                a disaster.''.</DELETED>

SEC. 65. 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 (9) (10) (as added by 
section 5) the following:
            ``(11)(10) 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.''.

<DELETED>SEC. 7. INCREASING TRANSPARENCY IN LOAN APPROVALS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    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:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 8. SAFEGUARDING TAXPAYERS' INTERESTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    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:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 9. DISASTER PERFORMANCE MEASURES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    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:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.''.</DELETED>

SEC. 106. 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.

<DELETED>SEC. 11. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN 
              PROGRAMS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (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).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Report on Consultation.--Not later than 6 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall report to 
Congress on the consultation required under subsection (b).</DELETED>
                                                       Calendar No. 254

114th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                S. 1811

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to 
 establish a program to make loans to certain businesses, homeowners, 
               and renters affected by Superstorm Sandy.

_______________________________________________________________________

                            October 8, 2015

                        Reported with amendments