[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7777 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7777
To provide automatic forgiveness for paycheck protection program loans
under $150,000, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 24, 2020
Ms. Houlahan (for herself, Mr. Upton, Mr. Flores, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr.
Welch, Mr. Kustoff of Tennessee, Mr. Palazzo, Mr. Evans, Mr. Carter of
Texas, Mr. Rouda, Mr. Barr, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Guest, Mr. Budd, Mr.
Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Williams, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Cooper, Mr.
McCaul, Mr. David P. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr.
Balderson, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Bishop of North Carolina, and Mr.
Roy) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Small Business
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide automatic forgiveness for paycheck protection program loans
under $150,000, and for other purposes.
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 ``Paycheck Protection Small Business
Forgiveness Act''.
SEC. 2. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR PPP LOANS UNDER $150,000.
Section 1106 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136) is amended--
(1) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ``An eligible'' and inserting ``Except as
provided in subsection (m), an eligible'';
(2) in subsection (f), by inserting ``or the information
required under subsection (m), as applicable'' after
``subsection (e)'';
(3) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the following:
``(h) Hold Harmless.--
``(1) In general.--A lender may rely on all certifications
and documentation submitted by an applicant or eligible
recipient pursuant to any requirement in statute regarding
covered loans, or rules or guidance promulgated to carry out
any action relating to covered loans, from an applicant or
eligible recipient attesting that the applicant or eligible
recipient has accurately verified all documentation provided to
the lender.
``(2) No enforcement action.--With respect to a lender that
relies on the certifications and documentation described in
paragraph (1)--
``(A) no enforcement or other action may be taken
against the lender relating to loan origination,
forgiveness, or guarantee based on such reliance,
including claims under--
``(i) the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631
et seq.);
``(ii) sections 3729 through 3733 of title
31, United States Code (commonly known as the
`False Claims Act');
``(iii) the Financial Institutions Reform,
Recovery, and Enforcement Act (Public Law 101-
73);
``(iv) section 21 of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1829b), chapter 2 of
title I of Public Law 91-508 (12 U.S.C. 1951 et
seq.), and subchapter II of chapter 53 of title
31, United States Code (collectively known as
the `Bank Secrecy Act'); or
``(v) any other Federal, State, or other
criminal or civil law or regulation; and
``(B) the lender shall not be subject to any
penalties relating to loan origination, forgiveness, or
guarantee based on such reliance.''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(m) Forgiveness for Covered Loans Under $150,000.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (e), with
respect to a covered loan made to an eligible recipient that is
not more than $150,000, the covered loan amount shall be
forgiven under this section if the eligible recipient submits
to the lender a one-page online or paper form, to be
established by the Administrator, that attests that the
eligible recipient complied with the requirements under section
7(a)(36) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(36)).
Covered individuals (defined under section 4019 of this Act)
are not eligible for forgiveness under this subsection.
``(2) Hold harmless.--With respect to a lender that relies
on an attestation submitted by an eligible recipient under
paragraph (1), no enforcement action may be taken against the
lender for any falsehoods contained in the attestation.
``(3) Demographic information.--The online or paper form
established by the Administrator under paragraph (1) shall
include a means by which an eligible recipient may, at the
discretion of the eligible recipient, submit demographic
information of the owner of the eligible recipient, including
the sex, race, ethnicity, and veteran status of the owner.
``(4) Expenditure information.--The form established by the
Administrator under paragraph (1) shall include a process by
which an eligible recipient may elect to submit information
about the use of the covered loan, including indication of
whether the eligible recipient--
``(A) used 60 percent or more of the covered loan
amount for payroll costs as defined in section 7(a)(36)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(36));
``(B) used less than 60 percent of the covered loan
amount for payroll costs but is able to document an
inability to hire or rehire employees as described
under subsection (d)(7)(A); or
``(C) used less than 60 percent of the covered loan
amount for payroll costs but is able to document an
inability to return to the same level of business
activity as described under subsection (d)(7)(B).
``(n) Enforcement Action Against Borrowers.--An eligible recipient
of a covered loan may only be subject to an enforcement action or
penalty relating to loan origination, forgiveness, or guarantee of the
covered loan if the eligible recipient commits fraud or expends covered
loan proceeds on expenses that are not allowable under section
7(a)(36)(F) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(36)(F)).''.
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