[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 188 (Monday, December 5, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8741-H8742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES ACT

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 1617) to modify the requirements for the Administrator of the 
Small Business Administration relating to declaring a disaster in a 
rural area, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1617

       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 ``Disaster Assistance for 
     Rural Communities Act''.

     SEC. 2. DISASTER DECLARATION IN RURAL AREAS.

       (a) In General.--Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 
     U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (15) 
     the following:
       ``(16) Disaster declaration in rural areas.--
       ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
       ``(i) the term `rural area' means any county or other 
     political subdivision of a State, the District of Columbia, 
     or a territory or possession of the United States that is 
     designated as a rural area by the Bureau of the Census; and
       ``(ii) the term `significant damage' means, with respect to 
     property, uninsured losses of not less than 40 percent of the 
     estimated fair replacement value or pre-disaster fair market 
     value of the damaged property, whichever is lower.
       ``(B) Disaster declaration.--For the purpose of making 
     loans under paragraph (1) or (2), the Administrator may 
     declare a disaster in a rural area for 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) and for which individual assistance was not 
     authorized under section 408 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) 
     if--
       ``(i) the Governor of the State or the Chief Executive of 
     the Indian tribal government in which the rural area is 
     located requests such a declaration; and
       ``(ii) any home, small business concern, private nonprofit 
     organization, or small agricultural cooperative has incurred 
     significant damage in the rural area.
       ``(C) SBA report.--Not later than 120 days after the date 
     of enactment of this paragraph, and every year thereafter, 
     the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small 
     Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee 
     on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report 
     on, with respect to the 1-year period preceding submission of 
     the report--
       ``(i) any economic injury that resulted from a major 
     disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the 
     Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) in a rural area;
       ``(ii) each request for assistance made by the Governor of 
     a State or the Chief Executive of an Indian tribal government 
     under subparagraph (B)(i) and the response of the 
     Administrator, including the timeline for each response; and
       ``(iii) any regulatory changes that will impact the ability 
     of communities in rural areas to obtain disaster assistance 
     under this subsection.''.
       (b) Regulations.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small 
     Business Administration shall issue regulations to carry out 
     the amendment made by subsection (a).
       (c) GAO Report.--
       (1) Definition of rural area.--In this subsection, the term 
     ``rural area'' means any county or other political 
     subdivision of a State, the District of Columbia, or a 
     territory or possession of the United States that is 
     designated as a rural area by the Bureau of the Census.
       (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and 
     Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small 
     Business of the House of Representatives a report on--
       (A) any unique challenges that communities in rural areas 
     face compared to communities in urbanized areas when seeking 
     to obtain disaster assistance under section 7(b) of the Small 
     Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)); and
       (B) legislative recommendations for improving access to 
     disaster assistance for communities in rural areas.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Velazquez) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Luetkemeyer) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1617, the Disaster Assistance 
for Rural Communities Act. This bill will close a loophole in the Small 
Business Administration's disaster lending program, which 
disproportionately impacts homeowners and businesses located in remote 
rural areas.
  Although people assume SBA only provides assistance to small 
businesses after a declared disaster, the opposite is true. In fact, 
according to CRS, approximately 80 percent of SBA disaster loans were 
awarded to individuals and households rather than businesses.
  SBA's disaster lending program has been an important tool that helps 
not only businessowners, but also homeowners and renters rebuild after 
disasters and emergencies.
  Under the current law, when the President declares a disaster under 
the Stafford Act, but does not authorize individual assistance, the SBA 
must declare a disaster for an individual to apply for a loan.
  Yet, for SBA to declare a disaster, a minimum amount of physical 
damage must be sustained by a certain number of homes and businesses in 
a county or smaller political subdivision. This policy hurts remote 
rural areas because SBA cannot declare a disaster if a minimum number 
of homes or businesses aren't damaged or destroyed.
  This outdated policy is hurting some of our most vulnerable citizens. 
We must close this loophole, especially as major disasters become more 
prevalent and destructive due to climate change.
  In 2021, the United States experienced 20 separate billion-dollar 
weather and climate disasters, which caused $145 billion in damage.
  This bill addresses this issue by allowing SBA to declare a disaster 
in any rural area in which a major disaster has been declared by the 
President but individual assistance hasn't been authorized under the 
Stafford Act. It is critical that SBA disaster lending programs be 
available to all individuals, no matter where they reside or where they 
operate their business.
  I thank Senators Risch, Shaheen, Hassan, Kennedy, and Braun for their 
leadership on this important measure. I also thank Mr. Golden, who 
introduced a companion bill on the House side.

[[Page H8742]]

  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1617, the Disaster Assistance 
for Rural Communities Act.
  Whether it is a hurricane, tornado, fire, or flood, we are all too 
familiar with a natural disaster's devastating impact on our 
communities and constituents. Following a disaster, the SBA provides 
valuable services and loans to businesses and homes affected.
  Due to the rural areas being sparsely populated, they are often 
outliers when it comes to disaster assistance. This important 
legislation corrects this unintended consequence by creating a rural 
category for SBA-declared disasters.
  Additionally, the legislation requires the Government Accountability 
Office, GAO, to report on how rural areas are specifically impacted by 
disasters, and the legislation requires the SBA to annually report on 
all rural disaster declarations.
  Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy in rural 
communities, and we must ensure that they have the ability to receive 
SBA assistance when a disaster strikes.
  I thank my Senate colleagues for their support for rural communities 
and their work on this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1617 will provide rural areas with enhanced 
eligibility for SBA-disaster-declared loans. This bipartisan bill takes 
an important step to aid rural communities and small businesses when a 
disaster strikes.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1617 passed the Senate in September, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  This legislation to update SBA's policy to provide assistance to 
homeowners and businesses in remote rural areas is long overdue. 
Individuals affected by natural disasters need SBA assistance now more 
than ever, particularly with the threat of major disasters due to 
climate change.
  A business' location shouldn't determine their eligibility for aid in 
the wake of a natural disaster. Simply put, it is not fair for SBA 
loans to be available for individuals impacted by a tornado or flood in 
an urban area, but not a remote rural area just because the number of 
properties damaged by the disaster didn't meet an arbitrary threshold.
  The SBA's disaster lending program has been an essential tool helping 
people get back on their feet after a disaster and the program should 
be available to help as many people as possible.
  I thank Ranking Member Luetkemeyer for working with me to get this 
bill passed today.
  In the 117th Congress, Representative Luetkemeyer joined the 
committee as the ranking member, and while we may not have always seen 
eye to eye, we were able to set aside our differences to bring more 
than 20 bipartisan bills to the floor, including legislation to extend 
the statute of limitations for fraud cases involving PPP and COVID 
EIDL.
  The spirit of bipartisanship has always been central to the day-to-
day operations of the committee. I look forward to continuing this 
tradition. American small businesses deserve nothing less.
  I once again thank the members of the committee and their staff who 
have worked tirelessly through this Congress to aid small business 
owners and entrepreneurs throughout the country. I am incredibly proud 
of all the work our committee has done to support small businesses when 
they needed it the most.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on S. 1617, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 1617.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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