[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 195 (Tuesday, November 28, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5911-H5913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RETURNING ERRONEOUS COVID LOANS ADDRESSING ILLEGAL AND MISAPPROPRIATED 
                           TAXPAYER FUNDS ACT

  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4667) to require the Administrator of the Small 
Business Administration to issue guidance and rules for lenders and the 
Small Business Administration on handling amounts of Paycheck 
Protection Loans returned by borrowers, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4667

       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 ``Returning Erroneous COVID 
     Loans Addressing Illegal and Misappropriated Taxpayer Funds 
     Act'' or the ``RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act''.

     SEC. 2. PAYCHECK PROTECTION LOAN RETURN GUIDANCE.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small 
     Business Administration shall issue guidance for borrowers 
     and lenders on returning any unused amounts of PPP loans made 
     to the borrower.
       (b) Guidance Requirements.--The guidance required by 
     subsection (a) shall include--
       (1) detailed guidance for borrowers on how to return to the 
     lender that made a PPP loan to the borrower the unused 
     amounts of such PPP loan;
       (2) detailed guidance for lenders regarding the 
     responsibilities of lenders, including that a lender must--
       (A) accept the return of any unused amounts of any PPP loan 
     from a borrower or any other source (including law 
     enforcement) if the lender made such PPP loan;
       (B) document the reason for the return of such unused 
     amounts, the identification number of the PPP loan, the name 
     of the borrower of the PPP loan, and the name of the person 
     returning such unused amounts if different than the borrower;
       (C) remit such unused amounts to the Administration;
       (D) make the guidance described in paragraph (1) available 
     to borrowers described in such paragraph; and
       (E) if the lender made a PPP loan, periodically certify 
     that the lender has reported and returned to the 
     Administration all unused amounts of PPP loans returned to 
     the lender;
       (3) detailed guidance for financial institutions holding 
     funds from a PPP loan on the procedure for returning such 
     funds to the Administration if the financial institution 
     suspects the borrower may be committing fraud with respect to 
     the PPP loan or any other issue for which the financial 
     institution should return the funds the Administration; and
       (4) detailed guidance for borrowers and lenders of PPP 
     loans, financial institutions described in paragraph (3), and 
     other relevant individuals and entities on complying with the 
     requirement to report to the Office of the Inspector General 
     for the Small Business Administration any information 
     indicating the occurrence of fraud with respect to a PPP 
     loan.

     SEC. 3. RETURNS HANDLING PROCESS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small 
     Business Administration shall issue guidance establishing a 
     process for the Small Business Administration to track 
     amounts of PPP loans returned to mitigate the risk of 
     financial loss to the Federal Government.
       (b) Returns Handling Process Requirements.--The process 
     established under subsection (a) shall require--
       (1) the Administration to accept returns of unused amounts 
     of PPP loans; and
       (2) the Administrator to deposit in the general fund of the 
     Treasury the unused amounts of PPP loans returned to the 
     Administration.

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
     Small Business Administration.
       (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administration of the Small Business Administration.
       (3) PPP loan.--The term ``PPP loan'' means a loan made 
     under paragraph (36) or (37) of section 7(a) of the Small 
     Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)).

     SEC. 5. COMPLIANCE WITH CUTGO.

       No additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated to 
     carry out this Act.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. 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 bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. I rise today in full support of H.R. 4667, better known as the 
RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act, introduced by Representative Salazar of the 
great State of Florida. During the COVID-19 pandemic, banks and credit 
unions stepped up to administer the Paycheck Protection Program, or 
PPP.

[[Page H5912]]

They were able to disburse over $800 billion to small businesses in 
need.
  I have said that what these financial institutions did in the early 
days of the pandemic was a reminder of the car manufacturers in World 
War II. They dedicated all their efforts to help support our Nation in 
its time of need.
  Unfortunately, as we have seen in all the pandemic lending programs, 
some opportunistic criminals took advantage of these aid efforts. 
Fraudsters were able to steal an estimated $84 billion in these PPP 
funds.
  While the SBA OIG continues to investigate many of these cases, 
lenders themselves have become aware of some of those stolen dollars 
sitting at their institutions. However, the OIG and some of these 
lenders have said there isn't any clarity on what they need to do to 
turn over these ill-gotten funds back to the government.
  This bill fixes this problem. It requires the SBA to post guidance to 
lenders on how to return fraudulent PPP funds. The SBA would also be 
required to work with the Department of Treasury to see that these 
funds are returned promptly to the taxpayers.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill to take a 
commonsense step forward in returning stolen PPP funds to the 
taxpayers.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4667, as amended, which will 
ensure any unused PPP funds are properly returned to the American 
taxpayers.
  The legislation requires SBA to issue guidance for financial 
institutions on how to return PPP funds.
  In May, the IG released a management advisory that said SBA's lack of 
guidance, regulations, and ability to account for returned PPP funds is 
an obstacle for anyone who opts to return unused PPP funds.
  Unfortunately, this has led to confusion for borrowers and lenders, 
leading some lenders to even inform borrowers that the SBA could not 
accept funds. This bill will resolve the problem by requiring SBA to 
establish clear and detailed guidance for returning PPP funds to the 
SBA.
  The legislation will also require the SBA to establish a process on 
how to deposit unused PPP funds in the Treasury Department's general 
fund.
  I thank Ms. Salazar and Mr. McGarvey for introducing this bill to 
enhance the PPP recovery process. The Federal Government needs to be a 
good steward of taxpayers' dollars, and this bill goes a long way to 
improve the Nation's fiscal health by ensuring the SBA has processes in 
place to account for returned PPP funds.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may 
consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Salazar).
  Ms. SALAZAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding his time 
and for supporting my bill.
  Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago Congress created the Paycheck Protection 
Program in the CARES Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  What was the goal of this program? To keep small businesses open and 
to keep employees on payroll.
  The intention of the PPP program was clear, and it was very good. 
Unfortunately, bad actors took advantage of it and used it to steal 
billions of dollars from all of us.
  The Small Business Administration Inspector General has reported that 
there are potentially $200 billion worth of fraudulent loans. That is 
nearly 20 percent of all COVID pandemic loans. That is appalling and 
unacceptable.
  Mr. Speaker, a time of reckoning is now coming for those who stole 
those billions of dollars from the taxpayers' funds.
  My bipartisan bill, called the RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act, would 
require the Small Business Administration, the SBA, to create detailed 
rules and guidance for borrowers and lenders to return those stolen 
funds back to the United States Treasury Department.
  My district, the city of Miami, is home to thousands and thousands of 
small businesses, including some of the best restaurants in this 
country. Let's continue to support hardworking small businesses while 
punishing those bad actors. We can definitely do both.
  H.R. 4667 is the right step to regain government accountability in a 
bipartisan effort.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my Democrat friend from Kentucky, Mr. McGarvey, 
for introducing this bill with me, and I encourage my colleagues to 
vote in support of H.R. 4667, which puts Americans first by ensuring 
that criminals are not stealing our constituents' money.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. McGarvey), the ranking member of the 
Innovation Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development Subcommittee.
  Mr. McGARVEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4667, the 
RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act, which I am proud to co-lead alongside 
Representative Salazar. I am grateful for her partnership on this 
bipartisan bill, and I am glad to see it come to the floor today.

  Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. That is 
definitely true in my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and was on full 
display this past weekend as Louisvillians were encouraged to shop 
local and go and see our wonderful small business community.
  As I visited small businesses from Saint Matthews to NuLu to West 
Louisville, I reflected on where we were, where these small businesses 
were just a few short years ago. I was reminded of earlier this year 
when we had Small Business Administrator Guzman come to Louisville and 
meet with small business owners from across my district.
  We had listening sessions, and we heard the same message over and 
over again. That is what these businessowners told us. They told us 
they wouldn't be here today because they wouldn't have survived the 
pandemic if it weren't for the Paycheck Protection Program and other 
COVID relief programs.
  PPP worked. It worked. It was a success. It is the reason we still 
have towns across this country full of vibrant, independent, local 
business. Nevertheless, in order to get that money out the door as 
quickly as possible, the previous administration loosened the 
guardrails designed to prevent fraud. That opened the door for bad 
actors to take advantage of the program.
  There were people who flatout lied to obtain PPP loans. There were 
others who received more than they deserved; some who received more 
even through good-faith errors.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to get that money back. That is why the 
Department of Justice and the SBA are working to prosecute those who 
took advantage of the program and recover stolen funds.
  To date, there have been hundreds of arrests and convictions related 
to COVID relief fraud, and they have recovered billions of dollars.
  We must have clear processes in place as this money comes back to 
lenders and to the SBA. That is why this bill requires the SBA to issue 
guidance and rules for lenders, for borrowers, and for the SBA itself 
on handling PPP loans that are returned.
  H.R. 4667 is a commonsense bill that will establish these clear rules 
for the road and ensure that taxpayer dollars do not go to waste. It is 
a necessary step in the right direction as we continue our recovery 
from the pandemic.
  I thank Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Velazquez, and 
Congresswoman Salazar for their leadership and support of this bill, 
and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4667.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, the RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act requires 
SBA to establish clear guidance for borrowers, lenders, and financial 
institutions on how to return PPP funds. It will ensure best practices 
are in place in the event of another global catastrophe.
  I thank Representative Salazar and Mr. McGarvey for their effort, and 
I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, as amended.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the COVID-19 
pandemic broke the SBA, and as a result, American taxpayers and our 
Nation's

[[Page H5913]]

small businesses have had to foot the bill for the hundreds of billions 
of dollars in stolen funds.
  I thank Representative Salazar for introducing H.R. 4667 as it 
creates a much-needed accountability and transparency with the SBA as 
we work to retrieve the taxpayer dollars wrongfully lost.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join 
us in our fight to reclaim these stolen funds and unanimously support 
H.R. 4667.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4667, as amended.
  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. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the 
ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a 
quorum is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________