[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2177]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            S. 415, THE SMALL BUSINESS DISASTER RECOVERY ACT

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join the Senator from 
Louisiana in introducing the Small Business Disaster Recovery Act. The 
purpose of this bill is to streamline certain burdensome procedures for 
small businesses that are affected by a Presidentially declared 
disaster. This bill would complement provisions adopted by this body 
and enacted into law earlier this year that the Senator from Louisiana 
and I sponsored to improve FEMA procedures. Like the bill we are 
introducing today, we derived these provisions from our States' 
experiences with Hurricane Katrina. They will not cost anything, but 
they will improve government services at times when they are most 
critical.
  Through two budget-neutral provisions, this bill continues to improve 
the way we respond and recover from disasters using the lessons that we 
have learned from past disasters. Current practice dictates that small 
business owners can only use their homes as collateral for a post-
disaster loan. The legislation's first provision clarifies that the 
collateral requirement for SBA disaster loans can include business 
assets of actual value other than a primary residence. This removes a 
key obstacle to small business owners who want to restart operations 
after a disaster but are unable or unwilling to use their homes when 
they could conceivably provide sufficient business assets as collateral 
for the loan.
  The bill clearly states that these assets should be of equal or 
greater value to the amount of the loan and ensures that the Small 
Business Administration is responsive to the needs of small businesses 
seeking disaster loans less than the maximum allowable. I encourage the 
Small Business Administration to ensure that the asset requirements for 
collateral are established in a way that minimizes any potential waste, 
fraud, and abuse. This bill will maintain the traditional standards for 
appropriate collateral assets, which includes commercial real estate, 
machinery and equipment, business inventory, and furniture and 
fixtures.
  The second provision included in this legislation addresses 
assistance provided by small business development centers, or SBDCs, to 
out-of-State businesses. It seeks to repeal processes that discourage 
SBDCs to work across State lines when doing so actually makes good 
sense. Sharing resources and knowledge across State lines is essential 
when disasters overwhelm local capacity or expertise. This legislation 
has the support of the Association of Small Business Development 
Centers and the International Economic Development Council because it 
encourages such information and resource sharing.
  I am pleased to join the distinguished Senator from Louisiana in 
encouraging States and SBDC networks to formalize partnerships across 
State lines before disasters strike. We are both aware that any action 
or decision that takes place prior to a disaster is an action that does 
not waste time or resources during a time of crisis. The Emergency 
Management Assistance Compact system shows how well this can work.
  I thank the Senator from Louisiana and her staff for working with me 
and my staff to make sure that this legislation addresses the need for 
SBDCs to be properly reimbursed for work when they appropriately 
respond to concerns in another state.
  The reforms in this bill represent commonsense lessons that we have 
learned from our constituents after experiencing the effects of some of 
the most severe natural disasters in our Nation's history. I urge 
serious consideration of this legislation and invite other Senators to 
cosponsor this bill.

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