[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16249-16250]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 SUPERSTORM SANDY RELIEF AND DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 
                                  2015

  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, in the small business committee, we have 
been working on significant legislation that goes to disaster recovery, 
the Superstorm Sandy Relief and Disaster Loan Program Improvement Act. 
We are ready to move that legislation and pass it through the entire 
Senate.
  Since Hurricane Katrina devastated my State of Louisiana in 2005, I 
have fought to support disaster victims and improve the efficiency and 
effectiveness of our Nation's disaster relief and recovery efforts. I 
have continued this vital focus on disaster mitigation and recovery as 
Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. I 
stand by my principle that when people are there for you, you will be 
there for them. Following my brief remarks, I will ask unanimous 
consent that the Senate pass H.R. 208, which has passed the House 
unanimously, with the Vitter amendment.
  With Superstorm Sandy, similar to after Katrina, we continued to 
see--and both the GAO and IG confirmed--significant shortcomings with 
the SBA's disaster loan programs, particularly application processing 
times and inaccurate information, which discouraged victims from 
applying for assistance. H.R. 208 reopens the SBA disaster loan program 
to those victims for one year,

[[Page 16250]]

and also includes vital reforms and oversight to the SBA's disaster 
loan program. This bill does not cost anything as the funds have 
already been appropriated but sit unused.
  The RISE After Disaster Act, which is included in my amendment, 
passed out of the Small Business Committee with unanimous support, and 
will provide long-term recovery loans to small businesses through 
community banks after SBA disaster assistance is no longer available; 
direct Federal agencies to utilize local contractors for response and 
recovery efforts, rather than government contractors from Washington, 
DC, and other areas; address contractor malfeasance, such as the 
Chinese drywall crisis, by allowing homeowners and businesses to use 
their SBA disaster loans to remediate their property; provide 
incentives for innovative firms doing research and development to stay 
in the disaster-affected area, rather than move elsewhere; and require 
the SBA to take steps to establish a web portal for disaster 
assistance, whereby applicants can track the status of applications and 
approvals, as well as submit required supporting documentation 
electronically.
  Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Sandy in 2012, and Joaquin just 
this month--along with far too many other natural disasters--have all 
illustrated the devastating effects of hurricanes and flooding on our 
communities. As Chairman of the Senate Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship Committee, I am committed to serving small businesses 
across the country and ensuring that they are afforded the resources 
and assistance in order to protect themselves from and recover after 
disasters.
  This means rigorous oversight of the SBA's disaster loan programs and 
extensive examination of economic recovery efforts, agency 
coordination, and the efficiency of disaster assistance delivery. Small 
businesses are vital to every community's economy and serve as the 
major source of jobs--one great incentive to have folks return after a 
major disaster--and is why helping them to more quickly recover is one 
of the most effective and beneficial tactics we can and should take.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship be discharged from further consideration 
of H.R. 208 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 208) to improve the disaster assistance 
     programs of the Small Business Administration.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Vitter 
amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be 
read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2747) was agreed to.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  The bill (H.R. 208), as amended, was ordered to a third reading, was 
read the third time, and passed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I congratulate Senator Vitter on the 
passage of the bill and would remark on the support for it by Senator 
Booker and Senator Menendez on our side of the aisle.

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