U.S. Government Affairs

The IAEM board has endorsed three SBA bills that Congressman Neguse (D-CO) is introducing:

• The Natural Disaster Loan Interest Relief Act (text attached) would waive the accrual of interest and payments for certain disaster loans for a year from the date the loan is issued. SBA implemented this policy in 2022 and this bill would simply codify that change. Rep. Ciscomani (R-AZ) is co-leading the bill.  

• The Small Business Disaster Damage Fairness Act (text attached) would increase the minimum disaster loan amount from $14,000 to $50,000 as the threshold loan amount in which the SBA may require collateral to secure a loan. This means that borrowers would not need to provide collateral unless their loan amount exceeds $50,000. This will help more individuals access loans after disasters when they are unlikely to have sources for collateral. The increase would ensure more homeowners and small business owners can rebuild damaged property after disaster strikes. Many private lenders currently offer unsecured loans of $100,000. Rep. Obernolte (R-CA) is co-leading the bill. 

• The Disaster Loan Application Flexibility Act (text attached) would modify application deadlines and communication requirements for SBA disaster loans following a disaster declaration. Currently, the SBA requires homeowners, businesses, renters, and nonprofit organizations to apply for disaster assistance within two to three months of the disaster declaration. However, for many individuals, that is an insufficient amount of time because of the obstacles they face after a disaster. Many have also expressed they were unaware they would need the loan until far after the deadline. This bill would alleviate these pain points by extending the deadline of applications, having the SBA run public awareness campaigns in affected areas to better educate individuals on the application process, and ensuring the members of Congress who represent the district stay informed and receive regular updates. These changes would help the SBA better serve individuals and small business owners in the aftermath of disaster. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) is co-leading the bill.

Attachment(s)

SBA Disaster Bill One Pager-41- (7).pdf   706 KB 1 version

NEGUSE_016_xml (1).pdf   46 KB 1 version

NEGUSE_015_xml (3).pdf   50 KB 1 version

NEGUSE_017_xml (1).pdf   44 KB 1 version