[Senate Report 114-409]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 254
114th Congress } ( Report
SENATE
2d Session } ( 114-409
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SUPERSTORM SANDY RELIEF AND DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT ACT OF
2015
_______
December 20, 2016.--Ordered to be printed
Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of December 10
(legislative day, December 9), 2016
_______
Mr. Vitter, from the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1811]
The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, to
which was referred the bill (S. 1811) to require the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish
a program to make loans to certain businesses, homeowners, and
renters affected by Superstorm Sandy, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends
that the bill, as amended, do pass.
I. INTRODUCTION
The Superstorm Sandy Relief and Disaster Loan Program
Improvement Act of 2015 (S. 1811) was introduced by Senator
Robert Menendez on July 21, 2015. The Act requires the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to
establish a program to make loans to certain businesses,
homeowners, and renters affected by Superstorm Sandy. During
the markup of the bill, the bill was approved unanimously by
voice vote.
II. HISTORY (PURPOSE & NEED FOR LEGISLATION)
The SBA's Disaster Assistance program is intended to
provide timely financial assistance in the form of low interest
loans and working capital for businesses and homeowners
devastated by disasters.
On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy struck New Jersey,
New York, and Rhode Island. Superstorm Sandy left hundreds of
thousands of homes damaged, forced tens of thousands of
survivors into shelters, and did billions of dollars in damage
to vital infrastructure systems. The storm also forced
thousands of small businesses to close, either temporarily or
permanently. In response, the President declared the impacted
areas a major disaster.
As the recovery from Superstorm Sandy went on, several
deficiencies in the SBA's Disaster Loan program became
apparent. However, because of the methodology the SBA used to
compute processing time for disaster loan applications, the
reported performance did not accurately communicate to eligible
applicants and oversight officials how long it was likely to
take for most applicants to receive a disaster loan. The SBA
Office of Inspector General also found that processing time
performance standards were generally not attainable beyond
certain application volume levels.
The provisions of this bill relating to reopening of
Hurricane Sandy disaster loan eligibility, and use of disaster
loan funds to construct safe rooms, became law as part of
Public Law 114-88, the RISE After Disaster Act.
III. HEARINGS & ROUNDTABLES
On March 14, 2013, the Committee held a hearing titled
``Helping Small Business Weather Economic Challenges and
Natural Disasters.'' Then-Chairman Mary L. Landrieu addressed
some of the inefficiencies in the SBA's response to disasters.
In her opening statement, Chairman Landrieu referred to the
SBA's response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 as
``slow, painful, inefficient and insufficient to that task.''
Landrieu commented that, following those 2005 storms, it took
74 days to process a home loan, 66 days to process a business
loan, and even longer for a disbursement of disaster funding.
Landrieu also criticized the SBA for requiring disaster victims
to provide substantial amounts of paper records alongside their
disaster loan applications while their homes were, in many
cases, literally underwater.
IV. DESCRIPTION OF BILL
This bill would permit businesses, homeowners, and renters
that were located within the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy
to apply for SBA disaster loans for a period of not less one
year after date on enactment of this Act. The SBA would be
required to provide a clear and concise notification on all
loan application materials and relevant websites advising
applicants that they have the option to submit all
documentation necessary for loan closing at the time of
application and that failure to submit all documentation could
delay loan closing and disbursement. The SBA is directed to
revise its disaster plan to anticipate the potential impact of
early application submissions on staffing and resources for
future disasters, as well as the risk this impact may pose for
the SBA's timely disaster response. The Small Business
Administration is also required to develop plans to mitigate
sharp increases in disaster loan applications.
V. COMMITTEE VOTE
In compliance with rule XXVI (7)(b) of the Standing Rules
of the Senate, the following vote was recorded on October 15,
2015.
A motion to adopt S. 1811, the Superstorm Sandy Relief and
Disaster Loan Program Improvement Act of 2015, was approved
unanimously by voice vote with the following Senators present:
Vitter, Scott, Fischer, Gardner, Ernst, Enzi, Shaheen,
Cantwell, Cardin, Booker, Hirono and Peters.
VII. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
In compliance with rule XXVI (11)(b) of the Standing Rules
of the Senate, it is the opinion of the Committee that no
significant additional regulatory impact will be incurred in
carrying out the provisions of this legislation. There will be
no additional impact on the personal privacy of companies or
individuals who utilize the services provided.
VIII. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 2: Findings
Section 3: Revised disaster deadline
This section amends the Small Business Act to authorize a
small business, homeowner, nonprofit entity, or renter that was
located within a declared major disaster area during Superstorm
Sandy in 2012 to apply for a Small Business Administration loan
to: (1) repair, rehabilitate, or replace property damaged or
destroyed because of the storm; or (2) assist a small business
that suffered substantial economic injury because of it.
The Small Business Administration must select loan
recipients and make such loans available for at least one year
after the date on which it begins carrying out this authority.
The Small Business Administration Inspector General must
review the controls for ensuring applicant eligibility for
these loans.
Section 4: Use of physical damage disaster loans to construct safe
rooms
This section permits Small Business Administration physical
disaster loans to be used to construct a safe room or similar
storm shelter designed to protect property and occupants from
tornadoes or other natural disasters, if they are constructed
in accordance with applicable standards issued by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency.
Section 5: Reducing delays on closing and disbursement of loans
The Small Business Administration shall make a clear and
concise notification on all application materials for Small
Business Administration disaster loans and on relevant websites
notifying an applicant that:
he or she may submit all documentation
necessary for the approval of the loan at the time of
application, and
failure to do so could delay the loan's
approval and disbursement.
Section 6: Disaster plan improvements
The Small Business Administration shall revise the
comprehensive written disaster response plan, and any
successor, to incorporate its response to a situation in which
an extreme volume of applications are received during the
period of time immediately after a disaster. The revised plan
must: (1) ensure that sufficient human and technological
resources are made available, and (2) prevent delays in loan
processing.
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