II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2482 

To authorize funding for State-administered bridge loan programs, to increase 

the access of small businesses to export assistance center services in 

areas in which the President declared a major disaster as a result 

of Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane 

Wilma of 2005, to authorize additional disaster loans, to require reporting regarding the administration of the disaster loan programs, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2006 

Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself and Mr. KERRY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 

and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To authorize funding for State-administered bridge loan programs, to increase the access of small businesses to 

export assistance center services in areas in which the 

President declared a major disaster as a result of Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005, to authorize additional disaster 

loans, to require reporting regarding the administration 

of the disaster loan programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gulf Coast Open for 

3 Business Act of 2006’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) 43 percent of businesses that close following 

7 a natural disaster never reopen; 

8 (2) an additional 29 percent of businesses close 

9 down permanently within 2 years of a natural dis10 aster; 

11 (3) Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of 

12 the United States on August 29, 2005, negatively 

13 impacting small business concerns and disrupting 

14 commerce in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, 

15 and Alabama; 

16 (4) Hurricane Rita struck the Gulf Coast of the 

17 United States on September 24, 2005, negatively 

18 impacting small business concerns and disrupting 

19 commerce in the States of Texas and Louisiana; 

20 (5) Hurricane Wilma struck the Gulf Coast of 

21 the United States on October 24, 2005, negatively 

22 impacting small business concerns and disrupting 

23 commerce in the State of Florida; 

24 (6) according to the United States Chamber of 

25 Commerce, more than 125,000 small and medium26 sized businesses in the Gulf Coast were disrupted by 


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1 Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita and, as of 

2 March 2006, local chambers of commerce reported 

that as many as 2 3 ⁄3 of their members had not re4 sumed business operations; 

5 (7) as of March 29, 2006, 7 months will have 

6 passed since Hurricane Katrina impacted the Gulf 

7 Coast, yet despite that passage of time, small busi8 ness concerns in the affected States are still in need 

9 of assistance; 

10 (8) due to a slow initial Federal response and 

11 the widespread devastation in the affected States, 

12 businesses impacted by Hurricane Katrina are in 

13 dire need of increased access to capital, access to 

14 State and Federal recovery contracts, and technical 

15 assistance to recover and prosper; and 

16 (9) without the full recovery and prosperity of 

17 affected businesses, the Gulf Coast, and the rest of 

18 the United States, will be negatively impacted. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act— 

21 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis22 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

23 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘disaster loan program’’ means 

2 the disaster loan program authorized under section 

3 7 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636); 

4 (3) the term ‘‘Disaster Area’’ means an area in 

5 which the President has declared a major disaster in 

6 response to Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane 

7 Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005; 

8 (4) the term ‘‘major disaster’’ has the meaning 

9 given the term in section 102 of the Robert T. Staf10 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 5122); 

12 (5) the term ‘‘relevant area’’ means an area in 

13 which the President has declared a major disaster, 

14 during the period in which such declaration is in ef15 fect; 

16 (6) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Small 

18 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632); and 

19 (7) the term ‘‘2006 Atlantic hurricane season’’ 

20 means the period beginning on June 1, 2006, and 

21 ending on November 30, 2006. 

22 SEC. 4. STATE BRIDGE LOAN PROGRAMS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro24 priated to the Secretary of Commerce $50,000,000 for the 

25 Economic Development Administration of the Department 


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1 of Commerce to make grants to the appropriate State gov2 ernment agencies in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, 

3 Texas, and Florida, to carry out this section. 

4 (b) DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.—The Department of 

5 Commerce shall disburse the funds authorized under sub6 section (a) in the most expeditious manner possible to the 

7 designated States, based on— 

8 (1) the number of businesses directly damaged 

9 or disrupted by Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurri10 cane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005, in 

11 the State; 

12 (2) the number of residents displaced from the 

13 State by Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita 

14 of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005; 

15 (3) the number of jobs lost or disrupted by 

16 Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, 

17 or Hurricane Wilma of 2005, in the State; 

18 (4) the extent of economic disruption by Hurri19 cane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or 

20 Hurricane Wilma of 2005, in the State; and 

21 (5) the number of evacuees from any other 

22 State due to Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane 

23 Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005, to whom 

24 the designated State is providing assistance. 

25 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded to a State 

2 under subsection (a) shall be used by the State to 

3 provide bridge loans, which may be made to any per4 son located in a Disaster Area who was negatively 

5 impacted by Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane 

6 Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005, to assist 

7 such person in covering costs until the person is able 

8 to obtain loans through Administration assistance 

9 programs or other sources. 

10 (2) REIMBURSEMENT.—A State may use a 

11 grant awarded under subsection (a) as reimburse12 ment for any State funds used to provide bridge 

13 loans to any person located in a Disaster Area who 

14 was negatively impacted by Hurricane Katrina of 

15 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma 

16 of 2005, before the date on which the funds author17 ized under subsection (a) are disbursed. 

18 (3) CRITERIA.—Notwithstanding any other pro19 vision of law, in making bridge loans under para20 graph (1), the State may use such criteria as the 

21 State determines appropriate, and shall not be re22 quired to apply eligibility criteria for programs ad23 ministered by the Federal Government, including the 

24 Department of Commerce. 


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1 (4) TERMS.—Any loan made by a State under 

2 paragraph (1) may initially be a noncollateralized, 

3 low-interest loan. 

4 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Depart5 ment of Commerce may use not more than 

6 $1,000,000 of the funds authorized under subsection 

7 (a) to administer the provision of grants to the des8 ignated States under this subsection. 

9 SEC. 5. TRADE OUTREACH AT GULF COAST UNITED STATES 

10 EXPORT ASSISTANCE CENTERS. 

11 (a) INCREASE IN SMALL BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL

12 TRADE STAFF.—The Administrator shall hire 1 full-time 

13 international finance specialist for the Office of Inter14 national Trade of the Administration. 

15 (b) LOCATION AND SERVICE AREA.—The inter16 national finance specialist hired under subsection (a)— 

17 (1) may be located in the New Orleans, Lou18 isiana United States Export Assistance Center or in 

19 the Jackson, Mississippi United States Export As20 sistance Center; and 

21 (2) shall— 

22 (A) help to carry out the export promotion 

23 efforts described in section 22 of the Small 

24 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649); and 


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1 (B) provide such services in the States of 

2 Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

5 appropriated to the Administration to carry out this 

6 section— 

7 (A) $105,475 for each of fiscal years 2006 

8 through 2011; and 

9 (B) such sums as are necessary for each 

10 fiscal year thereafter. 

11 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

12 available under this subsection shall remain available 

13 until expended. 

14 SEC. 6. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS. 

15 (a) WAIVER OF MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—Section 

16 21(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)) 

17 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(D) FISCAL YEARS 2005 AND 2006.—For fiscal 

19 years 2005 and 2006, the Administrator has the au20 thority to waive the maximum amount of $100,000 

21 for grants under subparagraph (C)(viii), and such 

22 grants shall be made available for small business de23 velopment centers assisting small business concerns 

24 adversely affected by Hurricane Katrina of 2005, 


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1 Hurricane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 

2 2005.’’. 

3 (b) ASSISTANCE AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA, HUR4 RICANE RITA, AND HURRICANE WILMA.—Section 21(b) of 

5 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(b)) is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(4) ASSISTANCE AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA, HUR8 RICANE RITA, AND HURRICANE WILMA.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 

10 authorize any small business development center, re11 gardless of location, to provide advice, information, 

12 and assistance, as described in subsection (c), to a 

13 small business concern located in an area in which 

14 the President has designated as a major disaster (as 

15 that term is defined in section 102 of the Robert T. 

16 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)) as a result of Hurricane 

18 Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, Hurricane 

19 Wilma of 2005. 

20 ‘‘(B) CONTINUITY OF SERVICES.—A small busi21 ness development center that provides counselors to 

22 an area described in subparagraph (A) shall, to the 

23 maximum extent practicable, ensure continuity of 

24 services in the State it currently serves.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. DISASTER LOANS AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA, 

2 HURRICANE RITA, AND HURRICANE WILMA. 

3 (a) IN A DISASTER AREA.—Section 7(b) of the Small 

4 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting 

5 immediately after paragraph (3) the following: 

6 ‘‘(4) AUTHORITY FOR LENDERS TO PROCESS

7 DISASTER LOANS.—The Administrator may enter 

8 into an agreement with a qualified lender, as deter9 mined by the Administrator, to process loans under 

10 this section, under which the Administrator shall 

11 pay the lender a fee for each loan processed. 

12 ‘‘(5) AUTHORITY FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR TO

13 CONTRACT WITH LENDERS FOR LOAN LOSS

14 VERIFICATION SERVICES.—The Administrator may 

15 enter into an agreement with a qualified lender or 

16 loss verification professional, as determined by the 

17 Administrator, to verify losses for loans under this 

18 section, under which the Administrator shall pay the 

19 lender or verification professional a fee for each loan 

20 for which such lender or verification professional 

21 verifies losses. 

22 ‘‘(6) DISASTER LOANS AFTER HURRICANE

23 KATRINA, HURRICANE RITA, AND HURRICANE WILMA

24 IN A DISASTER AREA.— 

25 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the term ‘Disaster Area’ means 

2 an area in which the President has de3 clared a major disaster in response to Hur4 ricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 

5 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘qualified borrower’ 

7 means a person to whom the Administrator 

8 made a loan under this section because of 

9 Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane 

10 Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 

11 2005. 

12 ‘‘(B) LOANS TO NONPROFITS.—In addition 

13 to any other loan authorized by this subsection, 

14 the Administrator may make such loans under 

15 this subsection (either directly or in cooperation 

16 with banks or other lending institutions through 

17 agreements to participate on an immediate or 

18 deferred basis) as the Administrator determines 

19 appropriate to a nonprofit organization, includ20 ing a religious organization, that was located in 

21 a Disaster Area on August 29, 2005, and was 

22 negatively impacted or is providing services to 

23 persons who were negatively impacted by Hurri24 cane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, 

25 or Hurricane Wilma of 2005. 


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1 ‘‘(C) DEFERMENT OF DISASTER LOAN PAY2 MENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

4 any other provision of law, payments of 

5 principal and interest on a loan to a quali6 fied borrower made before August 24, 

7 2007, shall be deferred, and no interest 

8 shall accrue with respect to such loan, dur9 ing the time period described in clause (ii). 

10 ‘‘(ii) TIME PERIOD.—The time period 

11 for purposes of clause (i) shall be 1 year 

12 from the later of the date of enactment of 

13 this paragraph or the date on which funds 

14 are distributed under a loan described in 

15 clause (i), but may be extended to 2 years 

16 from such date, at the discretion of the 

17 Administrator. 

18 ‘‘(iii) RESUMPTION OF PAYMENTS.— 

19 At the end of the time period described in 

20 clause (ii), the payment of periodic install21 ments of principal and interest shall be re22 quired with respect to such loan, in the 

23 same manner and subject to the same 

24 terms and conditions as would otherwise be 


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1 applicable to any other loan made under 

2 this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(D) EXTENDED APPLICATION PERIOD.— 

4 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

5 Administrator shall accept applications for as6 sistance under this subsection as a result of 

7 Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 

8 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005 until 1 year 

9 after the date on which the President declared 

10 a major disaster, as that term is defined in sec11 tion 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re12 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 5122), as a result of Hurricane Katrina of 

14 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane 

15 Wilma of 2005, as the case may be. 

16 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITION ON SALE OF DISASTER

17 LOANS.—No loan under this subsection made as 

18 a result of Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurri19 cane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005 

20 may be sold.’’. 

21 (b) NATIONWIDE DISASTER LOANS.—Section 7(b) of 

22 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)), as amended 

23 by this Act, is amended by inserting immediately after 

24 paragraph (6) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(7) NATIONWIDE LOANS AFTER HURRICANE

2 KATRINA, HURRICANE RITA, AND HURRICANE

3 WILMA.—In addition to any other loan authorized by 

4 this subsection, the Administrator may make such 

5 loans under this subsection (either directly or in co6 operation with banks or other lending institutions 

7 through agreements to participate on an immediate 

8 or deferred basis) as the Administrator determines 

9 appropriate to a small business concern, small agri10 cultural cooperative, small nursery, or small pro11 ducer cooperative located anywhere in the United 

12 States that demonstrates a direct adverse economic 

13 impact caused by Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurri14 cane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005, 

15 based on such criteria as the Administrator may set 

16 by rule, regulation, or order.’’. 

17 (c) DISASTER MITIGATION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(b)(1)(A) of the 

19 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(A)) is 

20 amended by inserting ‘‘of the aggregate costs of 

21 such damage or destruction (whether or not com22 pensated for by insurance or otherwise)’’ after ‘‘20 

23 per centum’’. 

24 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), the amendment made by 

3 paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to a loan 

4 or guarantee made after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act. 

6 (B) LOANS IN A DISASTER AREA.—For 

7 any loan or guarantee to a person located in a 

8 Disaster Area, the amendment made by para9 graph (1), shall apply with respect to a loan or 

10 guarantee under which funds are disbursed on 

11 or after the date on which the President de12 clared a major disaster as a result of Hurricane 

13 Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or 

14 Hurricane Wilma of 2005, as the case may be. 

15 (d) MONTHLY ACCOUNTING REPORT TO CON16 GRESS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the first Monday of each 

18 month, the Administrator shall provide to the Com19 mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

20 the Senate and to the Committee on Small Business 

21 of the House of Representatives a report on the dis22 aster loan program for the preceding month. 

23 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

24 (1) shall include— 


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1 (A) the daily average lending volume, in 

2 number of loans and dollars, and the percent by 

3 which each category has increased or decreased 

4 since the previous report under paragraph (1); 

5 (B) the weekly average lending volume, in 

6 number of loans and dollars, and the percent by 

7 which each category has increased or decreased 

8 since the previous report under paragraph (1); 

9 (C) the amount of funding spent over the 

10 month for loans, both in appropriations and 

11 program level, and the percent by which each 

12 category has increased or decreased since the 

13 previous report under paragraph (1); 

14 (D) the amount of funding available for 

15 loans, both in appropriations and program level, 

16 and the percent by which each category has in17 creased or decreased, noting the source of any 

18 additional funding; 

19 (E) an estimate of how long the available 

20 funding for such loans will last, based on the 

21 spending rate; 

22 (F) the amount of funding spent over the 

23 month for staff, along with the number of staff, 

24 and the percent by which each category has inVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:34 Mar 31, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2482.IS S2482

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1 creased or decreased since the previous report 

2 under paragraph (1); 

3 (G) the amount of funding spent over the 

4 month for administrative costs, and the percent 

5 by which spending has increased or decreased 

6 since the previous report under paragraph (1); 

7 (H) the amount of funding available for 

8 salaries and expenses combined, and the per9 cent by which funding has increased or de10 creased, noting the source of any additional 

11 funding; and 

12 (I) an estimate of how long the available 

13 funding for salaries and expenses will last, 

14 based on the spending rate. 

15 (e) DAILY DISASTER UPDATES TO CONGRESS FOR

16 PRESIDENTIALLY DECLARED DISASTERS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning 

18 on the date on which the President declares a major 

19 disaster and ending on the date on which such dec20 laration terminates, on each day, excluding Federal 

21 holidays and weekends, the Administrator shall pro22 vide to the Committee on Small Business and Entre23 preneurship of the Senate and to the Committee on 

24 Small Business of the House of Representatives a 

25 report on the operation of the disaster loan program 


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1 for the area in which the President declared such 

2 major disaster. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

4 (1) shall include— 

5 (A) the allocations of loan processing, loss 

6 verification, and additional field staff at Admin7 istration offices nationwide, as well as the allo8 cations of such staff at the various disaster 

9 field offices, disaster recovery centers, and 

10 workshops in each State in the relevant area; 

11 (B) the daily number of applications re12 ceived from applicants in the relevant area, as 

13 well as a breakdown of such figures by State; 

14 (C) the daily number of applications pend15 ing application entry from applicants in the rel16 evant area, as well as a breakdown of such fig17 ures by State; 

18 (D) the daily number of applications with19 drawn by applicants in the relevant area, as 

20 well as a breakdown of such figures by State; 

21 (E) the daily number of applications sum22 marily declined by the Administrator from ap23 plicants in the relevant area, as well as a break24 down of such figures by State; 


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1 (F) the daily number of applications de2 clined by the Administrator from applicants in 

3 the relevant area, as well as a breakdown of 

4 such figures by State; 

5 (G) the daily number of applications in 

6 process from applicants in the relevant area, as 

7 well as a breakdown of such figures by State; 

8 (H) the daily number of applications ap9 proved by the Administrator from applicants in 

10 the relevant area, as well as a breakdown of 

11 such figures by State; 

12 (I) the daily dollar amount of applications 

13 approved by the Administrator from applicants 

14 in the relevant area, as well as a breakdown of 

15 such figures by State; 

16 (J) the daily amount of loans dispersed, 

17 both partially and fully, by the Administrator to 

18 applicants in the relevant area, as well as a 

19 breakdown of such figures by State; 

20 (K) the daily dollar amount of loans dis21 persed, both partially and fully, from the Dis22 aster Area, as well as a breakdown of such fig23 ures by State; 

24 (L) the number of applications approved, 

25 including dollar amount approved, as well as 


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1 applications partially and fully dispersed, in2 cluding dollar amounts, since the last report 

3 under paragraph (1); and 

4 (M) the declaration date, physical damage 

5 closing date, economic injury closing date, and 

6 number of counties included in the declaration 

7 of a major disaster. 

8 (f) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 7(b) of the 

9 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended— 

10 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

11 striking ‘‘the, Administration’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

12 Administration’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘Disaster 

14 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

16 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)’’; and 

17 (3) in the undesignated matter at the end— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘, (2), and (4)’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘and (2)’’; and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘, (2), or (4)’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘(2)’’. 

22 SEC. 8. HUBZONES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(p)(1) of the Small Busi24 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)(1)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period 

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(F) an area in which the President has 

7 declared a major disaster, as that term is de8 fined in 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

9 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 5122), in response to Hurricane Katrina 

11 of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane 

12 Wilma of 2005’’. 

13 (b) TERMINATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

15 subsection (a) are repealed effective on the date that 

16 is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (2) REPORT.—Not later than the date de18 scribed in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 

19 submit to the Committee on Small Business and En20 trepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on 

21 Small Business of the House of Representatives a 

22 report— 

23 (A) describing the impact of designating as 

24 a HUBZone any area that the President de25 clared a major disaster as a result of Hurricane 


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1 Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or 

2 Hurricane Wilma of 2005; 

3 (B) assessing the efficacy of the designa4 tion described in subparagraph (A) in creating 

5 a positive economic impact in the area described 

6 in subparagraph (A); and 

7 (C) making recommendations, if any, re8 garding the extension of the designation de9 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

10 SEC. 9. SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the policy of the United 

12 States that small business concerns with headquarters in 

13 the region affected by Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurri14 cane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005, or em15 ploying a significant number of individuals from that re16 gion, shall have the maximum practicable opportunity to 

17 participate in the performance of contracts let by any Fed18 eral agency for activities related to relief, recovery, or re19 construction as a result of Hurricane Katrina of 2005, 

20 Hurricane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005. 

21 (b) GOALS.—To facilitate the maximum practicable 

22 utilization of small business concerns in the federally fund23 ed projects described in subsection (a), the Administrator 

24 and the head of any Federal agency making procurements 

25 related to relief, recovery, or reconstruction in the region 


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1 described in subsection (a) shall set a goal, effective not 

2 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 to award not less than 30 percent of amounts expended 

4 for prime contracts and not less than 40 percent of 

5 amounts expended for subcontracts on procurements by 

6 such agency related to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina 

7 of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 

8 2005 to small business concerns described in subsection 

9 (a). 

10 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 7 days after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, and every 7 days thereafter, the 

12 Administrator shall compile data using the Federal Pro13 curement Data System and provide to the Committee on 

14 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 

15 the Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep16 resentatives a report of the utilization of small business 

17 concerns and amount of contracts awarded to small busi18 ness concerns for disaster relief, recovery, and reconstruc19 tion related to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina of 

20 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, and Hurricane Wilma of 

21 2005. 

22 SEC. 10. USE OF LOCAL FIRMS AND INDIVIDUALS. 

23 Section 307 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

24 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5150) is 

25 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 307. USE OF LOCAL FIRMS AND INDIVIDUALS. 

2 ‘‘In the expenditure of Federal funds for debris clear3 ance, distribution of supplies, reconstruction, and other 

4 major disaster or emergency assistance activities which 

5 may be carried out by contract or agreement with private 

6 organizations, firms, or individuals, preference shall be 

7 given, to the maximum extent practicable, to those organi8 zations, firms, and individuals residing or doing business 

9 primarily in the area affected by such disaster or emer10 gency. The Federal Government shall establish a goal to 

11 award not less than 10 percent of such contracts to firms 

12 within or in close proximity of the area in which the Presi13 dent has declared a major disaster during the term of such 

14 designation. This section shall not be considered to restrict 

15 the use of Department of Defense resources in the provi16 sion of major disaster assistance under this Act.’’. 

17 SEC. 11. NONDISCRIMINATION IN DISASTER ASSISTANCE. 

18 Section 308(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re19 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5151(b)) 

20 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The re21 quirements of this subsection shall also apply to the 

22 awarding of contracts for debris clearance, distribution of 

23 supplies, reconstruction, and other major disaster or emer24 gency assistance activities and shall require governmental 

25 bodies to fully consider the utilization of expedited pro26 curement tools for small business concerns, small business 


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1 concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled vet2 erans, and HUBZone small business concerns, as such 

3 terms are defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act 

4 (15 U.S.C. 632) and for small business concerns owned 

5 and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged 

6 individuals, as such term is defined in section 8 of the 

7 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637).’’. 

8 SEC. 12. REMOVING BARRIERS TO BONDING FOR SMALL 

9 BUSINESSES. 

10 (a) REQUISITIONS.—Notwithstanding any other pro11 vision of law, for any procurement related to Hurricane 

12 Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane 

13 Wilma of 2005 that has been set-aside for small business 

14 concerns, the Administrator shall negotiate with the head 

15 of the Federal agency making such procurement an agree16 ment to permit contracting officers to submit requisitions 

17 on a biweekly basis. 

18 (b) SURETIES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

20 waive any increase in guarantee fees for a surety 

21 providing guarantees related to contracts for dis22 aster relief, recovery, or reconstruction related to the 

23 aftermath of Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane 

24 Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005 under 

25 the Surety Bond Guarantee Program under part B 


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1 of title IV of the Small Business Investment Act of 

2 1958 (15 U.S.C. 694a et seq.) during the 5-year pe3 riod beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (2) PREFERRED PROGRAM.—For any contract 

5 for relief, recovery, or reconstruction related to the 

6 aftermath of Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane 

7 Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma of 2005, the Ad8 ministrator may permit a surety participating in the 

9 Preferred Surety Bond Guarantee Program under 

10 section 411(a)(3) of the Small Business Investment 

11 Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 694b(a)(3)) to use rates ap12 proved by the insurance commissioner in the State 

13 in which such contract will be performed. 

14 (3) REPORTING.—Not later than 180 days after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act and annually 

16 thereafter, the Administrator shall report to the 

17 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

18 of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business 

19 of the House of Representatives on availability of 

20 bonds to small business concerns performing con21 tracts for disaster relief, recovery, or reconstruction 

22 related to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina of 

23 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or Hurricane Wilma 

24 of 2005. 


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1 SEC. 13. HURRICANE RESPONSE PLAN FOR THE 2006 HUR2 RICANE SEASON. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than May 31, 2006, the 

4 Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small 

5 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the 

6 Committee on Small Business of the House of Representa7 tives a 2006 Atlantic hurricane season disaster response 

8 plan. 

9 (b) CONTENTS.—The disaster response plan required 

10 under subsection (a) shall include— 

11 (1) the plan of the Administrator for respond12 ing quickly and efficiently after the occurrence of a 

13 major disaster during the 2006 Atlantic hurricane 

14 season, including a plan on prepositioning disaster 

15 response resources and staff, such as loss verifiers 

16 and small business development center staff; 

17 (2) a description of how the Administrator 

18 plans to integrate and coordinate the response to a 

19 major disaster with the staff and resources of the 

20 Federal Emergency Management Agency, including 

21 details on where and when joint training simulations 

22 are planned during the 2006 Atlantic hurricane sea23 son; 

24 (3) a description of how the Administrator 

25 plans to integrate and coordinate the response to a 

26 major disaster with the technical assistance proVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:34 Mar 31, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2482.IS S2482

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1 grams of the Administration, including the small 

2 business development centers; 

3 (4) the contingency plans of the Administration, 

4 if any, for handling increases in the volume of appli5 cations under the disaster loan program during the 

6 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, including detailed 

7 plans for using local banks, credit unions, and busi8 nesses in an area in which the President declares a 

9 major disaster or the hiring of additional loan proc10 essing and loss verification staff; 

11 (5) figures and job descriptions regarding the 

12 full-time planning and full-time disaster response 

13 staff of the Administration; 

14 (6) the in-service and pre-service training proce15 dures for disaster response staff of the Administra16 tion; 

17 (7) the standard operating procedures of the 

18 Administration for responding to hurricanes; and 

19 (8) a description of the findings and rec20 ommendations, if any, based on a review of the re21 sponse of the Administration to Hurricane Katrina 

22 of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, and Hurricane 

23 Wilma of 2005. 

Æ 


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