II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4117 

To provide automatic forgiveness for paycheck protection program loans under 

$150,000, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 30, 2020 

Mr. CRAMER (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. TILLIS, and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To provide automatic forgiveness for paycheck protection 

program loans under $150,000, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Paycheck Protection 

5 Small Business Forgiveness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR PPP LOANS UNDER 

7 $150,000. 

8 Section 1106 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116– 

9 136) is amended— 


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•S 4117 IS

1 (1) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding 

2 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘An eligible’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (m), an eligi4 ble’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (f), by inserting ‘‘or the infor6 mation required under subsection (m), as applica7 ble’’ after ‘‘subsection (e)’’; 

8 (3) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(h) HOLD HARMLESS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A lender may rely on all 

12 certifications and documentation submitted by an 

13 applicant or eligible recipient pursuant to any re14 quirement in statute regarding covered loans, or 

15 rules or guidance promulgated to carry out any ac16 tion relating to covered loans, from an applicant or 

17 eligible recipient attesting that the applicant or eligi18 ble recipient has accurately verified all documenta19 tion provided to the lender. 

20 ‘‘(2) NO ENFORCEMENT ACTION.—With respect 

21 to a lender that relies on the certifications and docu22 mentation described in paragraph (1)— 

23 ‘‘(A) no enforcement or other action may 

24 be taken against the lender relating to loan 


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1 origination, forgiveness, or guarantee based on 

2 such reliance, including claims under— 

3 ‘‘(i) the Small Business Act (15 

4 U.S.C. 631 et seq.); 

5 ‘‘(ii) sections 3729 through 3733 of 

6 title 31, United States Code (commonly 

7 known as the ‘False Claims Act’); 

8 ‘‘(iii) the Financial Institutions Re9 form, Recovery, and Enforcement Act 

10 (Public Law 101–73); 

11 ‘‘(iv) section 21 of the Federal De12 posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1829b), 

13 chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91–508 

14 (12 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.), and subchapter 

15 II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States 

16 Code (collectively known as the ‘Bank Se17 crecy Act’); or 

18 ‘‘(v) any other Federal, State, or 

19 other criminal or civil law or regulation; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) the lender shall not be subject to any 

22 penalties relating to loan origination, forgive23 ness, or guarantee based on such reliance.’’; 

24 and 

25 (4) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(m) FORGIVENESS FOR COVERED LOANS UNDER

2 $150,000.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

4 (e), with respect to a covered loan made to an eligi5 ble recipient that is not more than $150,000, the 

6 covered loan amount shall be forgiven under this 

7 section if the eligible recipient submits to the lender 

8 a one-page online or paper form, to be established 

9 by the Administrator not later than 7 days after the 

10 date of enactment of this subsection, that attests 

11 that the eligible recipient complied with the require12 ments under section 7(a)(36) of the Small Business 

13 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(36)). 

14 ‘‘(2) HOLD HARMLESS.—With respect to a 

15 lender that relies on an attestation submitted by an 

16 eligible recipient under paragraph (1), no enforce17 ment action may be taken against the lender for any 

18 falsehoods contained in the attestation. 

19 ‘‘(3) DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION.—The online 

20 or paper form established by the Administrator 

21 under paragraph (1) shall include a means by which 

22 an eligible recipient may, at the discretion of the eli23 gible recipient, submit demographic information of 

24 the owner of the eligible recipient, including the sex, 

25 race, ethnicity, and veteran status of the owner. 


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1 ‘‘(n) ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST BOR2 ROWERS.—An eligible recipient of a covered loan may only 

3 be subject to an enforcement action or penalty relating 

4 to loan origination, forgiveness, or guarantee of the cov5 ered loan if the eligible recipient commits fraud or expends 

6 covered loan proceeds on expenses that are not allowable 

7 under section 7(a)(36)(F) of the Small Business Act (15 

8 U.S.C. 636(a)(36)(F)).’’. 

Æ 


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