II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3742 

To establish a program in the Department of the Treasury to allocate funds 

to States, units of general local government, and Indian Tribes to provide 

assistance to certain small businesses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2020 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. DAINES, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small 

Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To establish a program in the Department of the Treasury 

to allocate funds to States, units of general local government, and Indian Tribes to provide assistance to certain 

small businesses, 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 ‘‘Recharge and Em5 power Local Innovation and Entrepreneurs Fund for Main 

6 Street Act’’ or the ‘‘RELIEF for Main Street Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS LOCAL RELIEF PROGRAM. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Small Busi3 ness Administration. 

4 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti5 ty’’— 

6 (A) means a privately held business entity 

7 or nonprofit organization that— 

8 (i) employs— 

9 (I) not more than 20 full-time 

10 equivalent employees; or 

11 (II) if the entity or organization 

12 is located in a low-income community, 

13 not more than 50 full-time equivalent 

14 employees; 

15 (ii) has experienced a loss of revenue 

16 as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic, 

17 according to criteria established by the 

18 Secretary; and 

19 (iii) with respect to such an entity or 

20 organization that receives assistance from 

21 a small business emergency fund, satisfies 

22 additional requirements, as determined by 

23 the State, unit of general local government, 

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1 tablished the small business emergency 

2 fund; and 

3 (B) includes an individual who operates 

4 under a sole proprietorship, an individual who 

5 operates as an independent contractor, and an 

6 eligible self-employed individual if such an indi7 vidual has experienced a loss of revenue as a re8 sult of the COVID–19 pandemic, according to 

9 criteria established by the Secretary. 

10 (3) ELIGIBLE SELF-EMPLOYED INDIVIDUAL.— 

11 The term ‘‘eligible self-employed individual’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 7(a)(36)(A) of the 

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

14 (4) ENTITLEMENT COMMUNITY.—The term 

15 ‘‘entitlement community’’ means a metropolitan city 

16 or urban county, as those terms are defined in sec17 tion 102 of the Housing and Community Develop18 ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302). 

19 (5) FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT EMPLOYEES.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘full-time 

21 equivalent employees’’ means a number of em22 ployees equal to the number determined by di23 viding— 

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1 ployer to employees during the taxable 

2 year; by 

3 (ii) 2,080. 

4 (B) ROUNDING.—The number determined 

5 under subparagraph (A) shall be rounded to the 

6 next lowest whole number if not otherwise a 

7 whole number. 

8 (C) EXCESS HOURS NOT COUNTED.—If an 

9 employee works in excess of 2,080 hours of 

10 service during any taxable year, such excess 

11 shall not be taken into account under subpara12 graph (A). 

13 (D) HOURS OF SERVICE.—The Secretary, 

14 in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 

15 shall prescribe such regulations, rules, and 

16 guidance as may be necessary to determine the 

17 hours of service of an employee, including rules 

18 for the application of this paragraph to employ19 ees who are not compensated on an hourly 

20 basis. 

21 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

22 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 

23 section 102 of the Housing and Community Devel24 opment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302). 


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1 (7) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low2 income community’’ has the meaning given the term 

3 in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

4 1986. 

5 (8) MINORITY.—The term ‘‘minority’’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 1204(c)(3) of the 

7 Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and En8 forcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1811 note). 

9 (9) MINORITY-OWNED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘mi10 nority-owned entity’’ means an entity— 

11 (A) more than 50 percent of the ownership 

12 or control of which is held by not less than 1 

13 minority; and 

14 (B) more than 50 percent of the net profit 

15 or loss of which accrues to not less than 1 mi16 nority. 

17 (10) NONENTITLEMENT AREA; STATE; UNIT OF

18 GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 

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

20 subparagraph (B), the terms ‘‘nonentitlement 

21 area’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘unit of general local gov22 ernment’’ have the meanings given those terms 

23 in section 102 of the Housing and Community 

24 Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302). 


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1 (B) STATE.—For purposes of subpara2 graphs (A)(ii) and (B)(ii) of subsection (c)(1), 

3 the term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the 

4 United States. 

5 (11) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

6 the Small Business Local Relief Program established 

7 under this section. 

8 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

9 means the Secretary of the Treasury. 

10 (13) SMALL BUSINESS EMERGENCY FUND.— 

11 The term ‘‘small business emergency fund’’ means a 

12 fund or program— 

13 (A) established by a State, a unit of gen14 eral local government, an Indian Tribe, or an 

15 entity designated by a State, unit of general 

16 local government, or Indian Tribe; and 

17 (B) that provides or administers financing 

18 to eligible entities in the form of grants, loans, 

19 or other means in accordance with the needs of 

20 eligible entities and the capacity of the fund or 

21 program. 

22 (14) WOMEN-OWNED ENTITY.—The term 

23 ‘‘women-owned entity’’ means an entity— 


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1 (A) more than 50 percent of the ownership 

2 or control of which is held by not less than 1 

3 woman; and 

4 (B) more than 50 percent of the net profit 

5 or loss of which accrues to not less than 1 

6 woman. 

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

8 Department of the Treasury the Small Business Local Re9 lief Program, the purpose of which is to allocate resources 

10 to States, units of general local government, and Indian 

11 Tribes to provide assistance to eligible entities and organi12 zations that assist eligible entities. 

13 (c) FUNDING.— 

14 (1) FUNDING TO STATES, LOCALITIES, AND IN15 DIAN TRIBES.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 

17 available to carry out the Program under sub18 section (h), the Secretary shall allocate— 

19 (i) $35,000,000,000 to States and 

20 units of general local government in ac21 cordance with subparagraph (B)(i); 

22 (ii) $15,000,000,000 to States in ac23 cordance with subparagraph (B)(ii); and 

24 (iii) $500,000,000 to the Secretary of 

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1 cations to Indian Tribes in accordance with 

2 subparagraph (B)(iii). 

3 (B) ALLOCATIONS.— 

4 (i) FORMULA FOR STATES AND UNITS

5 OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—Of 

6 the amount allocated under subparagraph 

7 (A)(i)— 

8 (I) 70 percent shall be allocated 

9 to entitlement communities in accord10 ance with the formula under section 

11 106(b) of the Housing and Commu12 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 

13 U.S.C. 5306(b)); and 

14 (II) 30 percent shall be allocated 

15 to States, for use in nonentitlement 

16 areas, in accordance with the formula 

17 under section 106(d)(1) of the Hous18 ing and Community Development Act 

19 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306(d)(1)). 

20 (ii) RURAL BONUS FORMULA FOR

21 STATES.—The Secretary shall allocate the 

22 amount allocated under subparagraph 

23 (A)(ii) to States, for use in nonentitlement 

24 areas, in accordance with the formula 

25 under section 106(d)(1) of the Housing 


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1 and Community Development Act of 1974 

2 (42 U.S.C. 5306(d)(1)). 

3 (iii) COMPETITIVE AWARDS TO INDIAN

4 TRIBES.— 

5 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

6 of Housing and Urban Development 

7 shall allocate to Indian Tribes on a 

8 competitive basis the amount allocated 

9 under subparagraph (A)(iii). 

10 (II) REQUIREMENTS.—In making 

11 allocations under subclause (I), the 

12 Secretary of Housing and Urban De13 velopment shall, to the greatest extent 

14 practicable, ensure that each Indian 

15 Tribe that satisfies requirements es16 tablished by the Secretary of Housing 

17 and Urban Development receives such 

18 an allocation. 

19 (C) STATE ALLOCATIONS FOR NON20 ENTITLEMENT AREAS.— 

21 (i) EQUITABLE ALLOCATION.—To the 

22 greatest extent practicable, a State shall 

23 allocate amounts for nonentitlement areas 

24 under clauses (i)(II) and (ii) of subpara25 graph (B) on an equitable basis. 


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1 (ii) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS.— 

2 (I) DISCRETION.—Not later than 

3 14 days after the date on which a 

4 State receives amounts for use in a 

5 nonentitlement area under clause 

6 (i)(II) or (ii) of subparagraph (B), the 

7 State shall— 

8 (aa) distribute the amounts, 

9 or a portion thereof, to a unit of 

10 general local government located 

11 in the nonentitlement area, or an 

12 entity designated thereby, that 

13 has established or will establish a 

14 small business emergency fund, 

15 for use under paragraph (2); or 

16 (bb) elect to reserve the 

17 amounts, or a portion thereof, for 

18 use by the State under paragraph 

19 (2) for the benefit of eligible enti20 ties located in the nonentitlement 

21 area. 

22 (II) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is 

23 the sense of Congress that, in distrib24 uting amounts under subclause (I), in 

25 the case of amounts allocated for a 


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1 nonentitlement area in which a unit of 

2 general local government or an entity 

3 designated thereby has established a 

4 small business emergency fund, a 

5 State should, as quickly as is prac6 ticable, distribute amounts to that 

7 unit of general local government or 

8 entity, respectively, as described in 

9 item (aa) of that subclause. 

10 (iii) TREATMENT OF STATES NOT

11 ACTING AS PASS-THROUGH AGENTS UNDER

12 CDBG.—The Secretary shall allocate 

13 amounts to a State under this paragraph 

14 without regard to whether the State has 

15 elected to distribute amounts allocated 

16 under section 106(d)(1) of the Housing 

17 and Community Development Act of 1974 

18 (42 U.S.C. 5306(d)(1)). 

19 (2) USE OF FUNDS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State, unit of general 

21 local government, entity designated by a unit of 

22 general local government, or Indian Tribe that 

23 receives an allocation under paragraph (1), 

24 whether directly or indirectly, may use that al25 location— 


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1 (i) to provide funding to a small busi2 ness emergency fund established by that 

3 State (or entity designated thereby), that 

4 unit of general local government (or entity 

5 designated thereby), that entity designated 

6 by a unit of general local government, or 

7 that Indian Tribe (or entity designated 

8 thereby), respectively; 

9 (ii) to provide funding to support or10 ganizations that provide technical assist11 ance to eligible entities; or 

12 (iii) subject to subparagraph (B), to 

13 pay for administrative costs incurred by 

14 that State (or entity designated thereby), 

15 that unit of general local government (or 

16 entity designated thereby), that entity des17 ignated by a unit of general local govern18 ment, or that Indian Tribe (or entity des19 ignated thereby), respectively, in estab20 lishing and administering a small business 

21 emergency fund. 

22 (B) LIMITATION.—A State, unit of general 

23 local government, entity designated by a unit of 

24 general local government, or Indian Tribe may 

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1 ceived under paragraph (1) for a purpose de2 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii) of this para3 graph. 

4 (C) OBLIGATION DEADLINES.— 

5 (i) STATES.—Of the amounts that a 

6 State elects under paragraph 

7 (1)(C)(ii)(I)(bb) to reserve for use by the 

8 State under this paragraph— 

9 (I) any amounts that the State 

10 provides to a small business emer11 gency fund under subparagraph (A)(i) 

12 of this paragraph shall be obligated by 

13 the small business emergency fund for 

14 expenditure not later than 74 days 

15 after the date on which the State re16 ceived the amounts from the Sec17 retary under clause (i) or (ii) of para18 graph (1)(A); and 

19 (II) any amounts that the State 

20 chooses to provide to an organization 

21 under subparagraph (A)(ii) of this 

22 paragraph, or to use to pay for ad23 ministrative costs under subparagraph 

24 (A)(iii) of this paragraph, shall be ob25 ligated by the State for expenditure 


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1 not later than 74 days after the date 

2 on which the State received the 

3 amounts from the Secretary under 

4 clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1)(A). 

5 (ii) ENTITLEMENT COMMUNITIES.— 

6 Of the amounts that an entitlement com7 munity receives from the Secretary under 

8 paragraph (1)(B)(i)(I)— 

9 (I) any amounts that the entitle10 ment community provides to a small 

11 business emergency fund under sub12 paragraph (A)(i) of this paragraph 

13 shall be obligated by the small busi14 ness emergency fund for expenditure 

15 not later than 74 days after the date 

16 on which the entitlement community 

17 received the amounts; and 

18 (II) any amounts that the entitle19 ment community chooses to provide to 

20 an organization under subparagraph 

21 (A)(ii) of this paragraph, or to use to 

22 pay for administrative costs under 

23 subparagraph (A)(iii) of this para24 graph, shall be obligated by the enti25 tlement community for expenditure 


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1 not later than 74 days after the date 

2 on which the entitlement community 

3 received the amounts. 

4 (iii) NONENTITLEMENT COMMU5 NITIES.—Of the amounts that a unit of 

6 general local government, or an entity des7 ignated thereby, located in a nonentitle8 ment area receives from a State under 

9 paragraph (1)(C)(ii)(I)(aa)— 

10 (I) any amounts that the unit of 

11 general local government or entity 

12 provides to a small business emer13 gency fund under subparagraph (A)(i) 

14 of this paragraph shall be obligated by 

15 the small business emergency fund for 

16 expenditure not later than 60 days 

17 after the date on which the unit of 

18 general local government or entity re19 ceived the amounts; and 

20 (II) any amounts that the unit of 

21 general local government or entity 

22 chooses to provide to a support orga23 nization under subparagraph (A)(ii) of 

24 this paragraph or to use to pay for 

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1 graph (A)(iii) of this paragraph shall 

2 be obligated by the unit of general 

3 local government or entity for expend4 iture not later than 60 days after the 

5 date on which the unit of general local 

6 government or entity received the 

7 amounts. 

8 (D) RECOVERY OF UNOBLIGATED

9 FUNDS.—If a State, entitlement community, 

10 other unit of general local government, entity 

11 designated by a unit of general local govern12 ment, or small business emergency fund fails to 

13 obligate amounts by the applicable deadline 

14 under subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall re15 cover the amount of those amounts that remain 

16 unobligated, as of that deadline. 

17 (E) COLLABORATION.—It is the sense of 

18 Congress that— 

19 (i) an entitlement community that re20 ceives amounts allocated under paragraph 

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1 istering a small business emergency fund; 

2 and 

3 (ii) States, units of general local gov4 ernment (including units of general local 

5 government located inside and outside non6 entitlement areas), and Indian Tribes that 

7 receive amounts under paragraph (1) and 

8 are located in the same region should col9 laborate in establishing and administering 

10 small business emergency funds. 

11 (d) SMALL BUSINESS EMERGENCY FUNDS.—With 

12 respect to a small business emergency fund that receives 

13 funds from an allocation made under subsection (c)— 

14 (1) if the small business emergency fund makes 

15 a loan to an eligible entity with those funds, the 

16 small business emergency fund may use amounts re17 turned to the small business emergency fund from 

18 the repayment of the loan to provide further assist19 ance to eligible entities, without regard to the termi20 nation date described in subsection (i); and 

21 (2) the small business emergency fund shall 

22 conduct outreach to eligible entities that are less 

23 likely to participate in programs established under 

24 the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136; 134 Stat. 

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1 ing minority-owned entities, businesses in low-in2 come communities, businesses in rural and Tribal 

3 areas, and other businesses that are underserved by 

4 the traditional banking system. 

5 (e) INFORMATION GATHERING.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—When providing assistance 

7 to an eligible entity with funds received from an allo8 cation made under subsection (c), the entity pro9 viding assistance shall— 

10 (A) inquire whether the eligible entity is— 

11 (i) in the case of an eligible entity 

12 that is a business entity or a nonprofit or13 ganization, a women-owned entity or a mi14 nority-owned entity; and 

15 (ii) in the case of an eligible entity 

16 who is an individual, a woman or a minor17 ity; and 

18 (B) maintain a record of the responses to 

19 each inquiry conducted under subparagraph 

20 (A), which the entity shall promptly submit to 

21 the applicable State, unit of general local gov22 ernment, or Indian Tribe. 

23 (2) RIGHT TO REFUSE.—An eligible entity may 

24 refuse to provide any information requested under 

25 paragraph (1)(A). 


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1 (f) REPORTING.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

3 the date on which a State, unit of general local gov4 ernment, or Indian Tribe initially receives an alloca5 tion made under subsection (c), and not later than 

6 14 days after the date on which that State, unit of 

7 local government, or Indian Tribe completes the full 

8 expenditure of that allocation, that State, unit of 

9 general local government, or Indian Tribe shall sub10 mit to the Secretary a report that includes— 

11 (A) the number of recipients of assistance 

12 made available from the allocation; 

13 (B) the total amount, and type, of assist14 ance made available from the allocation; 

15 (C) to the extent applicable, with respect 

16 to each recipient described in subparagraph 

17 (A), information regarding the industry of the 

18 recipient, the amount of assistance received by 

19 the recipient, the annual sales of the recipient, 

20 and the number of employees of the recipient; 

21 (D) to the extent available from informa22 tion collected under subsection (e), information 

23 regarding the number of recipients described in 

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1 ties, minorities, women, and women-owned enti2 ties; 

3 (E) the zip code of each recipient described 

4 in subparagraph (A); and 

5 (F) any other information that the Sec6 retary, in the sole discretion of the Secretary, 

7 determines to be necessary to carry out the 

8 Program. 

9 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—As soon as is prac10 ticable after receiving each report submitted under 

11 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make the infor12 mation contained in the report, including all of the 

13 information described in subparagraphs (A) through 

14 (F) of that paragraph, publicly available. 

15 (g) RULES AND GUIDANCE.—The Secretary, in con16 sultation with the Administrator, shall issue any rules and 

17 guidance that are necessary to carry out the Program, in18 cluding by establishing appropriate compliance and report19 ing requirements, in addition to the reporting require20 ments under subsection (f). 

21 (h) APPROPRIATION.—There are appropriated to the 

22 Secretary for fiscal year 2020, out of amounts in the 

23 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $50,500,000,000 to 

24 carry out the Program, which shall remain available until 

25 the termination date described in subsection (i). 


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1 (i) TERMINATION.—The Program, and any rules and 

2 guidance issued under subsection (g) with respect to the 

3 Program, shall terminate on the date that is 1 year after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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