I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7777 

To provide automatic forgiveness for paycheck protection program loans under 

$150,000, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 24, 2020 

Ms. HOULAHAN (for herself, Mr. UPTON, Mr. FLORES, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. 

WELCH, Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. 

CARTER of Texas, Mr. ROUDA, Mr. BARR, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. GUEST, 

Mr. BUDD, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. LUCAS, 

Mr. COOPER, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. 

BISHOP of North Carolina, and Mr. ROY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR PPP LOANS UNDER 

2 $150,000. 

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

4 136) is amended— 

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

6 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘An eligible’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (m), an eligi8 ble’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (f), by inserting ‘‘or the infor10 mation required under subsection (m), as applica11 ble’’ after ‘‘subsection (e)’’; 

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

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(h) HOLD HARMLESS.— 

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

16 certifications and documentation submitted by an 

17 applicant or eligible recipient pursuant to any re18 quirement in statute regarding covered loans, or 

19 rules or guidance promulgated to carry out any ac20 tion relating to covered loans, from an applicant or 

21 eligible recipient attesting that the applicant or eligi22 ble recipient has accurately verified all documenta23 tion provided to the lender. 

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

25 to a lender that relies on the certifications and docu26 mentation described in paragraph (1)— 


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

2 be taken against the lender relating to loan 

3 origination, forgiveness, or guarantee based on 

4 such reliance, including claims under— 

5 ‘‘(i) the Small Business Act (15 

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

7 ‘‘(ii) sections 3729 through 3733 of 

8 title 31, United States Code (commonly 

9 known as the ‘False Claims Act’); 

10 ‘‘(iii) the Financial Institutions Re11 form, Recovery, and Enforcement Act 

12 (Public Law 101–73); 

13 ‘‘(iv) section 21 of the Federal De14 posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1829b), 

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

16 (12 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.), and subchapter 

17 II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States 

18 Code (collectively known as the ‘Bank Se19 crecy Act’); or 

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

21 other criminal or civil law or regulation; 

22 and 

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

24 penalties relating to loan origination, forgiveVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:50 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7777.IH H7777

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1 ness, or guarantee based on such reliance.’’; 

2 and 

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

4 ‘‘(m) FORGIVENESS FOR COVERED LOANS UNDER

5 $150,000.— 

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

7 (e), with respect to a covered loan made to an eligi8 ble recipient that is not more than $150,000, the 

9 covered loan amount shall be forgiven under this 

10 section if the eligible recipient submits to the lender 

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

12 by the Administrator, that attests that the eligible 

13 recipient complied with the requirements under sec14 tion 7(a)(36) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

15 636(a)(36)). Covered individuals (defined under sec16 tion 4019 of this Act) are not eligible for forgiveness 

17 under this subsection. 

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

19 lender that relies on an attestation submitted by an 

20 eligible recipient under paragraph (1), no enforce21 ment action may be taken against the lender for any 

22 falsehoods contained in the attestation. 

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

24 or paper form established by the Administrator 

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


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1 an eligible recipient may, at the discretion of the eli2 gible recipient, submit demographic information of 

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

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

5 ‘‘(4) EXPENDITURE INFORMATION.—The form 

6 established by the Administrator under paragraph 

7 (1) shall include a process by which an eligible re8 cipient may elect to submit information about the 

9 use of the covered loan, including indication of 

10 whether the eligible recipient— 

11 ‘‘(A) used 60 percent or more of the cov12 ered loan amount for payroll costs as defined in 

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

14 U.S.C. 636(a)(36)); 

15 ‘‘(B) used less than 60 percent of the cov16 ered loan amount for payroll costs but is able 

17 to document an inability to hire or rehire em18 ployees as described under subsection (d)(7)(A); 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(C) used less than 60 percent of the cov21 ered loan amount for payroll costs but is able 

22 to document an inability to return to the same 

23 level of business activity as described under 

24 subsection (d)(7)(B). 


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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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