II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1470 

To amend the Small Business Act to provide additional assistance to small 

business concerns for disaster recovery, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 31, 2015 

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to provide additional assistance to small business concerns for disaster recovery, 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Recovery Improvements for Small Entities After Disaster 

6 Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘RISE After Disaster Act of 2015’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 


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TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS OF DISASTER RESPONSE AND LOANS 

Sec. 101. Use of data sharing. 

Sec. 102. Additional awards to small business development centers, women’s 

business centers, SCORE, and FAST recipients for disaster recovery. 

Sec. 103. Collateral requirements for disaster loans. 

Sec. 104. Assistance to out-of-State business concerns to aid in disaster recovery. 

Sec. 105. Fast-track SBIC applications. 

Sec. 106. FAST priorities. 

Sec. 107. Use of Federal surplus property in disaster areas. 

Sec. 108. Recovery opportunity loans. 

Sec. 109. Contractor malfeasance. 

Sec. 110. Local contracting preferences and incentives. 

TITLE II—DISASTER PLANNING AND MITIGATION 

Sec. 201. Use of physical damage disaster loans. 

Sec. 202. Business recovery centers. 

TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Increased oversight of economic injury disaster loans. 

Sec. 302. Reduction of paperwork burden. 

Sec. 303. Report on web portal for disaster loan applicants. 

Sec. 304. Local disaster contracting fairness. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘7(b) loan program’’ means assist4 ance provided by the Administration under section 

5 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)); 

6 (2) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

8 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 

9 (3) the term ‘‘covered supplemental appropria10 tions’’ means amounts made available to the Admin11 istration through supplemental appropriations for— 

12 (A) the cost of direct loans authorized 

13 under section 7(b) of the Small Business Act 


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1 (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) for necessary expenses re2 lated to the consequences of a major disaster 

3 declared by the President under section 401 of 

4 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

5 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); 

6 and 

7 (B) the direct administrative expenses of 

8 making and servicing those loans; 

9 (4) the term ‘‘major disaster’’ means a major 

10 disaster declared by the President under section 401 

11 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer12 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); and 

13 (5) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

14 meaning given that term under section 3 of the 

15 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

16 TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS OF 

17 DISASTER RESPONSE AND 

18 LOANS 

19 SEC. 101. USE OF DATA SHARING. 

20 Section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

21 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155) is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(e) USE OF DATA SHARING.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

2 ‘agency’ has the meaning given the term in section 

3 552a of title 5, United States Code. 

4 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN MATCHING

5 PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Any action taken by an 

6 agency to prevent, investigate, or recover duplicative 

7 Federal assistance under this section shall not be 

8 subject to subsections (e)(12), (o), (q), (r), and (u) 

9 of section 552a of title 5, United States Code. 

10 ‘‘(3) FRAUDULENT ACQUISITION OF ASSIST11 ANCE.—An investigation conducted by an agency re12 lating to the fraudulent acquisition of duplicative 

13 Federal assistance under this section shall not be 

14 subject to section 552a(p) of title 5, United States 

15 Code.’’. 

16 SEC. 102. ADDITIONAL AWARDS TO SMALL BUSINESS DE17 VELOPMENT CENTERS, WOMEN’S BUSINESS 

18 CENTERS, SCORE, AND FAST RECIPIENTS 

19 FOR DISASTER RECOVERY. 

20 Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

21 636(b)) is amended by inserting before the undesignated 

22 matter following paragraph (9) the following: 

23 ‘‘(10) ADDITIONAL AWARDS TO SMALL BUSI24 NESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS, WOMEN’S BUSINESS


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1 CENTERS, SCORE, AND FAST RECIPIENTS FOR DIS2 ASTER RECOVERY.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administration 

4 may provide financial assistance to a small 

5 business development center, a women’s busi6 ness center described in section 29, the Service 

7 Corps of Retired Executives, a entity, organiza8 tion, or individual that receives an award or has 

9 in effect a cooperative agreement under section 

10 34, or any proposed consortium of such individ11 uals or entities to spur disaster recovery and 

12 growth of small business concerns located in an 

13 area for which the President has declared a 

14 major disaster. 

15 ‘‘(B) FORM OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

16 Financial assistance provided under this para17 graph shall be in the form of a grant, contract, 

18 or cooperative agreement. 

19 ‘‘(C) NO MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRED.— 

20 Matching funds shall not be required for any 

21 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under 

22 this paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS.—A recipient of fi24 nancial assistance under this paragraph shall 

25 provide counseling, training, and other related 


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1 services, such as promoting long-term resiliency, 

2 to small business concerns and entrepreneurs 

3 impacted by a major disaster. 

4 ‘‘(E) PERFORMANCE.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Adminis6 trator, in cooperation with the recipients of 

7 financial assistance under this paragraph, 

8 shall establish metrics and goals for per9 formance of grants, contracts, and cooper10 ative agreements under this paragraph, 

11 which shall include recovery of sales, recov12 ery of employment, reestablishment of 

13 business premises, and establishment of 

14 new small business concerns. 

15 ‘‘(ii) USE OF ESTIMATES.—The Ad16 ministrator shall base the goals and 

17 metrics for performance established under 

18 clause (i), in part, on the estimates of dis19 aster impact prepared by the Office of Dis20 aster Assistance for purposes of estimating 

21 loan-making requirements. 

22 ‘‘(F) TERM.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term of any 

24 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 


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1 under this paragraph shall be for not more 

2 than 2 years. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSION.—The Administrator 

4 may make 1 extension of a grant, contract, 

5 or cooperative agreement under this para6 graph for a period of not more than 1 

7 year, upon a showing of good cause and 

8 need for the extension. 

9 ‘‘(G) EXEMPTION FROM OTHER PROGRAM

10 REQUIREMENTS.—Financial assistance provided 

11 under this paragraph is in addition to, and 

12 wholly separate from, any other form of assist13 ance provided by the Administrator under this 

14 Act. 

15 ‘‘(H) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—The Adminis16 tration shall award financial assistance under 

17 this paragraph on a competitive basis.’’. 

18 SEC. 103. COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DISASTER 

19 LOANS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(d)(6) of the Small Busi21 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 636(d)(6)) is amended in the third 

22 proviso— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘$14,000’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘$25,000’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘major disaster’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘disaster’’. 

3 (b) SUNSET.—Effective on the date that is 3 years 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, section 7(d)(6) 

5 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(d)(6)) is 

6 amended in the third proviso— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘$14,000’’; and 

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘major’’ before ‘‘disaster’’. 

10 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days before the 

11 date on which the amendments made by subsection (b) 

12 are to take effect, the Administrator shall submit to Com13 mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 

14 Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the 

15 House of Representatives a report on the effects of the 

16 amendments made by subsection (a), which shall in17 clude— 

18 (1) an assessment of the impact and benefits 

19 resulting from the amendments; and 

20 (2) a recommendation as to whether the amend21 ments should be made permanent. 

22 SEC. 104. ASSISTANCE TO OUT-OF-STATE BUSINESS CON23 CERNS TO AID IN DISASTER RECOVERY. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 21(b)(3) of the Small 

25 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(b)(3)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(3) At the discretion’’ and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE TO OUT-OF-STATE SMALL

4 BUSINESS CONCERNS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion’’; 

6 and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(B) DISASTER RECOVERY ASSISTANCE.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion 

10 of the Administrator, the Administrator 

11 may authorize a small business develop12 ment center to provide advice, information, 

13 and assistance, as described in subsection 

14 (c), to a small business concern located 

15 outside of the State, without regard to geo16 graphic proximity to the small business de17 velopment center, if the small business 

18 concern is located in an area for which the 

19 President has declared a major disaster. 

20 ‘‘(ii) TERM.— 

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A small busi22 ness development center may provide 

23 advice, information, and assistance to 

24 a small business concern under clause 

25 (i) for a period of not more than 2 


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1 years after the date on which the 

2 President declared a major disaster 

3 for the area in which the small busi4 ness concern is located. 

5 ‘‘(II) EXTENSION.—The Admin6 istrator may, at the discretion of the 

7 Administrator, extend the period de8 scribed in subclause (I). 

9 ‘‘(iii) CONTINUITY OF SERVICES.—A 

10 small business development center that 

11 provides counselors to an area described in 

12 clause (i) shall, to the maximum extent 

13 practicable, ensure continuity of services in 

14 any State in which the small business de15 velopment center otherwise provides serv16 ices. 

17 ‘‘(iv) ACCESS TO DISASTER RECOVERY

18 FACILITIES.—For purposes of this sub19 paragraph, the Administrator shall, to the 

20 maximum extent practicable, permit the 

21 personnel of a small business development 

22 center to use any site or facility designated 

23 by the Administrator for use to provide 

24 disaster recovery assistance.’’. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that, subject to the availability of funds, the Admin3 istrator should, to the extent practicable, ensure that a 

4 small business development center is appropriately reim5 bursed for any legitimate expenses incurred in carrying 

6 out activities under section 21(b)(3)(B) of the Small Busi7 ness Act, as added by subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 105. FAST-TRACK SBIC APPLICATIONS. 

9 Section 301(c)(2) of the Small Business Investment 

10 Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 681(c)(2)) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(C) PRIORITY FOR APPLICANTS LOCATED

13 IN DISASTER AREAS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this subpara15 graph, the term ‘disaster area’ means the 

16 area for which the President has declared 

17 a major disaster (as defined in section 102 

18 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

19 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 5122)), during the period of the declara21 tion. 

22 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—The Administrator 

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1 ment company that is from an applicant 

2 located in a disaster area.’’. 

3 SEC. 106. FAST PRIORITIES. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 34(a) of the Small Busi5 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 657d(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

7 (9) as (4) through (10), respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(3) CATASTROPHIC DISASTER.—The term ‘cat11 astrophic disaster’ means a catastrophic disaster, as 

12 determined by the Administrator.’’. 

13 (b) PRIORITY.—Section 34(c)(2) of the Small Busi14 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 657d(c)(2)) is amended— 

15 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

16 the end; 

17 (2) in subparagraph (B)(vi)(III), by striking 

18 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(C) shall give special consideration to an 

21 applicant that is located in an area affected by 

22 a catastrophic disaster.’’. 

23 (c) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 34(c) of the 

24 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657d(c)) is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR CATA2 STROPHIC DISASTERS.—Upon application by an ap3 plicant that receives an award or has in effect a co4 operative agreement under this section and that is 

5 located in an area affected by a catastrophic dis6 aster, the Administrator may provide additional as7 sistance to the applicant.’’. 

8 SEC. 107. USE OF FEDERAL SURPLUS PROPERTY IN DIS9 ASTER AREAS. 

10 Section 7(j)(13)(F) of the Small Business Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 636(j)(13)(F)) is amended— 

12 (1) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(F)’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(ii)(I) In this clause— 

15 ‘‘(aa) the term ‘covered period’ 

16 means the 2-year period beginning on 

17 the date on which the President de18 clared the applicable major disaster; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(bb) the term ‘disaster area’ 

21 means the area for which the Presi22 dent has declared a major disaster, 

23 during the covered period. 

24 ‘‘(II) The Administrator may transfer 

25 technology or surplus property under 


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1 clause (i) on a priority basis to a small 

2 business concern located in a disaster area 

3 if— 

4 ‘‘(aa) the small business concern 

5 meets the requirements for such a 

6 transfer, without regard to whether 

7 the small business concern is a Pro8 gram Participant; and 

9 ‘‘(bb) for a small business con10 cern that is a Program Participant, 

11 on and after the date on which the 

12 President declared the applicable 

13 major disaster, the small business 

14 concern has not received property 

15 under this subparagraph on the basis 

16 of the status of the small business 

17 concern as a Program Participant. 

18 ‘‘(III) For any transfer of property 

19 under this clause to a small business con20 cern, the terms and conditions shall be the 

21 same as a transfer to a Program Partici22 pant, except that the small business con23 cern shall agree not to sell or transfer the 

24 property to any party other than the Fed25 eral Government during the covered period. 


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1 ‘‘(IV) A small business concern that 

2 receives a transfer of property under this 

3 clause may not receive a transfer of prop4 erty under clause (i) during the covered 

5 period. 

6 ‘‘(V) If a small business concern sells 

7 or transfers property in violation of the 

8 agreement described in subclause (III), the 

9 Administrator may initiate proceedings to 

10 prohibit the small business concern from 

11 receiving a transfer of property under this 

12 clause or clause (i), in addition to any 

13 other remedy available to the Adminis14 trator.’’. 

15 SEC. 108. RECOVERY OPPORTUNITY LOANS. 

16 Section 7(a)(31) of the Small Business Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 636(a)(31)) is amended— 

18 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

19 (A) by redesignating clauses (i), (ii), and 

20 (iii) as clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv), respectively; 

21 and 

22 (B) by inserting before clause (ii), as so re23 designated, the following: 

24 ‘‘(i) The term ‘disaster area’ means 

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1 clared a major disaster, during the 5-year 

2 period beginning on the date of the dec3 laration.’’; 

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

5 ‘‘(G) RECOVERY OPPORTUNITY LOANS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

7 may guarantee an express loan to a small 

8 business concern located in a disaster area 

9 in accordance with this subparagraph. 

10 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUMS.—For a loan guaran11 teed under clause (i)— 

12 ‘‘(I) the maximum loan amount 

13 is $150,000; and 

14 ‘‘(II) the guarantee rate shall be 

15 not more than 85 percent. 

16 ‘‘(iii) OVERALL CAP.—A loan guaran17 teed under clause (i) shall not be counted 

18 in determining the amount of loans made 

19 to a borrower for purposes of subpara20 graph (D). 

21 ‘‘(iv) EXISTING DEBT.—A loan guar22 anteed under clause (i) may be used to re23 finance existing debt arising from the ap24 plicable major disaster, subject to section 


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1 120.201 of title 13, Code of Federal Regu2 lations, or any successor thereto. 

3 ‘‘(v) OPERATIONS.—A small business 

4 concern receiving a loan guaranteed under 

5 clause (i) shall certify that the small busi6 ness concern was in operation on the date 

7 on which the applicable major disaster oc8 curred as a condition of receiving the loan. 

9 ‘‘(vi) REPAYMENT ABILITY.—A loan 

10 guaranteed under clause (i) may only be 

11 made to a small business concern that 

12 demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Ad13 ministrator, sufficient capacity to repay 

14 the loan. 

15 ‘‘(vii) TIMING OF PAYMENT OF GUAR16 ANTEES.— 

17 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later 

18 than 90 days after the date on which 

19 the Administrator receives notice of a 

20 default on a loan guaranteed under 

21 clause (i), the Administrator shall de22 termine whether to pay the guaran23 teed portion of the loan. 

24 ‘‘(II) RECAPTURE.—Unless there 

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1 teed under clause (i), on and after the 

2 date that is 6 months after the date 

3 on which the Administrator deter4 mines to pay the guaranteed portion 

5 of the loan, the Administrator may 

6 not attempt to recapture the paid 

7 guarantee.’’. 

8 SEC. 109. CONTRACTOR MALFEASANCE. 

9 Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

10 636(b)) is amended by inserting before the undesignated 

11 matter following paragraph (10), as added by section 102 

12 of this Act, the following: 

13 ‘‘(11) SUPPLEMENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR CON14 TRACTOR MALFEASANCE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a contractor or 

16 other person engages in malfeasance in connec17 tion with repairs to, rehabilitation of, or re18 placement of real or personal property relating 

19 to which a loan was made under this subsection 

20 and the malfeasance results in substantial eco21 nomic damage to the recipient of the loan or 

22 substantial risks to health or safety, upon re23 ceiving documentation of the substantial eco24 nomic damage or the substantial risk to health 

25 and safety from an independent loss verifier, 


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1 and subject to subparagraph (B), the Adminis2 trator may increase the amount of the loan 

3 under this subsection, as necessary for the cost 

4 of repairs, rehabilitation, or replacement needed 

5 to address the cause of the economic damage or 

6 health or safety risk. 

7 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator 

8 may only increase the amount of a loan under 

9 subparagraph (A) upon receiving an appro10 priate certification from the borrower and per11 son performing the mitigation attesting to the 

12 reasonableness of the mitigation costs and an 

13 assignment of any proceeds received from the 

14 person engaging in the malfeasance. The as15 signment of proceeds recovered from the person 

16 engaging in the malfeasance shall be equal to 

17 the amount of the loan under this section. Any 

18 mitigation activities shall be subject to audit 

19 and independent verification of completeness 

20 and cost reasonableness.’’. 

21 SEC. 110. LOCAL CONTRACTING PREFERENCES AND INCEN22 TIVES. 

23 Section 15 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644) 

24 is amended by inserting after subsection (e) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(f) CONTRACTING PREFERENCE FOR SMALL BUSI2 NESS CONCERNS IN A MAJOR DISASTER AREA.— 

3 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

4 ‘disaster area’ means the area for which the Presi5 dent has declared a major disaster, during the pe6 riod of the declaration. 

7 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTING PREFERENCE.—An agency 

8 shall provide a contracting preference for a small 

9 business concern located in a disaster area if the 

10 small business concern will perform the work re11 quired under the contract in the disaster area. 

12 ‘‘(3) CREDIT FOR MEETING CONTRACTING

13 GOALS.—If an agency awards a contract to a small 

14 business concern under the circumstances described 

15 in paragraph (2), the value of the contract shall be 

16 doubled for purposes of determining compliance with 

17 the goals for procurement contracts under sub18 section (g)(1)(A).’’. 

19 TITLE II—DISASTER PLANNING 

20 AND MITIGATION 

21 SEC. 201. USE OF PHYSICAL DAMAGE DISASTER LOANS. 

22 Section 7(b)(1)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 

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1 (1) by striking ‘‘the Administration may in2 crease’’ and inserting ‘‘the Administration may, sub3 ject to section 18(a), increase’’; and 

4 (2) by striking ‘‘and modifying structures’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘, and modifying structures (including con6 struction of a safe room or similar storm shelter de7 signed to protect property and occupants from tor8 nadoes or other natural disasters)’’. 

9 SEC. 202. BUSINESS RECOVERY CENTERS. 

10 Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 636(b)) is amended by inserting before the undesignated 

12 matter following paragraph (11), as added by section 109 

13 of this Act, the following: 

14 ‘‘(12) BUSINESS RECOVERY CENTERS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

16 acting through the district offices of the Admin17 istration, shall identify locations that may be 

18 used as recovery centers by the Administration 

19 in the event of a disaster declared under this 

20 subsection or a major disaster. 

21 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR IDENTIFICA22 TION.—Each district office of the Administra23 tion shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) identify a location described in 

25 subparagraph (A) in each county, parish, 


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1 or similar unit of general local government 

2 in the area served by the district office; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the locations identi5 fied under subparagraph (A) may be used 

6 as a recovery center without cost to the 

7 Government, to the extent practicable.’’. 

8 TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

9 SEC. 301. INCREASED OVERSIGHT OF ECONOMIC INJURY 

10 DISASTER LOANS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(b) of the Small Busi12 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting be13 fore the undesignated matter following paragraph (12), as 

14 added by section 202 of this Act, the following: 

15 ‘‘(13) INCREASED OVERSIGHT OF ECONOMIC IN16 JURY DISASTER LOANS.—The Administrator shall 

17 increase oversight of entities receiving loans under 

18 paragraph (2), including through— 

19 ‘‘(A) scheduled site visits to ensure bor20 rower eligibility and compliance with require21 ments established by the Administrator; and 

22 ‘‘(B) reviews of the use of the loan pro23 ceeds by an entity described in paragraph (2) to 

24 ensure compliance with requirements estab25 lished by the Administrator.’’. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO USING EX2 ISTING FUNDS.—It is the sense of Congress that no addi3 tional Federal funds should be made available to carry out 

4 the amendments made by this section. 

5 SEC. 302. REDUCTION OF PAPERWORK BURDEN. 

6 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that the Administrator should— 

8 (1) reduce paperwork burdens pursuant to sec9 tion 3501 of title 44, United States Code, on small 

10 business concerns applying for disaster assistance 

11 under section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 

12 U.S.C. 636(b)); and 

13 (2) ensure that the application for disaster as14 sistance under section 7(b) of the Small Business 

15 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) facilitates deterring and de16 tecting potential incidents of waste, fraud, and 

17 abuse. 

18 (b) REDUCTION.—Section 7(b) of the Small Business 

19 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting before the 

20 undesignated matter following paragraph (13), as added 

21 by section 301 of this Act, the following: 

22 ‘‘(14) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—The Adminis23 trator shall take steps to reduce, to the maximum 

24 extent practicable, the paperwork associated with the 

25 application for a loan under this subsection.’’. 


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1 SEC. 303. REPORT ON WEB PORTAL FOR DISASTER LOAN 

2 APPLICANTS. 

3 Section 38 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 657j) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(c) REPORT ON WEB PORTAL FOR DISASTER LOAN

6 APPLICATION STATUS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

8 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

9 Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 

10 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

11 and the Committee on Small Business of the House 

12 of Representatives a report relating to the creation 

13 of a web portal to the track the status of applica14 tions for disaster assistance under section 7(b). 

15 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph 

16 (1) shall include— 

17 ‘‘(A) information on the progress of the 

18 Administration in implementing the information 

19 system under subsection (a); 

20 ‘‘(B) recommendations from the Adminis21 tration relating to the creation of a web portal 

22 for applicants to check the status of an applica23 tion for disaster assistance under section 7(b), 

24 including a review of best practices and web 

25 portal models from the private sector; 


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1 ‘‘(C) information on any related costs or 

2 staffing needed to implement such a web portal; 

3 ‘‘(D) information on whether such a web 

4 portal can maintain high standards for data 

5 privacy and data security; 

6 ‘‘(E) information on whether such a web 

7 portal will minimize redundancy among Admin8 istration disaster programs, improve manage9 ment of the number of inquiries made by dis10 aster applicants to employees located in the 

11 area affected by the disaster and to call centers, 

12 and reduce paperwork burdens on disaster vic13 tims; and 

14 ‘‘(F) such additional information as is de15 termined necessary by the Administrator.’’. 

16 SEC. 304. LOCAL DISASTER CONTRACTING FAIRNESS. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

18 (1) the term ‘‘executive agency’’ has the mean19 ing given that term in section 133 of title 41, United 

20 States Code; 

21 (2) the term ‘‘local subcontractor’’ means, with 

22 respect to a contract, a subcontractor who has a 

23 principal place of business or regularly conducts op24 erations in the area in which work is to be per25 formed under the contract by the subcontractor; and 


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1 (3) the term ‘‘natural disaster reconstruction 

2 efforts’’ means reconstruction efforts undertaken in 

3 an area for which the President has declared a 

4 major disaster under section 401 of the Robert T. 

5 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170). 

7 (b) FEDERAL CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an executive 

9 agency may not enter into an agreement for debris 

10 removal or demolition services in connection with 

11 natural disaster reconstruction efforts unless the 

12 agreement specifies that— 

13 (A) all of the work under the contract will 

14 be performed by the prime contractor or 1 or 

15 more subcontractors at 1 tier under the con16 tract; 

17 (B) any work performed under the con18 tract by subcontractors will be performed by 

19 local subcontractors, except to the extent that 

20 local subcontractors are not available to per21 form such work; 

22 (C) the prime contractor will act as the 

23 project manager or construction manager for 

24 the contract; and 

25 (D) the prime contractor— 


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1 (i) has primary responsibility for man2 aging all work under the contract; and 

3 (ii) will be paid a certain percentage 

4 of the overall value of the contract as sole 

5 compensation for assuming the risk associ6 ated with such responsibility. 

7 (2) PREFERENCE FOR SUBCONTRACTORS AF8 FECTED BY NATURAL DISASTERS.—In entering into 

9 an agreement for debris removal or demolition serv10 ices in connection with natural disaster reconstruc11 tion efforts, the head of an executive agency shall 

12 give a preference in the source selection process to 

13 each offeror who certifies that any work that is to 

14 be performed under the contract by subcontractors 

15 will be performed by local subcontractors. 

16 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements under sub17 section (b) shall apply to agreements entered into on or 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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