II 

Calendar No. 139 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 163 

[Report No. 110–64] 

To improve the disaster loan program of the Small Business Administration, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 4, 2007 

Mr. KERRY (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. LANDRIEU, and Mr. VITTER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

MAY 7, 2007 

Reported by Mr. KERRY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To improve the disaster loan program of the Small Business 

Administration, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improve4 ments Act of 2007’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—PRIVATE DISASTER LOANS 

Sec. 101. Private disaster loans. 

Sec. 102. Technical and conforming amendments. 

TITLE II—DISASTER RELIEF AND RECONSTRUCTION 

Sec. 201. Definition of disaster area. 

Sec. 202. Disaster loans to nonprofits. 

Sec. 203. Disaster loan amounts. 

Sec. 204. Small business development center portability grants. 

Sec. 205. Assistance to out-of-State businesses. 

Sec. 206. Outreach programs. 

Sec. 207. Small business bonding threshold. 

Sec. 208. Contracting priority for local small businesses. 

Sec. 209. Termination of program. 

Sec. 210. Increasing collateral requirements. 

TITLE III—DISASTER RESPONSE 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Business expedited disaster assistance loan program. 

Sec. 303. Catastrophic national disasters. 

Sec. 304. Public awareness of disaster declaration and application periods. 

Sec. 305. Consistency between Administration regulations and standard operating procedures. 

Sec. 306. Processing disaster loans. 

Sec. 307. Development and implementation of major disaster response plan. 

Sec. 308. Congressional oversight. 

TITLE IV—ENERGY EMERGENCIES 

Sec. 401. Findings. 

Sec. 402. Small business energy emergency disaster loan program. 

Sec. 403. Agricultural producer emergency loans. 

Sec. 404. Guidelines and rulemaking. 

Sec. 405. Reports. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act— 

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1 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

3 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 

4 (2) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

5 same meaning as in section 3 of the Small Business 

6 Act (15 U.S.C. 632); and 

7 (3) the term ‘‘small business concern owned 

8 and controlled by socially and economically disadvan9 taged individuals’’ has the same meaning as in sec10 tion 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637). 

11 TITLE I—PRIVATE DISASTER 

12 LOANS 

13 SEC. 101. PRIVATE DISASTER LOANS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7 of the Small Business 

15 Act (15 U.S.C. 636) is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

17 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 

18 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(c) PRIVATE DISASTER LOANS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

22 ‘‘(A) the term ‘disaster area’ means a 

23 county, parish, or similar unit of general local 

24 government in which a disaster was declared 

25 under subsection (b); 

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1 ‘‘(B) the term ‘eligible small business con2 cern’ means a business concern that is— 

3 ‘‘(i) a small business concern, as de4 fined in this Act; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) a small business concern, as de6 fined in section 103 of the Small Business 

7 Investment Act of 1958; and 

8 ‘‘(C) the term ‘qualified private lender’ 

9 means any privately-owned bank or other lend10 ing institution that the Administrator deter11 mines meets the criteria established under para12 graph (9). 

13 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—The Administrator may 

14 guarantee timely payment of principal and interest, 

15 as scheduled on any loan issued by a qualified pri16 vate lender to an eligible small business concern lo17 cated in a disaster area. 

18 ‘‘(3) USE OF LOANS.—A loan guaranteed by 

19 the Administrator under this subsection may be used 

20 for any purpose authorized under subsection (a) or 

21 (b). 

22 ‘‘(4) ONLINE APPLICATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Adminis24 trator may establish, directly or through an 

25 agreement with another entity, an online applimstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 cation process for loans guaranteed under this 

2 subsection. 

3 ‘‘(B) OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

4 Administrator may coordinate with the head of 

5 any other appropriate Federal agency so that 

6 any application submitted through an online ap7 plication process established under this para8 graph may be considered for any other Federal 

9 assistance program for disaster relief. 

10 ‘‘(C) CONSULTATION.—In establishing an 

11 online application process under this paragraph, 

12 the Administrator shall consult with appro13 priate persons from the public and private sec14 tors, including private lenders. 

15 ‘‘(5) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) GUARANTEE PERCENTAGE.—The Ad17 ministrator may guarantee not more than 85 

18 percent of a loan under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(B) LOAN AMOUNTS.—The maximum 

20 amount of a loan guaranteed under this sub21 section shall be $3,000,000. 

22 ‘‘(6) LOAN TERM.—The longest term of a loan 

23 for a loan guaranteed under this subsection shall 

24 be— 

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1 ‘‘(A) 15 years for any loan that is issued 

2 without collateral; and 

3 ‘‘(B) 25 years for any loan that is issued 

4 with collateral. 

5 ‘‘(7) FEES.— 

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

7 may not collect a guarantee fee under this sub8 section. 

9 ‘‘(B) ORIGINATION FEE.—The Adminis10 trator may pay a qualified private lender an 

11 origination fee for a loan guaranteed under this 

12 subsection in an amount agreed upon in ad13 vance between the qualified private lender and 

14 the Administrator. 

15 ‘‘(8) DOCUMENTATION.—A qualified private 

16 lender may use its own loan documentation for a 

17 loan guaranteed by the Administrator, to the extent 

18 authorized by the Administrator. The ability of a 

19 lender to use its own loan documentation for a loan 

20 offered under this subsection shall not be considered 

21 part of the criteria for becoming a qualified private 

22 lender under the regulations promulgated under 

23 paragraph (9). 

24 ‘‘(9) IMPLEMENTATION REGULATIONS.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of the Small Busi3 ness Disaster Response and Loan Improve4 ments Act of 2007, the Administrator shall 

5 issue final regulations establishing permanent 

6 criteria for qualified private lenders. 

7 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

8 than 6 months after the date of enactment of 

9 the Small Business Disaster Response and 

10 Loan Improvements Act of 2007, the Adminis11 trator shall submit a report on the progress of 

12 the regulations required by subparagraph (A) to 

13 the Committee on Small Business and Entre14 preneurship of the Senate and the Committee 

15 on Small Business of the House of Representa16 tives. 

17 ‘‘(10) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts necessary to 

19 carry out this subsection shall be made avail20 able from amounts appropriated to the Admin21 istration under subsection (b). 

22 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY TO REDUCE INTEREST

23 RATES.—Funds appropriated to the Adminis24 tration to carry out this subsection, may be 

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1 able, to reduce the applicable rate of interest 

2 for a loan guaranteed under this subsection by 

3 not more than 3 percentage points.’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

5 this section shall apply to disasters declared under section 

6 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act (631 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) 

7 before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 102. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

9 The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in section 4(c)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘7(c)(2)’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘7(d)(2)’’; and 

14 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘7(c)(2)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘7(d)(2)’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘7(e),’’; and 

18 (2) in section 7(b), in the undesignated matter 

19 following paragraph (3)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘That the provisions of 

21 paragraph (1) of subsection (c)’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘That the provisions of paragraph (1) of sub23 section (d)’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding the pro25 visions of any other law the interest rate on the 

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1 Administration’s share of any loan made under 

2 subsection (b) except as provided in subsection 

3 (c),’’ and inserting ‘‘Notwithstanding any other 

4 provision of law, and except as provided in sub5 section (d), the interest rate on the Administra6 tion’s share of any loan made under subsection 

7 (b)’’. 

8 TITLE II—DISASTER RELIEF AND 

9 RECONSTRUCTION 

10 SEC. 201. DEFINITION OF DISASTER AREA. 

11 In this title, the term ‘‘disaster area’’ means an area 

12 affected by a natural or other disaster, as determined for 

13 purposes of paragraph (1) or (2) of section 7(b) of the 

14 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)), during the period 

15 of such declaration. 

16 SEC. 202. DISASTER LOANS TO NONPROFITS. 

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

18 636(b)) is amended by inserting immediately after para19 graph (3) the following: 

20 ‘‘(4) LOANS TO NONPROFITS.—In addition to 

21 any other loan authorized by this subsection, the Ad22 ministrator may make such loans (either directly or 

23 in cooperation with banks or other lending institu24 tions through agreements to participate on an imme25 diate or deferred basis) as the Administrator determstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 mines appropriate to a nonprofit organization lo2 cated or operating in an area affected by a natural 

3 or other disaster, as determined under paragraph 

4 (1) or (2), or providing services to persons who have 

5 evacuated from any such area.’’. 

6 SEC. 203. DISASTER LOAN AMOUNTS. 

7 (a) INCREASED LOAN CAPS.—Section 7(b) of the 

8 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by in9 serting immediately after paragraph (4), as added by this 

10 title, the following: 

11 ‘‘(5) INCREASED LOAN CAPS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) AGGREGATE LOAN AMOUNTS.—Ex13 cept as provided in clause (ii), and notwith14 standing any other provision of law, the aggre15 gate loan amount outstanding and committed to 

16 a borrower under this subsection may not ex17 ceed $5,000,000. 

18 ‘‘(B) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Adminis19 trator may, at the discretion of the Adminis20 trator, waive the aggregate loan amount estab21 lished under clause (i).’’. 

22 (b) DISASTER MITIGATION.— 

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

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

25 amended by inserting ‘‘of the aggregate costs of 

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1 such damage or destruction (whether or not com2 pensated for by insurance or otherwise)’’ after ‘‘20 

3 per centum’’. 

4 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

5 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to a loan 

6 or guarantee made after the date of enactment of 

7 this Act. 

8 (c) 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. 204. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER PORT23 ABILITY GRANTS. 

24 Section 21(a)(4)(C)(viii) of the Small Business Act 

25 (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)(viii)) is amended— 

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1 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘as a re2 sult of a business or government facility down sizing 

3 or closing, which has resulted in the loss of jobs or 

4 small business instability’’ and inserting ‘‘due to 

5 events that have resulted or will result in, business 

6 or government facility downsizing or closing’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end ‘‘At the discretion of 

8 the Administrator, the Administrator may make an 

9 award greater than $100,000 to a recipient to ac10 commodate extraordinary occurrences having a cata11 strophic impact on the small business concerns in a 

12 community.’’. 

13 SEC. 205. ASSISTANCE TO OUT-OF-STATE BUSINESSES. 

14 Section 21(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 

15 U.S.C. 648(b)(3)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘At the discretion’’ and insert17 ing the following: ‘‘SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

18 CENTERS.— 

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

20 and 

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

22 ‘‘(B) DURING DISASTERS.— 

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

24 of the Administrator, the Administrator 

25 may authorize a small business developmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ment center to provide such assistance to 

2 small business concerns located outside of 

3 the State, without regard to geographic 

4 proximity, if the small business concerns 

5 are located in a disaster area declared 

6 under section 7(b)(2)(A). 

7 ‘‘(ii) CONTINUITY OF SERVICES.—A 

8 small business development center that 

9 provides counselors to an area described in 

10 clause (i) shall, to the maximum extent 

11 practicable, ensure continuity of services in 

12 any State in which such small business de13 velopment center otherwise provides serv14 ices. 

15 ‘‘(iii) ACCESS TO DISASTER RECOVERY

16 FACILITIES.—For purposes of providing 

17 disaster recovery assistance under this sub18 paragraph, the Administrator shall, to the 

19 maximum extent practicable, permit small 

20 business development center personnel to 

21 use any site or facility designated by the 

22 Administrator for use to provide disaster 

23 recovery assistance.’’. 

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1 SEC. 206. OUTREACH PROGRAMS. 

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

3 date of the declaration of a disaster area, the Adminis4 trator may establish a contracting outreach and technical 

5 assistance program for small business concerns which have 

6 had a primary place of business in, or other significant 

7 presence in, such disaster area. 

8 (b) ADMINISTRATOR ACTION.—The Administrator 

9 may fulfill the requirement of subsection (a) by acting 

10 through— 

11 (1) the Administration; 

12 (2) the Federal agency small business officials 

13 designated under section 15(k)(1) of the Small Busi14 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)(1)); or 

15 (3) any Federal, State, or local government en16 tity, higher education institution, procurement tech17 nical assistance center, or private nonprofit organi18 zation that the Administrator may determine appro19 priate, upon conclusion of a memorandum of under20 standing or assistance agreement, as appropriate, 

21 with the Administrator. 

22 SEC. 207. SMALL BUSINESS BONDING THRESHOLD. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

24 (b), and notwithstanding any other provision of law, for 

25 any procurement related to a major disaster (as that term 

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1 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 5122)), the Administrator may, upon such terms and con3 ditions as the Administrator may prescribe, guarantee and 

4 enter into commitments to guarantee any surety against 

5 loss resulting from a breach of the terms of a bid bond, 

6 payment bond, performance bond, or bonds ancillary 

7 thereto, by a principal on any total work order or contract 

8 amount at the time of bond execution that does not exceed 

9 $5,000,000. 

10 (b) INCREASE OF AMOUNT.—Upon request of the 

11 head of any Federal agency other than the Administration 

12 involved in reconstruction efforts in response to a major 

13 disaster, the Administrator may guarantee and enter into 

14 a commitment to guarantee any security against loss 

15 under subsection (a) on any total work order or contract 

16 amount at the time of bond execution that does not exceed 

17 $10,000,000. 

18 SEC. 208. CONTRACTING PRIORITY FOR LOCAL SMALL 

19 BUSINESSES. 

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

21 644(d)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘(d) For purposes’’ and insert23 ing the following: 

24 ‘‘(d) CONTRACTING PRIORITIES.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes’’; and 

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

2 ‘‘(2) DISASTER CONTRACTING PRIORITY IN

3 GENERAL.—The Administrator shall designate any 

4 disaster area as an area of concentrated unemploy5 ment or underemployment, or a labor surplus area 

6 for purposes of paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(3) LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of each ex9 ecutive agency shall give priority in the award10 ing of contracts and the placement of sub11 contracts for disaster relief to local small busi12 ness concerns by using, as appropriate— 

13 ‘‘(i) preferential factors in evaluations 

14 of contract bids and proposals; 

15 ‘‘(ii) competitions restricted to local 

16 small business concerns, where there is a 

17 reasonable expectation of receiving com18 petitive, reasonably priced bids or pro19 posals from not fewer than 2 local small 

20 business concerns; 

21 ‘‘(iii) requirements of preference for 

22 local small business concerns in subcon23 tracting plans; and 

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1 ‘‘(iv) assessments of liquidated dam2 ages and other contractual penalties, in3 cluding contract termination. 

4 ‘‘(B) OTHER DISASTER ASSISTANCE.—Pri5 ority shall be given to local small business con6 cerns in the awarding of contracts and the 

7 placement of subcontracts for disaster relief in 

8 any Federal procurement and any procurement 

9 by a State or local government made with Fed10 eral disaster assistance funds. 

11 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

12 ‘‘(A) the term ‘declared disaster’ means a 

13 disaster, as designated by the Administrator; 

14 ‘‘(B) the term ‘disaster area’ means any 

15 State or area affected by a declared disaster, as 

16 determined by the Administrator; 

17 ‘‘(C) the term ‘executive agency’ has the 

18 same meaning as in section 105 of title 5, 

19 United States Code; and 

20 ‘‘(D) the term ‘local small business con21 cern’ means a small business concern that— 

22 ‘‘(i) on the date immediately pre23 ceding the date on which a declared dis24 aster occurred— 

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1 ‘‘(I) had a principal office in the 

2 disaster area for such declared dis3 aster; and 

4 ‘‘(II) employed a majority of the 

5 workforce of such small business con6 cern in the disaster area for such de7 clared disaster; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) is capable of performing a sub9 stantial proportion of any contract or sub10 contract for disaster relief within the dis11 aster area for such declared disaster, as 

12 determined by the Administrator.’’. 

13 SEC. 209. TERMINATION OF PROGRAM. 

14 Section 711(c) of the Small Business Competitive 

15 Demonstration Program Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 644 note) 

16 is amended by inserting after ‘‘January 1, 1989’’ the fol17 lowing: ‘‘, and shall terminate on the date of enactment 

18 of the Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Im19 provements Act of 2007’’. 

20 SEC. 210. INCREASING COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS. 

21 Section 7(d)(6) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

22 636), as so designated by section 101, is amended by 

23 striking ‘‘$10,000 or less’’ and inserting ‘‘$14,000 or less 

24 (or such higher amount as the Administrator determines 

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1 appropriate in the event of a catastrophic national disaster 

2 declared under subsection (b)(6))’’. 

3 TITLE III—DISASTER RESPONSE 

4 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this title— 

6 (1) the term ‘‘catastrophic national disaster’’ 

7 has the meaning given the term in section 7(b)(6) 

8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)), as 

9 added by this Act; 

10 (2) the term ‘‘declared disaster’’ means a major 

11 disaster or a catastrophic national disaster; 

12 (3) the term ‘‘disaster loan program of the Ad13 ministration’’ means assistance under section 7(b) of 

14 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)); 

15 (4) the term ‘‘disaster update period’’ means 

16 the period beginning on the date on which the Presi17 dent declares a major disaster or a catastrophic na18 tional disaster and ending on the date on which such 

19 declaration terminates; 

20 (5) the term ‘‘major disaster’’ has the meaning 

21 given the term in section 102 of the Robert T. Staf22 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 5122); and 

24 (6) the term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the 

25 United States, the District of Columbia, the Commstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Is2 lands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 

3 and any territory or possession of the United States. 

4 SEC. 302. BUSINESS EXPEDITED DISASTER ASSISTANCE 

5 LOAN PROGRAM. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

7 (1) the term ‘‘immediate disaster assistance’’ 

8 means assistance provided during the period begin9 ning on the date on which a disaster declaration is 

10 made and ending on the date that an impacted small 

11 business concern is able to secure funding through 

12 insurance claims, Federal assistance programs, or 

13 other sources; and 

14 (2) the term ‘‘program’’ means the expedited 

15 disaster assistance business loan program estab16 lished under subsection (b); and 

17 (b) CREATION OF PROGRAM.—The Administrator 

18 shall take such administrative action as is necessary to 

19 establish and implement an expedited disaster assistance 

20 business loan program to provide small business concerns 

21 with immediate disaster assistance under section 7(b) of 

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

23 (c) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In establishing the 

24 program, the Administrator shall consult with— 

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1 (1) appropriate personnel of the Administration 

2 (including District Office personnel of the Adminis3 tration); 

4 (2) appropriate technical assistance providers 

5 (including small business development centers); 

6 (3) appropriate lenders and credit unions; 

7 (4) the Committee on Small Business and En8 trepreneurship of the Senate; and 

9 (5) the Committee on Small Business of the 

10 House of Representatives. 

11 (d) RULES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

14 shall promulgate rules establishing and imple15 menting the program in accordance with this sec16 tion. Such rules shall apply as provided for in this 

17 section, beginning 90 days after their issuance in 

18 final form. 

19 (2) CONTENTS.—The rules promulgated under 

20 paragraph (1) shall— 

21 (A) identify whether appropriate uses of 

22 funds under the program may include— 

23 (i) paying employees; 

24 (ii) paying bills and other financial 

25 obligations; 

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1 (iii) making repairs; 

2 (iv) purchasing inventory; 

3 (v) restarting or operating a small 

4 business concern in the community in 

5 which it was conducting operations prior to 

6 the declared disaster, or to a neighboring 

7 area, county, or parish in the disaster 

8 area; or 

9 (vi) covering additional costs until the 

10 small business concern is able to obtain 

11 funding through insurance claims, Federal 

12 assistance programs, or other sources; and 

13 (B) set the terms and conditions of any 

14 loan made under the program, subject to para15 graph (3). 

16 (3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A loan made by 

17 the Administration under this section— 

18 (A) shall be a short-term loan, not to ex19 ceed 180 days, except that the Administrator 

20 may extend such term as the Administrator de21 termines necessary or appropriate on a case-by22 case basis; 

23 (B) shall have an interest rate not to ex24 ceed 1 percentage point above the prime rate of 

25 interest that a private lender may charge; 

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1 (C) shall have no prepayment penalty; 

2 (D) may be refinanced as part of any sub3 sequent disaster assistance provided under sec4 tion 7(b) of the Small Business Act; and 

5 (E) shall be subject to such additional 

6 terms as the Administrator determines nec7 essary or appropriate. 

8 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 

9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad10 ministrator shall report to the Committee on Small Busi11 ness and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Com12 mittee on Small Business of the House of Representatives 

13 on the progress of the Administrator in establishing the 

14 program. 

15 (f) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap16 propriated to the Administrator such sums as are nec17 essary to carry out this section. 

18 SEC. 303. CATASTROPHIC NATIONAL DISASTERS. 

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

20 636(b)) is amended by inserting immediately after para21 graph (5), as added by this Act, the following: 

22 ‘‘(6) CATASTROPHIC NATIONAL DISASTERS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph the 

24 term ‘catastrophic national disaster’ means a 

25 disaster, natural or other, that the President 

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1 determines has caused significant adverse eco2 nomic conditions outside of the geographic 

3 reach of the disaster. 

4 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION.—The Adminis5 trator may make such loans under this para6 graph (either directly or in cooperation with 

7 banks or other lending institutions through 

8 agreements to participate on an immediate or 

9 deferred basis) as the Administrator determines 

10 appropriate to small business concerns located 

11 anywhere in the United States that are eco12 nomically adversely impacted as a result of a 

13 catastrophic national disaster. 

14 ‘‘(C) LOAN TERMS.—A loan under this 

15 paragraph shall be made on the same terms as 

16 a loan under paragraph (2).’’. 

17 SEC. 304. PUBLIC AWARENESS OF DISASTER DECLARATION 

18 AND APPLICATION PERIODS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(b) of the Small Busi20 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting im21 mediately after paragraph (6), as added by this Act, the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(7) COORDINATION WITH FEMA.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

25 other provision of law, for any disaster (includmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ing a catastrophic national disaster) declared 

2 under this subsection or major disaster (as that 

3 term is defined in section 102 of the Robert T. 

4 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist5 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)), the Administrator, 

6 in consultation with the Director of the Federal 

7 Emergency Management Agency, shall ensure, 

8 to the maximum extent practicable, that all ap9 plication periods for disaster relief under this 

10 Act and the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

11 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 

12 et seq.) begin on the same date and end on the 

13 same date. 

14 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE EXTENSIONS.—Notwith15 standing any other provision of law— 

16 ‘‘(i) not later than 10 days before the 

17 closing date of an application period for 

18 disaster relief under this Act for any dis19 aster (including a catastrophic national 

20 disaster) declared under this subsection, 

21 the Administrator, in consultation with the 

22 Director of the Federal Emergency Man23 agement Agency, shall notify the Com24 mittee on Small Business and Entrepre25 neurship of the Senate and the Committee 

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1 on Small Business of the House of Rep2 resentatives as to whether the Adminis3 trator intends to extend such application 

4 period; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) not later than 10 days before the 

6 closing date of an application period for 

7 disaster relief under the Robert T. Staf8 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist9 ance Act for any major disaster (as that 

10 term is defined in section 102 of the Rob11 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer12 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)) 

13 for which the President has declared a cat14 astrophic national disaster under para15 graph (6), the Director of the Federal 

16 Emergency Management Agency, in con17 sultation with the Administrator, shall no18 tify the Committee on Small Business and 

19 Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the 

20 Committee on Small Business of the 

21 House of Representatives as to whether 

22 the Director intends to extend such appli23 cation period. 

24 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC AWARENESS OF DISASTERS.—If a 

25 disaster (including a catastrophic national disaster) 

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1 is declared under this subsection, the Administrator 

2 shall make every effort to communicate through 

3 radio, television, print, and web-based outlets, all 

4 relevant information needed by disaster loan appli5 cants, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) the date of such declaration; 

7 ‘‘(B) cities and towns within the area of 

8 such declaration; 

9 ‘‘(C) loan application deadlines related to 

10 such disaster; 

11 ‘‘(D) all relevant contact information for 

12 victim services available through the Adminis13 tration (including links to small business devel14 opment center websites); 

15 ‘‘(E) links to relevant Federal and State 

16 disaster assistance websites; 

17 ‘‘(F) information on eligibility criteria for 

18 Federal Emergency Management Agency dis19 aster assistance applications, as well as for Ad20 ministration loan programs, including where 

21 such applications can be found; and 

22 ‘‘(G) application materials that clearly 

23 state the function of the Administration as the 

24 Federal source of disaster loans for homeowners 

25 and renters.’’. 

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1 (b) COORDINATION OF AGENCIES AND OUTREACH.— 

2 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 

3 Act, the Administrator and the Director of the Federal 

4 Emergency Management Agency shall enter into a memo5 randum of understanding that ensures, to the maximum 

6 extent practicable, adequate lodging and transportation 

7 for employees of the Administration, contract employees, 

8 and volunteers during a major disaster, if such staff are 

9 needed to assist businesses, homeowners, or renters in re10 covery. 

11 (c) MARKETING AND OUTREACH.—Not later than 90 

12 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis13 trator shall create a marketing and outreach plan that— 

14 (1) encourages a proactive approach to the dis15 aster relief efforts of the Administration; 

16 (2) distinguishes between disaster services pro17 vided by the Administration and disaster services 

18 provided by the Federal Emergency Management 

19 Agency, including contact information, application 

20 information, and timelines for submitting applica21 tions, the review of applications, and the disburse22 ment of funds; 

23 (3) describes the different disaster loan pro24 grams of the Administration, including how they are 

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1 made available and what eligibility requirements 

2 exist for each loan program; 

3 (4) provides for regional marketing, focusing on 

4 disasters occurring in each region before the date of 

5 enactment of this Act, and likely scenarios for disas6 ters in each such region; and 

7 (5) ensures that the marketing plan is made 

8 available at small business development centers and 

9 on the website of the Administration. 

10 SEC. 305. CONSISTENCY BETWEEN ADMINISTRATION REGU11 LATIONS AND STANDARD OPERATING PROCE12 DURES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, prompt14 ly following the date of enactment of this Act, conduct 

15 a study of whether the standard operating procedures of 

16 the Administration for loans offered under section 7(b) of 

17 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) are consistent 

18 with the regulations of the Administration for admin19 istering the disaster loan program. 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Administration shall submit 

22 to Congress a report containing all findings and rec23 ommendations of the study conducted under subsection 

24 (a). 

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1 SEC. 306. PROCESSING DISASTER LOANS. 

2 (a) AUTHORITY FOR QUALIFIED PRIVATE CONTRAC3 TORS TO PROCESS DISASTER LOANS.—Section 7(b) of the 

4 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by in5 serting immediately after paragraph (8), as added by this 

6 Act, the following: 

7 ‘‘(9) AUTHORITY FOR QUALIFIED PRIVATE CON8 TRACTORS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) DISASTER LOAN PROCESSING.—The 

10 Administrator may enter into an agreement 

11 with a qualified private contractor, as deter12 mined by the Administrator, to process loans 

13 under this subsection in the event of a major 

14 disaster (as defined in section 102 of the Rob15 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

16 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)) or a cata17 strophic national disaster declared under para18 graph (6), under which the Administrator shall 

19 pay the contractor a fee for each loan proc20 essed. 

21 ‘‘(B) LOAN LOSS VERIFICATION SERV22 ICES.—The Administrator may enter into an 

23 agreement with a qualified lender or loss 

24 verification professional, as determined by the 

25 Administrator, to verify losses for loans under 

26 this subsection in the event of a major disaster 

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1 (as defined in section 102 of the Robert T. 

2 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist3 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)) or a catastrophic 

4 national disaster declared under paragraph (6), 

5 under which the Administrator shall pay the 

6 lender or verification professional a fee for each 

7 loan for which such lender or verification pro8 fessional verifies losses.’’. 

9 (b) COORDINATION OF EFFORTS BETWEEN THE AD10 MINISTRATOR AND THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE TO

11 EXPEDITE LOAN PROCESSING.—The Administrator and 

12 the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall, to the max13 imum extent practicable, ensure that all relevant and al14 lowable tax records for loan approval are shared with loan 

15 processors in an expedited manner, upon request by the 

16 Administrator. 

17 (c) REPORT ON LOAN APPROVAL RATE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis20 trator shall submit a report to the Committee on 

21 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

22 and the Committee on Small Business of the House 

23 of Representatives detailing how the Administration 

24 can improve the processing of applications under the 

25 disaster loan program of the Administration. 

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1 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

2 paragraph (1) shall include— 

3 (A) recommendations, if any, regarding— 

4 (i) staffing levels during a major dis5 aster; 

6 (ii) how to improve the process for 

7 processing, approving, and disbursing 

8 loans under the disaster loan program of 

9 the Administration, to ensure that the 

10 maximum assistance is provided to victims 

11 in a timely manner; 

12 (iii) the viability of using alternative 

13 methods for assessing the ability of an ap14 plicant to repay a loan, including the credit 

15 score of the applicant on the day before 

16 the date on which the disaster for which 

17 the applicant is seeking assistance was de18 clared; 

19 (iv) methods, if any, for the Adminis20 tration to expedite loss verification and 

21 loan processing of disaster loans during a 

22 major disaster for businesses affected by, 

23 and located in the area for which the 

24 President declared, the major disaster that 

25 are a major source of employment in the 

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1 area or are vital to recovery efforts in the 

2 region (including providing debris removal 

3 services, manufactured housing, or building 

4 materials); 

5 (v) legislative changes, if any, needed 

6 to implement findings from the Adminis7 tration’s Accelerated Disaster Response 

8 Initiative; and 

9 (vi) a description of how the Adminis10 tration plans to integrate and coordinate 

11 the response to a major disaster with the 

12 technical assistance programs of the Ad13 ministration; and 

14 (B) the plans of the Administrator for im15 plementing any recommendation made under 

16 subparagraph (A). 

17 SEC. 307. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 

18 MAJOR DISASTER RESPONSE PLAN. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 15, 2007, 

20 the Administrator shall— 

21 (1) by rule, amend the 2006 Atlantic hurricane 

22 season disaster response plan of the Administration 

23 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘disaster response 

24 plan’’) to apply to major disasters and catastrophic 

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1 national disasters, consistent with this Act and the 

2 amendments made by this Act; and 

3 (2) submit a report to the Committee on Small 

4 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 

5 the Committee on Small Business of the House of 

6 Representatives detailing the amendments to the dis7 aster response plan. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.—The amended report required under 

9 subsection (a)(2) shall include— 

10 (1) any updates or modifications made to the 

11 disaster response plan since the report regarding the 

12 disaster response plan submitted on July 14, 2006; 

13 (2) a description of how the Administrator 

14 plans to utilize and integrate District Office per15 sonnel of the Administration in the response to a 

16 major disaster, including information on the utiliza17 tion of personnel for loan processing and loan dis18 bursement; 

19 (3) a description of the disaster scalability 

20 model of the Administration and on what basis or 

21 function the plan is scaled; 

22 (4) a description of how the agency-wide Dis23 aster Oversight Council is structured, which offices 

24 comprise its membership, and whether the Associate 

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1 Deputy Administrator for Entrepreneurial Develop2 ment of the Administration is a member; 

3 (5) a description of how the Administrator 

4 plans to coordinate the disaster efforts of the Ad5 ministration with State and local government offi6 cials, including recommendations on how to better 

7 incorporate State initiatives or programs, such as 

8 State-administered bridge loan programs, into the 

9 disaster response of the Administration; 

10 (6) recommendations, if any, on how the Ad11 ministrator can better coordinate its disaster re12 sponse operations with the operations of other Fed13 eral, State, and local entities; 

14 (7) any surge plan for the system in effect on 

15 or after August 29, 2005 (including surge plans for 

16 loss verification, loan processing, mailroom, cus17 tomer service or call center operations, and a con18 tinuity of operations plan); 

19 (8) the number of full-time equivalent employ20 ees and job descriptions for the planning and dis21 aster response staff of the Administration; 

22 (9) the in-service and preservice training proce23 dures for disaster response staff of the Administra24 tion; 

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1 (10) information on the logistical support plans 

2 of the Administration (including equipment and 

3 staffing needs, and detailed information on how such 

4 plans will be scalable depending on the size and 

5 scope of the major disaster; 

6 (11) a description of the findings and rec7 ommendations of the Administrator, if any, based on 

8 a review of the response of the Administration to 

9 Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, 

10 and Hurricane Wilma of 2005; and 

11 (12) a plan for how the Administrator, in co12 operation with the Director of the Federal Emer13 gency Management Agency, will coordinate the pro14 vision of accommodations and necessary resources 

15 for disaster assistance personnel to effectively per16 form their responsibilities in the aftermath of a 

17 major disaster. 

18 (c) EXERCISES.—Not later than May 31, 2007, the 

19 Administrator shall develop and execute simulation exer20 cises to demonstrate the effectiveness of the amended dis21 aster response plan required under this section. 

22 SEC. 308. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT. 

23 (a) MONTHLY ACCOUNTING REPORT TO CON24 GRESS.— 

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

2 ‘‘applicable period’’ means the period beginning on 

3 the date on which the President declares a major 

4 disaster and ending on the date that is 30 days after 

5 the later of the closing date for applications for 

6 physical disaster loans for such disaster and the 

7 closing date for applications for economic injury dis8 aster loans for such disaster. 

9 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

10 than the fifth business day of each month during the 

11 applicable period for a major disaster, the Adminis12 trator shall provide to the Committee on Small Busi13 ness and Entrepreneurship and the Committee on 

14 Appropriations of the Senate and to the Committee 

15 on Small Business and the Committee on Appropria16 tions of the House of Representatives a report on 

17 the operation of the disaster loan program author18 ized under section 7 of the Small Business Act (15 

19 U.S.C. 636) for such disaster during the preceding 

20 month. 

21 (3) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

22 (2) shall include— 

23 (A) the daily average lending volume, in 

24 number of loans and dollars, and the percent by 

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1 which each category has increased or decreased 

2 since the previous report under paragraph (2); 

3 (B) the weekly average lending volume, in 

4 number of loans and dollars, and the percent by 

5 which each category has increased or decreased 

6 since the previous report under paragraph (2); 

7 (C) the amount of funding spent over the 

8 month for loans, both in appropriations and 

9 program level, and the percent by which each 

10 category has increased or decreased since the 

11 previous report under paragraph (2); 

12 (D) the amount of funding available for 

13 loans, both in appropriations and program level, 

14 and the percent by which each category has in15 creased or decreased, noting the source of any 

16 additional funding; 

17 (E) an estimate of how long the available 

18 funding for such loans will last, based on the 

19 spending rate; 

20 (F) the amount of funding spent over the 

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

22 and the percent by which each category has in23 creased or decreased since the previous report 

24 under paragraph (2); 

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1 (G) the amount of funding spent over the 

2 month for administrative costs, and the percent 

3 by which such spending has increased or de4 creased since the previous report under para5 graph (2); 

6 (H) the amount of funding available for 

7 salaries and expenses combined, and the per8 cent by which such funding has increased or de9 creased, noting the source of any additional 

10 funding; and 

11 (I) an estimate of how long the available 

12 funding for salaries and expenses will last, 

13 based on the spending rate. 

14 (b) DAILY DISASTER UPDATES TO CONGRESS FOR

15 PRESIDENTIALLY DECLARED DISASTERS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each day during a disaster 

17 update period, excluding Federal holidays and week18 ends, the Administration 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 op22 eration of the disaster loan program of the Adminis23 tration for the area in which the President declared 

24 a major disaster or a catastrophic national disaster, 

25 as the case may be. 

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1 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

2 (1) shall include— 

3 (A) the number of Administration staff 

4 performing loan processing, field inspection, 

5 and other duties for the declared disaster, and 

6 the allocations of such staff in the disaster field 

7 offices, disaster recovery centers, workshops, 

8 and other Administration offices nationwide; 

9 (B) the daily number of applications re10 ceived from applicants in the relevant area, as 

11 well as a breakdown of such figures by State; 

12 (C) the daily number of applications pend13 ing application entry from applicants in the rel14 evant area, as well as a breakdown of such fig15 ures by State; 

16 (D) the daily number of applications with17 drawn by applicants in the relevant area, as 

18 well as a breakdown of such figures by State; 

19 (E) the daily number of applications sum20 marily declined by the Administration from ap21 plicants in the relevant area, as well as a break22 down of such figures by State; 

23 (F) the daily number of applications de24 clined by the Administration from applicants in 

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1 the relevant area, as well as a breakdown of 

2 such figures by State; 

3 (G) the daily number of applications in 

4 process from applicants in the relevant area, as 

5 well as a breakdown of such figures by State; 

6 (H) the daily number of applications ap7 proved by the Administration from applicants in 

8 the relevant area, as well as a breakdown of 

9 such figures by State; 

10 (I) the daily dollar amount of applications 

11 approved by the Administration from applicants 

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

13 such figures by State; 

14 (J) the daily amount of loans dispersed, 

15 both partially and fully, by the Administration 

16 to applicants in the relevant area, as well as a 

17 breakdown of such figures by State; 

18 (K) the daily dollar amount of loans dis19 persed, both partially and fully, from the rel20 evant area, as well as a breakdown of such fig21 ures by State; 

22 (L) the number of applications approved, 

23 including dollar amount approved, as well as 

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1 cluding dollar amounts, since the last report 

2 under paragraph (1); and 

3 (M) the declaration date, physical damage 

4 closing date, economic injury closing date, and 

5 number of counties included in the declaration 

6 of a major disaster. 

7 (c) NOTICE OF THE NEED FOR SUPPLEMENTAL

8 FUNDS.—On the same date that the Administrator noti9 fies any committee of the Senate or the House of Rep10 resentatives that supplemental funding is necessary for 

11 the disaster loan program of the Administration in any 

12 fiscal year, the Administrator shall notify in writing the 

13 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

14 the Senate and to the Committee on Small Business of 

15 the House of Representatives regarding the need for sup16 plemental funds for such loan program. 

17 (d) REPORT ON CONTRACTING.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

19 after the date on which the President declares a de20 clared disaster, and every 6 months thereafter until 

21 the date that is 18 months after the date on which 

22 the declared disaster was declared, the Adminis23 trator shall submit a report to the Committee on 

24 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

25 and to the Committee on Small Business of the 

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1 House of Representatives regarding Federal con2 tracts awarded as a result of the declared disaster. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

4 paragraph (1) shall include— 

5 (A) the total number of contracts awarded 

6 as a result of the declared disaster; 

7 (B) the total number of contracts awarded 

8 to small business concerns as a result of the de9 clared disaster; 

10 (C) the total number of contracts awarded 

11 to women and minority-owned businesses as a 

12 result of the declared disaster; and 

13 (D) the total number of contracts awarded 

14 to local businesses as a result of the declared 

15 disaster. 

16 TITLE IV—ENERGY 

17 EMERGENCIES 

18 SEC. 401. FINDINGS. 

19 Congress finds that— 

20 (1) a significant number of small business con21 cerns in the United States, nonfarm as well as agri22 cultural producers, use heating oil, natural gas, pro23 pane, or kerosene to heat their facilities and for 

24 other purposes; 

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1 (2) a significant number of small business con2 cerns in the United States sell, distribute, market, 

3 or otherwise engage in commerce directly related to 

4 heating oil, natural gas, propane, and kerosene; and 

5 (3) significant increases in the price of heating 

6 oil, natural gas, propane, or kerosene— 

7 (A) disproportionately harm small business 

8 concerns dependent on those fuels or that use, 

9 sell, or distribute those fuels in the ordinary 

10 course of their business, and can cause them 

11 substantial economic injury; 

12 (B) can negatively affect the national econ13 omy and regional economies; 

14 (C) have occurred in the winters of 1983 

15 to 1984, 1988 to 1989, 1996 to 1997, 1999 to 

16 2000, 2000 to 2001, and 2004 to 2005; and 

17 (D) can be caused by a host of factors, in18 cluding international conflicts, global or re19 gional supply difficulties, weather conditions, 

20 insufficient inventories, refinery capacity, trans21 portation, and competitive structures in the 

22 markets, causes that are often unforeseeable to, 

23 and beyond the control of, those who own and 

24 operate small business concerns. 

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1 SEC. 402. SMALL BUSINESS ENERGY EMERGENCY DISASTER 

2 LOAN PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(b) of the Small Busi4 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting after 

5 paragraph (9), as added by this Act, the following: 

6 ‘‘(10) ENERGY EMERGENCIES.— 

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

8 ‘‘(i) the term ‘base price index’ means 

9 the moving average of the closing unit 

10 price on the New York Mercantile Ex11 change for heating oil, natural gas, or pro12 pane for the 10 days, in each of the most 

13 recent 2 preceding years, which correspond 

14 to the trading days described in clause (ii); 

15 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘current price index’ 

16 means the moving average of the closing 

17 unit price on the New York Mercantile Ex18 change, for the 10 most recent trading 

19 days, for contracts to purchase heating oil, 

20 natural gas, or propane during the subse21 quent calendar month, commonly known as 

22 the ‘front month’; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘heating fuel’ means 

24 heating oil, natural gas, propane, or ker25 osene; and 

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1 ‘‘(iv) the term ‘significant increase’ 

2 means— 

3 ‘‘(I) with respect to the price of 

4 heating oil, natural gas, or propane, 

5 any time the current price index ex6 ceeds the base price index by not less 

7 than 40 percent; and 

8 ‘‘(II) with respect to the price of 

9 kerosene, any increase which the Ad10 ministrator, in consultation with the 

11 Secretary of Energy, determines to be 

12 significant. 

13 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION.—The Administra14 tion may make such loans, either directly or in 

15 cooperation with banks or other lending institu16 tions through agreements to participate on an 

17 immediate or deferred basis, to assist a small 

18 business concern that has suffered or that is 

19 likely to suffer substantial economic injury as 

20 the result of a significant increase in the price 

21 of heating fuel occurring on or after October 1, 

22 2004. 

23 ‘‘(C) INTEREST RATE.—Any loan or guar24 antee extended under this paragraph shall be 

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1 made at the same interest rate as economic in2 jury loans under paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(D) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—No loan may 

4 be made under this paragraph, either directly 

5 or in cooperation with banks or other lending 

6 institutions through agreements to participate 

7 on an immediate or deferred basis, if the total 

8 amount outstanding and committed to the bor9 rower under this subsection would exceed 

10 $1,500,000, unless such borrower constitutes a 

11 major source of employment in its surrounding 

12 area, as determined by the Administrator, in 

13 which case the Administrator, in the discretion 

14 of the Administrator, may waive the $1,500,000 

15 limitation. 

16 ‘‘(E) DECLARATIONS.—For purposes of 

17 assistance under this paragraph— 

18 ‘‘(i) a declaration of a disaster area 

19 based on conditions specified in this para20 graph shall be required, and shall be made 

21 by the President or the Administrator; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) if no declaration has been made 

23 under clause (i), the Governor of a State 

24 in which a significant increase in the price 

25 of heating fuel has occurred may certify to 

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1 the Administration that small business 

2 concerns have suffered economic injury as 

3 a result of such increase and are in need 

4 of financial assistance which is not other5 wise available on reasonable terms in that 

6 State, and upon receipt of such certifi7 cation, the Administration may make such 

8 loans as would have been available under 

9 this paragraph if a disaster declaration 

10 had been issued. 

11 ‘‘(F) USE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding 

12 any other provision of law, loans made under 

13 this paragraph may be used by a small business 

14 concern described in subparagraph (B) to con15 vert from the use of heating fuel to a renewable 

16 or alternative energy source, including agri17 culture and urban waste, geothermal energy, co18 generation, solar energy, wind energy, or fuel 

19 cells.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO

21 HEATING FUEL.—Section 3(k) of the Small Business Act 

22 (15 U.S.C. 632(k)) is amended— 

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘, significant increase in the 

24 price of heating fuel’’ after ‘‘civil disorders’’; and 

25 (2) by inserting ‘‘other’’ before ‘‘economic’’. 

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1 (c) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply during the 4-year period beginning 

3 on the date on which guidelines are published by the Ad4 ministrator under section 404. 

5 SEC. 403. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCER EMERGENCY LOANS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 321(a) of the Consoli7 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

8 1961(a)) is amended— 

9 (1) in the first sentence— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘operations have’’ and in11 serting ‘‘operations (i) have’’; and 

12 (B) by inserting before ‘‘: Provided,’’ the 

13 following: ‘‘, or (ii)(I) are owned or operated by 

14 such an applicant that is also a small business 

15 concern (as defined in section 3 of the Small 

16 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), and (II) have 

17 suffered or are likely to suffer substantial eco18 nomic injury on or after October 1, 2004, as 

19 the result of a significant increase in energy 

20 costs or input costs from energy sources occur21 ring on or after October 1, 2004, in connection 

22 with an energy emergency declared by the 

23 President or the Secretary’’; 

24 (2) in the third sentence, by inserting before 

25 the period at the end the following: ‘‘or by an energy 

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1 emergency declared by the President or the Sec2 retary’’; and 

3 (3) in the fourth sentence— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘or energy emergency’’ 

5 after ‘‘natural disaster’’ each place that term 

6 appears; and 

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘or declaration’’ after 

8 ‘‘emergency designation’’. 

9 (b) FUNDING.—Funds available on the date of enact10 ment of this Act for emergency loans under subtitle C of 

11 the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

12 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.) shall be available to carry out the 

13 amendments made by subsection (a) to meet the needs re14 sulting from energy emergencies. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall apply during the 4-year period beginning 

17 on the date on which guidelines are published by the Sec18 retary of Agriculture under section 404. 

19 SEC. 404. GUIDELINES AND RULEMAKING. 

20 (a) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 30 days after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator and the 

22 Secretary of Agriculture shall each issue such guidelines 

23 as the Administrator or the Secretary, as applicable, de24 termines to be necessary to carry out this title and the 

25 amendments made by this title. 

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1 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 30 days after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, after 

3 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall promul4 gate regulations specifying the method for determining a 

5 significant increase in the price of kerosene under section 

6 7(b)(10)(A)(iv)(II) of the Small Business Act, as added 

7 by this Act. 

8 SEC. 405. REPORTS. 

9 (a) SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.—Not later 

10 than 12 months after the date on which the Administrator 

11 issues guidelines under section 404, and annually there12 after until the date that is 12 months after the end of 

13 the effective period of section 7(b)(10) of the Small Busi14 ness Act, as added by this Act, the Administrator shall 

15 submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre16 neurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Busi17 ness of the House of Representatives, a report on the ef18 fectiveness of the assistance made available under section 

19 7(b)(10) of the Small Business Act, as added by this Act, 

20 including— 

21 (1) the number of small business concerns that 

22 applied for a loan under such section and the num23 ber of those that received such loans; 

24 (2) the dollar value of those loans; 

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1 (3) the States in which the small business con2 cerns that received such loans are located; 

3 (4) the type of heating fuel or energy that 

4 caused the significant increase in the cost for the 

5 participating small business concerns; and 

6 (5) recommendations for ways to improve the 

7 assistance provided under such section 7(b)(10), if 

8 any. 

9 (b) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—Not later than 

10 12 months after the date on which the Secretary of Agri11 culture issues guidelines under section 404, and annually 

12 thereafter until the date that is 12 months after the end 

13 of the effective period of the amendments made to section 

14 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

15 Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)) by this title, the Secretary shall 

16 submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre17 neurship and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

18 and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Small 

19 Business and the Committee on Agriculture of the House 

20 of Representatives, a report that— 

21 (1) describes the effectiveness of the assistance 

22 made available under section 321(a) of the Consoli23 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

24 1961(a)); and 

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1 (2) contains recommendations for ways to im2 prove the assistance provided under such section 

3 321(a), if any. 

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

6 ‘‘Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improve7 ments Act of 2007’’. 

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

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—DISASTER PLANNING AND RESPONSE 

Sec. 101. Disaster loans to nonprofits. 

Sec. 102. Disaster loan amounts. 

Sec. 103. Small business development center portability grants. 

Sec. 104. Assistance to out-of-State businesses. 

Sec. 105. Outreach programs. 

Sec. 106. Small business bonding threshold. 

Sec. 107. Termination of program. 

Sec. 108. Increasing collateral requirements. 

Sec. 109. Public awareness of disaster declaration and application periods. 

Sec. 110. Consistency between Administration regulations and standard operating procedures. 

Sec. 111. Processing disaster loans. 

Sec. 112. Development and implementation of major disaster response plan. 

Sec. 113. Full-time disaster planning staff. 

Sec. 114. Additional authority for district offices of the Administration. 

Sec. 115. Assignment of employees of the Office of Disaster Assistance and Disaster Cadre. 

Sec. 116. Report regarding lack of snow fall. 

TITLE II—DISASTER LENDING 

Sec. 201. Catastrophic national disaster declaration. 

Sec. 202. Private disaster loans. 

Sec. 203. Technical and conforming amendments. 

Sec. 204. Business expedited disaster assistance loan program. 

TITLE III—DISASTER ASSISTANCE OVERSIGHT 

Sec. 301. Congressional oversight. 

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TITLE IV—ENERGY EMERGENCIES 

Sec. 401. Findings. 

Sec. 402. Small business energy emergency disaster loan program. 

Sec. 403. Agricultural producer emergency loans. 

Sec. 404. Guidelines and rulemaking. 

Sec. 405. Reports. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration and 

5 the Administrator thereof, respectively; 

6 (2) the term ‘‘catastrophic national disaster’’ 

7 means a catastrophic national disaster declared under 

8 section 7(b)(11) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 636(b)), as added by this Act; 

10 (3) the term ‘‘declared disaster’’ means a major 

11 disaster or a catastrophic national disaster; 

12 (4) the term ‘‘disaster area’’ means an area af13 fected by a natural or other disaster, as determined 

14 for purposes of paragraph (1) or (2) of section 7(b) 

15 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)), during 

16 the period of such declaration; 

17 (5) the term ‘‘disaster loan program of the Ad18 ministration’’ means assistance under section 7(b) of 

19 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)); 

20 (6) the term ‘‘disaster update period’’ means the 

21 period beginning on the date on which the President 

22 declares a major disaster or a catastrophic national 

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1 disaster and ending on the date on which such dec2 laration terminates; 

3 (7) the term ‘‘major disaster’’ has the meaning 

4 given that term in section 102 of the Robert T. Staf5 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 5122); 

7 (8) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

8 same meaning as in section 3 of the Small Business 

9 Act (15 U.S.C. 632); and 

10 (9) the term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the 

11 United States, the District of Columbia, the Common12 wealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, 

13 the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and any 

14 territory or possession of the United States. 

15 TITLE I—DISASTER PLANNING 

16 AND RESPONSE 

17 SEC. 101. DISASTER LOANS TO NONPROFITS. 

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

19 636(b)) is amended by inserting immediately after para20 graph (3) the following: 

21 ‘‘(4) LOANS TO NONPROFITS.—In addition to 

22 any other loan authorized by this subsection, the Ad23 ministrator may make such loans (either directly or 

24 in cooperation with banks or other lending institu25 tions through agreements to participate on an immemstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 diate or deferred basis) as the Administrator deter2 mines appropriate to a nonprofit organization located 

3 or operating in an area affected by a natural or other 

4 disaster, as determined under paragraph (1) or (2), 

5 or providing services to persons who have evacuated 

6 from any such area.’’. 

7 SEC. 102. DISASTER LOAN AMOUNTS. 

8 (a) INCREASED LOAN CAPS.—Section 7(b) of the 

9 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by in10 serting immediately after paragraph (4), as added by this 

11 title, the following: 

12 ‘‘(5) INCREASED LOAN CAPS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) AGGREGATE LOAN AMOUNTS.—Except 

14 as provided in clause (ii), and notwithstanding 

15 any other provision of law, the aggregate loan 

16 amount outstanding and committed to a bor17 rower under this subsection may not exceed 

18 $2,000,000. 

19 ‘‘(B) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Adminis20 trator may, at the discretion of the Adminis21 trator, increase the aggregate loan amount under 

22 subparagraph (A) for loans relating to a disaster 

23 to a level established by the Administrator, based 

24 on appropriate economic indicators for the re25 gion in which that disaster occurred.’’. 

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1 (b) DISASTER MITIGATION.— 

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

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

4 amended by inserting ‘‘of the aggregate costs of such 

5 damage or destruction (whether or not compensated 

6 for by insurance or otherwise)’’ after ‘‘20 per cen7 tum’’. 

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

9 paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to a loan or 

10 guarantee made after the date of enactment of this 

11 Act. 

12 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 7(b) of the 

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

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

15 striking ‘‘the, Administration’’ and inserting ‘‘the Ad16 ministration’’; 

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

18 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

20 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) (in this sub21 section referred to as a ‘major disaster’ ’’; and 

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

23 (A) by striking ‘‘, (2), and (4)’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘and (2)’’; and 

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1 (B) by striking ‘‘, (2), or (4)’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(2)’’. 

3 SEC. 103. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER PORT4 ABILITY GRANTS. 

5 Section 21(a)(4)(C)(viii) of the Small Business Act (15 

6 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)(viii)) is amended— 

7 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘as a result 

8 of a business or government facility down sizing or 

9 closing, which has resulted in the loss of jobs or small 

10 business instability’’ and inserting ‘‘due to events that 

11 have resulted or will result in, business or government 

12 facility downsizing or closing’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end ‘‘At the discretion of the 

14 Administrator, the Administrator may make an 

15 award greater than $100,000 to a recipient to accom16 modate extraordinary occurrences having a cata17 strophic impact on the small business concerns in a 

18 community.’’. 

19 SEC. 104. ASSISTANCE TO OUT-OF-STATE BUSINESSES. 

20 Section 21(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

21 648(b)(3)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘At the discretion’’ and inserting 

23 the following: ‘‘SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CEN24 TERS.— 

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

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

2 ‘‘(B) DURING DISASTERS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of 

4 the Administrator, the Administrator may 

5 authorize a small business development cen6 ter to provide such assistance to small busi7 ness concerns located outside of the State, 

8 without regard to geographic proximity, if 

9 the small business concerns are located in a 

10 disaster area declared under section 

11 7(b)(2)(A). 

12 ‘‘(ii) CONTINUITY OF SERVICES.—A 

13 small business development center that pro14 vides counselors to an area described in 

15 clause (i) shall, to the maximum extent 

16 practicable, ensure continuity of services in 

17 any State in which such small business de18 velopment center otherwise provides services. 

19 ‘‘(iii) ACCESS TO DISASTER RECOVERY

20 FACILITIES.—For purposes of providing dis21 aster recovery assistance under this sub22 paragraph, the Administrator shall, to the 

23 maximum extent practicable, permit small 

24 business development center personnel to use 

25 any site or facility designated by the Admstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ministrator for use to provide disaster re2 covery assistance.’’. 

3 SEC. 105. OUTREACH PROGRAMS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

5 date of the declaration of a disaster area, the Administrator 

6 may establish a contracting outreach and technical assist7 ance program for small business concerns which have had 

8 a primary place of business in, or other significant presence 

9 in, such disaster area. 

10 (b) ADMINISTRATOR ACTION.—The Administrator 

11 may carry out subsection (a) by acting through— 

12 (1) the Administration; 

13 (2) the Federal agency small business officials 

14 designated under section 15(k)(1) of the Small Busi15 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)(1)); or 

16 (3) any Federal, State, or local government enti17 ty, higher education institution, procurement tech18 nical assistance center, or private nonprofit organiza19 tion that the Administrator may determine appro20 priate, upon conclusion of a memorandum of under21 standing or assistance agreement, as appropriate, 

22 with the Administrator. 

23 SEC. 106. SMALL BUSINESS BONDING THRESHOLD. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

25 (b), and notwithstanding any other provision of law, for 

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1 any procurement related to a major disaster, the Adminis2 trator may, upon such terms and conditions as the Admin3 istrator may prescribe, guarantee and enter into commit4 ments to guarantee any surety against loss resulting from 

5 a breach of the terms of a bid bond, payment bond, perform6 ance bond, or bonds ancillary thereto, by a principal on 

7 any total work order or contract amount at the time of bond 

8 execution that does not exceed $5,000,000. 

9 (b) INCREASE OF AMOUNT.—Upon request of the head 

10 of any Federal agency other than the Administration in11 volved in reconstruction efforts in response to a major dis12 aster, the Administrator may guarantee and enter into a 

13 commitment to guarantee any security against loss under 

14 subsection (a) on any total work order or contract amount 

15 at the time of bond execution that does not exceed 

16 $10,000,000. 

17 SEC. 107. TERMINATION OF PROGRAM. 

18 Section 711(c) of the Small Business Competitive 

19 Demonstration Program Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 644 note) 

20 is amended by inserting after ‘‘January 1, 1989’’ the fol21 lowing: ‘‘, and shall terminate on the date of enactment of 

22 the Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improve23 ments Act of 2007’’. 

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1 SEC. 108. INCREASING COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS. 

2 Section 7(c)(6) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

3 636(c)(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘$10,000 or less’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘$14,000 or less (or such higher amount as the 

5 Administrator determines appropriate in the event of a cat6 astrophic national disaster declared under subsection 

7 (b)(11))’’. 

8 SEC. 109. PUBLIC AWARENESS OF DISASTER DECLARATION 

9 AND APPLICATION PERIODS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(b) of the Small Business 

11 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting imme12 diately after paragraph (5), as added by this Act, the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(6) COORDINATION WITH FEMA.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

16 other provision of law, for any disaster (includ17 ing a catastrophic national disaster) declared 

18 under this subsection or major disaster, the Ad19 ministrator, in consultation with the Adminis20 trator of the Federal Emergency Management 

21 Agency, shall ensure, to the maximum extent 

22 practicable, that all application periods for dis23 aster relief under this Act correspond with appli24 cation deadlines established under the Robert T. 

25 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist26 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

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1 ‘‘(B) DEADLINES.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law, not later than 10 days be3 fore the closing date of an application period for 

4 a major disaster (including a catastrophic na5 tional disaster), the Administrator, in consulta6 tion with the Administrator of the Federal 

7 Emergency Management Agency, shall submit to 

8 the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre9 neurship of the Senate and the Committee on 

10 Small Business of the House of Representatives 

11 a report that includes— 

12 ‘‘(i) the deadline for submitting appli13 cations for assistance relating to that major 

14 disaster; 

15 ‘‘(ii) information regarding the num16 ber of loan applications and disbursements 

17 processed by the Administrator relating to 

18 that major disaster for each day during the 

19 period beginning on the date on which that 

20 major disaster was declared and ending on 

21 the date of that report; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) an estimate of the number of po23 tential applicants that have not submitted 

24 an application relating to that major dis25 aster. 

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1 ‘‘(7) PUBLIC AWARENESS OF DISASTERS.—If a 

2 disaster (including a catastrophic national disaster) 

3 is declared under this subsection, the Administrator 

4 shall make every effort to communicate through radio, 

5 television, print, and web-based outlets, all relevant 

6 information needed by disaster loan applicants, in7 cluding— 

8 ‘‘(A) the date of such declaration; 

9 ‘‘(B) cities and towns within the area of 

10 such declaration; 

11 ‘‘(C) loan application deadlines related to 

12 such disaster; 

13 ‘‘(D) all relevant contact information for 

14 victim services available through the Administra15 tion (including links to small business develop16 ment center websites); 

17 ‘‘(E) links to relevant Federal and State 

18 disaster assistance websites, including links to 

19 websites providing information regarding assist20 ance available from the Federal Emergency Man21 agement Agency; 

22 ‘‘(F) information on eligibility criteria for 

23 Administration loan programs, including where 

24 such applications can be found; and 

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1 ‘‘(G) application materials that clearly 

2 state the function of the Administration as the 

3 Federal source of disaster loans for homeowners 

4 and renters.’’. 

5 (b) COORDINATION OF AGENCIES AND OUTREACH.— 

6 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act, the Administrator and the Administrator of the Fed8 eral Emergency Management Agency shall enter into a 

9 memorandum of understanding that ensures, to the max10 imum extent practicable, adequate lodging and transpor11 tation for employees of the Administration and contract em12 ployees during a major disaster, if such staff are needed 

13 to assist businesses, homeowners, or renters in recovery. 

14 (c) MARKETING AND OUTREACH.—Not later than 90 

15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis16 trator shall create a marketing and outreach plan that— 

17 (1) encourages a proactive approach to the dis18 aster relief efforts of the Administration; 

19 (2) makes clear the services provided by the Ad20 ministration, including contact information, applica21 tion information, and timelines for submitting appli22 cations, the review of applications, and the disburse23 ment of funds; 

24 (3) describes the different disaster loan programs 

25 of the Administration, including how they are made 

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1 available and the eligibility requirements for each 

2 loan program; 

3 (4) provides for regional marketing, focusing on 

4 disasters occurring in each region before the date of 

5 enactment of this Act, and likely scenarios for disas6 ters in each such region; and 

7 (5) ensures that the marketing plan is made 

8 available at small business development centers and 

9 on the website of the Administration. 

10 SEC. 110. CONSISTENCY BETWEEN ADMINISTRATION REGU11 LATIONS AND STANDARD OPERATING PROCE12 DURES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, promptly 

14 following the date of enactment of this Act, conduct a study 

15 of whether the standard operating procedures of the Admin16 istration for loans offered under section 7(b) of the Small 

17 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) are consistent with the reg18 ulations of the Administration for administering the dis19 aster loan program. 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Administration shall submit 

22 to Congress a report containing all findings and rec23 ommendations of the study conducted under subsection (a). 

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1 SEC. 111. PROCESSING DISASTER LOANS. 

2 (a) AUTHORITY FOR QUALIFIED PRIVATE CONTRAC3 TORS TO PROCESS DISASTER LOANS.—Section 7(b) of the 

4 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by in5 serting immediately after paragraph (7), as added by this 

6 Act, the following: 

7 ‘‘(8) AUTHORITY FOR QUALIFIED PRIVATE CON8 TRACTORS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) DISASTER LOAN PROCESSING.—The 

10 Administrator may enter into an agreement with 

11 a qualified private contractor, as determined by 

12 the Administrator, to process loans under this 

13 subsection in the event of a major disaster or a 

14 catastrophic national disaster declared under 

15 paragraph (11), under which the Administrator 

16 shall pay the contractor a fee for each loan proc17 essed. 

18 ‘‘(B) LOAN LOSS VERIFICATION SERVICES.— 

19 The Administrator may enter into an agreement 

20 with a qualified lender or loss verification pro21 fessional, as determined by the Administrator, to 

22 verify losses for loans under this subsection in 

23 the event of a major disaster or a catastrophic 

24 national disaster declared under paragraph (11), 

25 under which the Administrator shall pay the 

26 lender or verification professional a fee for each 

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1 loan for which such lender or verification profes2 sional verifies losses.’’. 

3 (b) COORDINATION OF EFFORTS BETWEEN THE AD4 MINISTRATOR AND THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE TO

5 EXPEDITE LOAN PROCESSING.—The Administrator and the 

6 Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall, to the maximum 

7 extent practicable, ensure that all relevant and allowable 

8 tax records for loan approval are shared with loan proc9 essors in an expedited manner, upon request by the Admin10 istrator. 

11 SEC. 112. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MAJOR 

12 DISASTER RESPONSE PLAN. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 months after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall— 

15 (1) by rule, amend the 2006 Atlantic hurricane 

16 season disaster response plan of the Administration 

17 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘disaster response 

18 plan’’) to apply to major disasters; and 

19 (2) submit a report to the Committee on Small 

20 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the 

21 Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep22 resentatives detailing the amendments to the disaster 

23 response plan. 

24 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required under subsection 

25 (a)(2) shall include— 

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1 (1) any updates or modifications made to the 

2 disaster response plan since the report regarding the 

3 disaster response plan submitted to Congress on July 

4 14, 2006; 

5 (2) a description of how the Administrator plans 

6 to utilize and integrate District Office personnel of 

7 the Administration in the response to a major dis8 aster, including information on the utilization of per9 sonnel for loan processing and loan disbursement; 

10 (3) a description of the disaster scalability model 

11 of the Administration and on what basis or function 

12 the plan is scaled; 

13 (4) a description of how the agency-wide Dis14 aster Oversight Council is structured, which offices 

15 comprise its membership, and whether the Associate 

16 Deputy Administrator for Entrepreneurial Develop17 ment of the Administration is a member; 

18 (5) a description of how the Administrator plans 

19 to coordinate the disaster efforts of the Administration 

20 with State and local government officials, including 

21 recommendations on how to better incorporate State 

22 initiatives or programs, such as State-administered 

23 bridge loan programs, into the disaster response of the 

24 Administration; 

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1 (6) recommendations, if any, on how the Admin2 istration can better coordinate its disaster response 

3 operations with the operations of other Federal, State, 

4 and local entities; 

5 (7) any surge plan for the disaster loan program 

6 of the Administration in effect on or after August 29, 

7 2005 (including surge plans for loss verification, loan 

8 processing, mailroom, customer service or call center 

9 operations, and a continuity of operations plan); 

10 (8) the number of full-time equivalent employees 

11 and job descriptions for the planning and disaster re12 sponse staff of the Administration; 

13 (9) the in-service and preservice training proce14 dures for disaster response staff of the Administra15 tion; 

16 (10) information on the logistical support plans 

17 of the Administration (including equipment and 

18 staffing needs, and detailed information on how such 

19 plans will be scalable depending on the size and scope 

20 of the major disaster); 

21 (11) a description of the findings and rec22 ommendations of the Administrator, if any, based on 

23 a review of the response of the Administration to 

24 Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, 

25 and Hurricane Wilma of 2005; and 

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1 (12) a plan for how the Administrator, in co2 operation with the Administrator of the Federal 

3 Emergency Management Agency, will coordinate the 

4 provision of accommodations and necessary resources 

5 for disaster assistance personnel to effectively perform 

6 their responsibilities in the aftermath of a major dis7 aster. 

8 (c) EXERCISES.—Not later than 6 months after the 

9 date of the submission of the report under subsection (a)(2), 

10 the Administrator shall develop and execute simulation ex11 ercises to demonstrate the effectiveness of the amended dis12 aster response plan required under this section. 

13 SEC. 113. FULL-TIME DISASTER PLANNING STAFF. 

14 (a) INCREASE IN SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

15 FULL-TIME DISASTER PLANNING STAFF.—The Adminis16 trator shall hire a full-time disaster planning specialist in 

17 the Office of Disaster Assistance of the Administration. 

18 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The disaster planning spe19 cialist hired under subsection (a) shall be responsible for— 

20 (1) creating and maintaining the comprehensive 

21 disaster response plan of the Administration; 

22 (2) ensuring in-service and pre-service training 

23 procedures for the disaster response staff of the Ad24 ministration; 

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1 (3) coordinating and directing Administration 

2 training exercises, including mock disaster responses, 

3 with other Federal agencies; and 

4 (4) other responsibilities, as determined by the 

5 Administrator. 

6 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap8 propriated to the Administration such sums as are 

9 necessary to carry out this section. 

10 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

11 available under this section shall remain available 

12 until expended. 

13 SEC. 114. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY FOR DISTRICT OFFICES 

14 OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(b) of the Small Business 

16 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting imme17 diately after paragraph (8), as added by this Act, the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(9) USE OF DISTRICT OFFICES.—In the event of 

20 a major disaster, the Administrator may authorize a 

21 district office of the Administration to process loans 

22 under paragraph (1) or (2).’’. 

23 (b) DESIGNATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall des25 ignate an employee in each district office of the Admstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ministration to act as a disaster loan liaison between 

2 the disaster processing center and applicants under 

3 the disaster loan program of the Administration. 

4 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each employee des5 ignated under paragraph (1) shall— 

6 (A) respond to inquiries from applicants 

7 under the disaster loan program of the Adminis8 tration regarding paperwork requirements and 

9 assist disaster loan processing staff in coordi10 nating and communicating with applicants re11 garding the documents that are required to com12 plete an application; and 

13 (B) provide information to applicants 

14 under the disaster loan program of the Adminis15 tration regarding additional services and bene16 fits that may be available to such applicants to 

17 assist with recovery. 

18 (3) OUTREACH.—In providing outreach to dis19 aster victims following a declared disaster, the Ad20 ministrator shall make disaster victims aware of— 

21 (A) any relevant employee designated under 

22 paragraph (1); and 

23 (B) how to contact that employee. 

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1 SEC. 115. ASSIGNMENT OF EMPLOYEES OF THE OFFICE OF 

2 DISASTER ASSISTANCE AND DISASTER 

3 CADRE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(b) of the Small Business 

5 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting imme6 diately after paragraph (9), as added by this Act, the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(10) DISASTER ASSISTANCE EMPLOYEES.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this 

10 section, the Administrator shall, where prac11 ticable, ensure that the number of full-time 

12 equivalent employees— 

13 ‘‘(i) in the Office of the Disaster Assist14 ance is not fewer than 800; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) in the Disaster Cadre of the Ad16 ministration is not fewer than 750. 

17 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—In carrying out this sub18 section, if the number of full-time employees for 

19 either the Office of Disaster Assistance or the 

20 Disaster Cadre of the Administration is below 

21 the level described in subparagraph (A) for that 

22 office, the Administrator shall, not later than 14 

23 days after the date on which that staffing level 

24 decreased below the level described in subpara25 graph (A), submit a report to the Committee on 

26 Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the 

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1 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and 

2 the Committee on Small Business and the Com3 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep4 resentatives— 

5 ‘‘(i) detailing the staffing levels on that 

6 date; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) if determined appropriate by the 

8 Administrator, including a request for addi9 tional funds for additional employees.’’. 

10 SEC. 116. REPORT REGARDING LACK OF SNOW FALL. 

11 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the Administrator shall conduct a study of, and 

13 submit a report to the Committee on Small Business of the 

14 House of Representatives and the Committee on Small 

15 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate that de16 scribes— 

17 (1) the ability of the Administrator to provide 

18 loans under section 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act 

19 (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) to small business concerns that 

20 depend on high snow fall amounts, and sustain eco21 nomic injury (as described under that section) due to 

22 a lack of snow fall; 

23 (2) the criteria that the Administrator would use 

24 to determine whether to provide a loan under section 

25 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

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1 636(b)(2)) to a small business concern that has been 

2 adversely affected by a lack of snow fall; 

3 (3) other Federal assistance (including loans) 

4 available to small business concerns that are adversely 

5 affected by a lack of snow fall; and 

6 (4) the history relating to providing loans under 

7 section 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 636(b)(2)) to small business concerns that have been 

9 adversely affected by a lack of snow fall. 

10 TITLE II—DISASTER LENDING 

11 SEC. 201. CATASTROPHIC NATIONAL DISASTER DECLARA12 TION. 

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

14 636(b)) is amended by inserting immediately after para15 graph (10), as added by this Act, the following: 

16 ‘‘(11) CATASTROPHIC NATIONAL DISASTERS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) PROMULGATION OF RULES.—Not later 

18 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

19 paragraph, the Administrator, in consultation 

20 with the Secretary of Homeland Security and 

21 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

22 Management Agency, shall promulgate regula23 tions establishing a threshold for a catastrophic 

24 national disaster declaration, which shall con25 sider— 

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1 ‘‘(i) the dollar amount per capita of 

2 damage to the State, its political subdivi3 sions, or a region; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business con5 cerns damaged, physically or economically, 

6 as a direct result of the event; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the number of individuals and 

8 households displaced from their predisaster 

9 residences by the event; 

10 ‘‘(iv) the severity of the impact on em11 ployment rates in the State, its political 

12 subdivisions, or a region; 

13 ‘‘(v) the anticipated length and dif14 ficulty of the recovery process; and 

15 ‘‘(vi) other factors determined relevant 

16 by the Administrator. 

17 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION.—Following a dec18 laration of a major disaster, if a damage assess19 ment performed by the Administrator indicates 

20 that the damage caused by the event qualify as 

21 a catastrophic national disaster under subsection 

22 (a), the Administrator may make such loans 

23 under this paragraph (either directly or in co24 operation with banks or other lending institu25 tions through agreements to participate on an 

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1 immediate or deferred basis) as the Adminis2 trator determines appropriate to small business 

3 concerns located anywhere in the United States 

4 that are economically adversely impacted as a 

5 result of that catastrophic national disaster. 

6 ‘‘(C) LOAN TERMS.—A loan under this 

7 paragraph shall be made on the same terms as 

8 a loan under paragraph (2).’’. 

9 SEC. 202. PRIVATE DISASTER LOANS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7 of the Small Business Act 

11 (15 U.S.C. 636) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

13 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(c) PRIVATE DISASTER LOANS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

18 ‘‘(A) the term ‘disaster area’ means a coun19 ty, parish, or similar unit of general local gov20 ernment in which a disaster was declared under 

21 subsection (b); 

22 ‘‘(B) the term ‘eligible small business con23 cern’ means a business concern that is— 

24 ‘‘(i) a small business concern, as de25 fined in this Act; or 

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1 ‘‘(ii) a small business concern, as de2 fined in section 103 of the Small Business 

3 Investment Act of 1958; and 

4 ‘‘(C) the term ‘qualified private lender’ 

5 means any privately-owned bank or other lend6 ing institution that the Administrator deter7 mines meets the criteria established under para8 graph (9). 

9 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—The Administrator may 

10 guarantee timely payment of principal and interest, 

11 as scheduled on any loan issued by a qualified pri12 vate lender to an eligible small business concern lo13 cated in a disaster area. 

14 ‘‘(3) USE OF LOANS.—A loan guaranteed by the 

15 Administrator under this subsection may be used for 

16 any purpose authorized under subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(4) ONLINE APPLICATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator 

19 may establish, directly or through an agreement 

20 with another entity, an online application proc21 ess for loans guaranteed under this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(B) OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

23 Administrator may coordinate with the head of 

24 any other appropriate Federal agency so that 

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1 plication process established under this para2 graph may be considered for any other Federal 

3 assistance program for disaster relief. 

4 ‘‘(C) CONSULTATION.—In establishing an 

5 online application process under this paragraph, 

6 the Administrator shall consult with appropriate 

7 persons from the public and private sectors, in8 cluding private lenders. 

9 ‘‘(5) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) GUARANTEE PERCENTAGE.—The Ad11 ministrator may guarantee not more than 85 

12 percent of a loan under this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(B) LOAN AMOUNTS.—The maximum 

14 amount of a loan guaranteed under this sub15 section shall be $2,000,000. 

16 ‘‘(6) LOAN TERM.—The longest term of a loan for 

17 a loan guaranteed under this subsection shall be— 

18 ‘‘(A) 15 years for any loan that is issued 

19 without collateral; and 

20 ‘‘(B) 25 years for any loan that is issued 

21 with collateral. 

22 ‘‘(7) FEES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

24 may not collect a guarantee fee under this sub25 section. 

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1 ‘‘(B) ORIGINATION FEE.—The Adminis2 trator may pay a qualified private lender an 

3 origination fee for a loan guaranteed under this 

4 subsection in an amount agreed upon in advance 

5 between the qualified private lender and the Ad6 ministrator. 

7 ‘‘(8) DOCUMENTATION.—A qualified private 

8 lender may use its own loan documentation for a loan 

9 guaranteed by the Administrator, to the extent au10 thorized by the Administrator. The ability of a lender 

11 to use its own loan documentation for a loan guaran12 teed under this subsection shall not be considered part 

13 of the criteria for becoming a qualified private lender 

14 under the regulations promulgated under paragraph 

15 (9). 

16 ‘‘(9) IMPLEMENTATION REGULATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of enactment of the Small Business 

19 Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act 

20 of 2007, the Administrator shall issue final regu21 lations establishing permanent criteria for quali22 fied private lenders. 

23 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

24 than 6 months after the date of enactment of the 

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1 provements Act of 2007, the Administrator shall 

2 submit a report on the progress of the regulations 

3 required by subparagraph (A) to the Committee 

4 on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 

5 Senate and the Committee on Small Business of 

6 the House of Representatives. 

7 ‘‘(10) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts necessary to 

9 carry out this subsection shall be made available 

10 from amounts appropriated to the Administra11 tion to carry out subsection (b). 

12 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY TO REDUCE INTEREST

13 RATES.—Funds appropriated to the Administra14 tion to carry out this subsection, may be used by 

15 the Administrator, to the extent available, to re16 duce the rate of interest for any loan guaranteed 

17 under this subsection by not more than 3 per18 centage points. 

19 ‘‘(11) PURCHASE OF LOANS.—The Administrator 

20 may enter into an agreement with a qualified private 

21 lender to purchase any loan issued under this sub22 section.’’. 

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

24 section shall apply to disasters declared under section 

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1 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act (631 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) 

2 before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 203. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

4 The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in section 4(c)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘7(c)(2)’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘7(d)(2)’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘7(c)(2)’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘7(d)(2)’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘7(e),’’; and 

13 (2) in section 7(b), in the undesignated matter 

14 following paragraph (3)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘That the provisions of 

16 paragraph (1) of subsection (c)’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘That the provisions of paragraph (1) of sub18 section (d)’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding the provi20 sions of any other law the interest rate on the 

21 Administration’s share of any loan made under 

22 subsection (b) except as provided in subsection 

23 (c),’’ and inserting ‘‘Notwithstanding any other 

24 provision of law, and except as provided in sub25 section (d), the interest rate on the Administramstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 tion’s share of any loan made under subsection 

2 (b)’’. 

3 SEC. 204. BUSINESS EXPEDITED DISASTER ASSISTANCE 

4 LOAN PROGRAM. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

6 (1) the term ‘‘immediate disaster assistance’’ 

7 means assistance provided during the period begin8 ning on the date on which a disaster declaration is 

9 made and ending on the date that an impacted small 

10 business concern is able to secure funding through in11 surance claims, Federal assistance programs, or other 

12 sources; and 

13 (2) the term ‘‘program’’ means the expedited dis14 aster assistance business loan program established 

15 under subsection (b). 

16 (b) CREATION OF PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall 

17 take such administrative action as is necessary to establish 

18 and implement an expedited disaster assistance business 

19 loan program to provide small business concerns with im20 mediate disaster assistance under section 7(b) of the Small 

21 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)). 

22 (c) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In establishing the 

23 program, the Administrator shall consult with— 

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1 (1) appropriate personnel of the Administration 

2 (including District Office personnel of the Adminis3 tration); 

4 (2) appropriate technical assistance providers 

5 (including small business development centers); 

6 (3) appropriate lenders and credit unions; 

7 (4) the Committee on Small Business and Entre8 preneurship of the Senate; and 

9 (5) the Committee on Small Business of the 

10 House of Representatives. 

11 (d) RULES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

14 shall issue rules in final form establishing and imple15 menting the program in accordance with this section. 

16 Such rules shall apply as provided for in this section, 

17 beginning 90 days after their issuance in final form. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—The rules promulgated under 

19 paragraph (1) shall— 

20 (A) identify whether appropriate uses of 

21 funds under the program may include— 

22 (i) paying employees; 

23 (ii) paying bills and other financial 

24 obligations; 

25 (iii) making repairs; 

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1 (iv) purchasing inventory; 

2 (v) restarting or operating a small 

3 business concern in the community in 

4 which it was conducting operations prior to 

5 the declared disaster, or to a neighboring 

6 area, county, or parish in the disaster area; 

7 or 

8 (vi) covering additional costs until the 

9 small business concern is able to obtain 

10 funding through insurance claims, Federal 

11 assistance programs, or other sources; and 

12 (B) set the terms and conditions of any 

13 loan made under the program, subject to para14 graph (3). 

15 (3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A loan made by 

16 the Administration under this section— 

17 (A) shall be a short-term loan, not to exceed 

18 180 days, except that the Administrator may ex19 tend such term as the Administrator determines 

20 necessary or appropriate on a case-by-case basis; 

21 (B) shall have an interest rate not to exceed 

22 1 percentage point above the prime rate of inter23 est that a private lender may charge; 

24 (C) shall have no prepayment penalty; 

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1 (D) may only be made to a borrower that 

2 meets the requirements for a loan under section 

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

4 636(b)); 

5 (E) may be refinanced as part of any subse6 quent disaster assistance provided under section 

7 7(b) of the Small Business Act; and 

8 (F) shall be subject to such additional terms 

9 as the Administrator determines necessary or ap10 propriate. 

11 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 months 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

13 shall report to the Committee on Small Business and Entre14 preneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small 

15 Business of the House of Representatives on the progress 

16 of the Administrator in establishing the program. 

17 (f) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap18 propriated to the Administrator such sums as are necessary 

19 to carry out this section. 

20 TITLE III—DISASTER 

21 ASSISTANCE OVERSIGHT 

22 SEC. 301. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT. 

23 (a) MONTHLY ACCOUNTING REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

24 (1) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 

25 the fifth business day of each month during the applimstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 cable period for a major disaster, the Administrator 

2 shall provide to the Committee on Small Business 

3 and Entrepreneurship and the Committee on Appro4 priations of the Senate and to the Committee on 

5 Small Business and the Committee on Appropriations 

6 of the House of Representatives a report on the oper7 ation of the disaster loan program authorized under 

8 section 7 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636) 

9 for that major disaster during the preceding month. 

10 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

11 (1) shall include— 

12 (A) the daily average lending volume, in 

13 number of loans and dollars, and the percent by 

14 which each category has increased or decreased 

15 since the previous report under paragraph (1); 

16 (B) the weekly average lending volume, in 

17 number of loans and dollars, and the percent by 

18 which each category has increased or decreased 

19 since the previous report under paragraph (1); 

20 (C) the amount of funding spent over the 

21 month for loans, both in appropriations and 

22 program level, and the percent by which each 

23 category has increased or decreased since the pre24 vious report under paragraph (1); 

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1 (D) the amount of funding available for 

2 loans, both in appropriations and program level, 

3 and the percent by which each category has in4 creased or decreased since the previous report 

5 under paragraph (1), noting the source of any 

6 additional funding; 

7 (E) an estimate of how long the available 

8 funding for such loans will last, based on the 

9 spending rate; 

10 (F) the amount of funding spent over the 

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

12 and the percent by which each category has in13 creased or decreased since the previous report 

14 under paragraph (1); 

15 (G) the amount of funding spent over the 

16 month for administrative costs, and the percent 

17 by which such spending has increased or de18 creased since the previous report under para19 graph (1); 

20 (H) the amount of funding available for sal21 aries and expenses combined, and the percent by 

22 which such funding has increased or decreased 

23 since the previous report under paragraph (1), 

24 noting the source of any additional funding; and 

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1 (I) an estimate of how long the available 

2 funding for salaries and expenses will last, based 

3 on the spending rate. 

4 (b) DAILY DISASTER UPDATES TO CONGRESS FOR

5 PRESIDENTIALLY DECLARED DISASTERS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each day during a disaster 

7 update period, excluding Federal holidays and week8 ends, the Administration shall provide to the Com9 mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

10 the Senate and to the Committee on Small Business 

11 of the House of Representatives a report on the oper12 ation of the disaster loan program of the Administra13 tion for the area in which the President declared a 

14 major disaster. 

15 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

16 (1) shall include— 

17 (A) the number of Administration staff per18 forming loan processing, field inspection, and 

19 other duties for the declared disaster, and the al20 locations of such staff in the disaster field offices, 

21 disaster recovery centers, workshops, and other 

22 Administration offices nationwide; 

23 (B) the daily number of applications re24 ceived from applicants in the relevant area, as 

25 well as a breakdown of such figures by State; 

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1 (C) the daily number of applications pend2 ing application entry from applicants in the rel3 evant area, as well as a breakdown of such fig4 ures by State; 

5 (D) the daily number of applications with6 drawn by applicants in the relevant area, as 

7 well as a breakdown of such figures by State; 

8 (E) the daily number of applications sum9 marily declined by the Administration from ap10 plicants in the relevant area, as well as a break11 down of such figures by State; 

12 (F) the daily number of applications de13 clined by the Administration from applicants in 

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

15 figures by State; 

16 (G) the daily number of applications in 

17 process from applicants in the relevant area, as 

18 well as a breakdown of such figures by State; 

19 (H) the daily number of applications ap20 proved by the Administration from applicants in 

21 the relevant area, as well as a breakdown of such 

22 figures by State; 

23 (I) the daily dollar amount of applications 

24 approved by the Administration from applicants 

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

2 such figures by State; 

3 (J) the daily amount of loans dispersed, 

4 both partially and fully, by the Administration 

5 to applicants in the relevant area, as well as a 

6 breakdown of such figures by State; 

7 (K) the daily dollar amount of loans dis8 bursed, both partially and fully, from the rel9 evant area, as well as a breakdown of such fig10 ures by State; 

11 (L) the number of applications approved, 

12 including dollar amount approved, as well as 

13 applications partially and fully disbursed, in14 cluding dollar amounts, since the last report 

15 under paragraph (1); and 

16 (M) the declaration date, physical damage 

17 closing date, economic injury closing date, and 

18 number of counties included in the declaration of 

19 a major disaster. 

20 (c) NOTICE OF THE NEED FOR SUPPLEMENTAL

21 FUNDS.—On the same date that the Administrator notifies 

22 any committee of the Senate or the House of Representatives 

23 that supplemental funding is necessary for the disaster loan 

24 program of the Administration in any fiscal year, the Ad25 ministrator shall notify in writing the Committee on Small 

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1 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Com2 mittee on Small Business of the House of Representatives 

3 regarding the need for supplemental funds for that loan pro4 gram. 

5 (d) REPORT ON CONTRACTING.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after 

7 the date on which the President declares a major dis8 aster, and every 6 months thereafter until the date 

9 that is 18 months after the date on which the major 

10 disaster was declared, the Administrator shall submit 

11 a report to the Committee on Small Business and En12 trepreneurship of the Senate and to the Committee on 

13 Small Business of the House of Representatives re14 garding Federal contracts awarded as a result of that 

15 major disaster. 

16 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

17 paragraph (1) shall include— 

18 (A) the total number of contracts awarded 

19 as a result of that major disaster; 

20 (B) the total number of contracts awarded 

21 to small business concerns as a result of that 

22 major disaster; 

23 (C) the total number of contracts awarded 

24 to women and minority-owned businesses as a 

25 result of that major disaster; and 

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1 (D) the total number of contracts awarded 

2 to local businesses as a result of that major dis3 aster. 

4 (e) REPORT ON LOAN APPROVAL RATE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

7 shall submit a report to the Committee on Small 

8 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the 

9 Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep10 resentatives detailing how the Administration can im11 prove the processing of applications under the disaster 

12 loan program of the Administration. 

13 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

14 paragraph (1) shall include— 

15 (A) recommendations, if any, regarding— 

16 (i) staffing levels during a major dis17 aster; 

18 (ii) how to improve the process for 

19 processing, approving, and disbursing loans 

20 under the disaster loan program of the Ad21 ministration, to ensure that the maximum 

22 assistance is provided to victims in a timely 

23 manner; 

24 (iii) the viability of using alternative 

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1 plicant to repay a loan, including the credit 

2 score of the applicant on the day before the 

3 date on which the disaster for which the ap4 plicant is seeking assistance was declared; 

5 (iv) methods, if any, for the Adminis6 tration to expedite loss verification and 

7 loan processing of disaster loans during a 

8 major disaster for businesses affected by, 

9 and located in the area for which the Presi10 dent declared, the major disaster that are a 

11 major source of employment in the area or 

12 are vital to recovery efforts in the region 

13 (including providing debris removal serv14 ices, manufactured housing, or building ma15 terials); 

16 (v) legislative changes, if any, needed 

17 to implement findings from the Accelerated 

18 Disaster Response Initiative of the Admin19 istration; and 

20 (vi) a description of how the Adminis21 tration plans to integrate and coordinate 

22 the response to a major disaster with the 

23 technical assistance programs of the Admin24 istration; and 

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1 (B) the plans of the Administrator for im2 plementing any recommendation made under 

3 subparagraph (A). 

4 TITLE IV—ENERGY 

5 EMERGENCIES 

6 SEC. 401. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) a significant number of small business con9 cerns in the United States, nonfarm as well as agri10 cultural producers, use heating oil, natural gas, pro11 pane, or kerosene to heat their facilities and for other 

12 purposes; 

13 (2) a significant number of small business con14 cerns in the United States sell, distribute, market, or 

15 otherwise engage in commerce directly related to heat16 ing oil, natural gas, propane, and kerosene; and 

17 (3) significant increases in the price of heating 

18 oil, natural gas, propane, or kerosene— 

19 (A) disproportionately harm small business 

20 concerns dependent on those fuels or that use, 

21 sell, or distribute those fuels in the ordinary 

22 course of their business, and can cause them sub23 stantial economic injury; 

24 (B) can negatively affect the national econ25 omy and regional economies; 

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1 (C) have occurred in the winters of 1983 to 

2 1984, 1988 to 1989, 1996 to 1997, 1999 to 2000, 

3 2000 to 2001, and 2004 to 2005; and 

4 (D) can be caused by a host of factors, in5 cluding international conflicts, global or regional 

6 supply difficulties, weather conditions, insuffi7 cient inventories, refinery capacity, transpor8 tation, and competitive structures in the mar9 kets, causes that are often unforeseeable to, and 

10 beyond the control of, those who own and operate 

11 small business concerns. 

12 SEC. 402. SMALL BUSINESS ENERGY EMERGENCY DISASTER 

13 LOAN PROGRAM. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(b) of the Small Business 

15 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting after para16 graph (11), as added by this Act, the following: 

17 ‘‘(12) ENERGY EMERGENCIES.— 

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

19 ‘‘(i) the term ‘base price index’ means 

20 the moving average of the closing unit price 

21 on the New York Mercantile Exchange for 

22 heating oil, natural gas, or propane for the 

23 10 days, in each of the most recent 2 pre24 ceding years, which correspond to the trad25 ing days described in clause (ii); 

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1 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘current price index’ 

2 means the moving average of the closing 

3 unit price on the New York Mercantile Ex4 change, for the 10 most recent trading days, 

5 for contracts to purchase heating oil, nat6 ural gas, or propane during the subsequent 

7 calendar month, commonly known as the 

8 ‘front month’; 

9 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘heating fuel’ means 

10 heating oil, natural gas, propane, or ker11 osene; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) the term ‘significant increase’ 

13 means— 

14 ‘‘(I) with respect to the price of 

15 heating oil, natural gas, or propane, 

16 any time the current price index ex17 ceeds the base price index by not less 

18 than 40 percent; and 

19 ‘‘(II) with respect to the price of 

20 kerosene, any increase which the Ad21 ministrator, in consultation with the 

22 Secretary of Energy, determines to be 

23 significant. 

24 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION.—The Administra25 tion may make such loans, either directly or in 

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1 cooperation with banks or other lending institu2 tions through agreements to participate on an 

3 immediate or deferred basis, to assist a small 

4 business concern that has suffered or that is like5 ly to suffer substantial economic injury as the 

6 result of a significant increase in the price of 

7 heating fuel occurring on or after October 1, 

8 2004. 

9 ‘‘(C) INTEREST RATE.—Any loan or guar10 antee extended under this paragraph shall be 

11 made at the same interest rate as economic in12 jury loans under paragraph (2). 

13 ‘‘(D) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—No loan may be 

14 made under this paragraph, either directly or in 

15 cooperation with banks or other lending institu16 tions through agreements to participate on an 

17 immediate or deferred basis, if the total amount 

18 outstanding and committed to the borrower 

19 under this subsection would exceed $1,500,000, 

20 unless such borrower constitutes a major source 

21 of employment in its surrounding area, as deter22 mined by the Administrator, in which case the 

23 Administrator, in the discretion of the Adminis24 trator, may waive the $1,500,000 limitation. 

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1 ‘‘(E) DECLARATIONS.—For purposes of as2 sistance under this paragraph— 

3 ‘‘(i) a declaration of a disaster area 

4 based on conditions specified in this para5 graph shall be required, and shall be made 

6 by the President or the Administrator; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) if no declaration has been made 

8 under clause (i), the Governor of a State in 

9 which a significant increase in the price of 

10 heating fuel has occurred may certify to the 

11 Administration that small business concerns 

12 have suffered economic injury as a result of 

13 such increase and are in need of financial 

14 assistance which is not otherwise available 

15 on reasonable terms in that State, and upon 

16 receipt of such certification, the Administra17 tion may make such loans as would have 

18 been available under this paragraph if a 

19 disaster declaration had been issued. 

20 ‘‘(F) USE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any 

21 other provision of law, loans made under this 

22 paragraph may be used by a small business con23 cern described in subparagraph (B) to convert 

24 from the use of heating fuel to a renewable or al25 ternative energy source, including agriculture 

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1 and urban waste, geothermal energy, cogenera2 tion, solar energy, wind energy, or fuel cells.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO HEAT4 ING FUEL.—Section 3(k) of the Small Business Act (15 

5 U.S.C. 632(k)) is amended— 

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘, significant increase in the 

7 price of heating fuel’’ after ‘‘civil disorders’’; and 

8 (2) by inserting ‘‘other’’ before ‘‘economic’’. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall apply during the 4-year period beginning 

11 on the date on which guidelines are published by the Ad12 ministrator under section 404. 

13 SEC. 403. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCER EMERGENCY LOANS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 321(a) of the Consolidated 

15 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in the first sentence— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘operations have’’ and in19 serting ‘‘operations (i) have’’; and 

20 (B) by inserting before ‘‘: Provided,’’ the fol21 lowing: ‘‘, or (ii)(I) are owned or operated by 

22 such an applicant that is also a small business 

23 concern (as defined in section 3 of the Small 

24 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), and (II) have 

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1 nomic injury on or after October 1, 2004, as the 

2 result of a significant increase in energy costs or 

3 input costs from energy sources occurring on or 

4 after October 1, 2004, in connection with an en5 ergy emergency declared by the President or the 

6 Secretary’’; 

7 (2) in the third sentence, by inserting before the 

8 period at the end the following: ‘‘or by an energy 

9 emergency declared by the President or the Sec10 retary’’; and 

11 (3) in the fourth sentence— 

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘or energy emergency’’ 

13 after ‘‘natural disaster’’ each place that term ap14 pears; and 

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘or declaration’’ after 

16 ‘‘emergency designation’’. 

17 (b) FUNDING.—Funds available on the date of enact18 ment of this Act for emergency loans under subtitle C of 

19 the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

20 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.) shall be available to carry out the 

21 amendments made by subsection (a) to meet the needs re22 sulting from energy emergencies. 

23 (c) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—The amendments made by 

24 this section shall apply during the 4-year period beginning 

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1 on the date on which guidelines are published by the Sec2 retary of Agriculture under section 404. 

3 SEC. 404. GUIDELINES AND RULEMAKING. 

4 (a) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 30 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator and the 

6 Secretary of Agriculture shall each issue such guidelines as 

7 the Administrator or the Secretary, as applicable, deter8 mines to be necessary to carry out this title and the amend9 ments made by this title. 

10 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 30 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, after con12 sultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall promulgate 

13 regulations specifying the method for determining a signifi14 cant increase in the price of kerosene under section 

15 7(b)(12)(A)(iv)(II) of the Small Business Act, as added by 

16 this Act. 

17 SEC. 405. REPORTS. 

18 (a) SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.—Not later 

19 than 12 months after the date on which the Administrator 

20 issues guidelines under section 404, and annually thereafter 

21 until the date that is 12 months after the end of the effective 

22 period of section 7(b)(12) of the Small Business Act, as 

23 added by this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the 

24 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 

25 Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House 

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1 of Representatives, a report on the effectiveness of the assist2 ance made available under section 7(b)(12) of the Small 

3 Business Act, as added by this Act, including— 

4 (1) the number of small business concerns that 

5 applied for a loan under such section and the number 

6 of those that received such loans; 

7 (2) the dollar value of those loans; 

8 (3) the States in which the small business con9 cerns that received such loans are located; 

10 (4) the type of heating fuel or energy that caused 

11 the significant increase in the cost for the partici12 pating small business concerns; and 

13 (5) recommendations for ways to improve the as14 sistance provided under such section 7(b)(12), if any. 

15 (b) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—Not later than 

16 12 months after the date on which the Secretary of Agri17 culture issues guidelines under section 404, and annually 

18 thereafter until the date that is 12 months after the end 

19 of the effective period of the amendments made to section 

20 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

21 Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)) by this title, the Secretary shall sub22 mit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneur23 ship and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For24 estry of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business 

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1 and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep2 resentatives, a report that— 

3 (1) describes the effectiveness of the assistance 

4 made available under section 321(a) of the Consoli5 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

6 1961(a)); and 

7 (2) contains recommendations for ways to im8 prove the assistance provided under such section 

9 321(a), if any. 

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Calendar No. 139 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 163 

[Report No. 110

–64] 

A BILL 

Business Administration, and for other purposes. 

To improve the disaster loan program of the Small 

MAY 7, 2007 

Reported with an amendment 

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