Disaster Survivor Benefit Clarification Act of 2015

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to ensure that the receipt of certain loans provided by the Small Business Administration does not violate the prohibition against receiving duplicative financial assistance in the case of a disaster. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Disaster Survivor Benefit Clarification Act of 2015 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5122 et seq. (2) Loans made by the Small Business Administration were aggressively marketed to Hurricane Sandy survivors, who were also qualified for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (3) Many survivors applied for these loans at the encouragement of the Small Business Administration, without knowing that receipt of these loans could make the survivors ineligible for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 3. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that disaster loans made by the Small Business Administration that carry interest and must be repaid should not be considered the same type of benefit as a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the purposes of calculating duplication of benefits under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5122 et seq. 4. Small Business Administration disaster loans permitted Section 312(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5155(b) (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph: (2) Exemption for Small Business Administration disaster loans A loan made pursuant to section 7(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b) (A) such loan has been repaid in full (including interest); or (B) the borrower of such loan is making the required payments on time, as determined by the terms of such loan. . 5. Applicability The amendments made by section 4 shall apply to loans made pursuant to section 7(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b) 6. Exception for certain loans For any loan made pursuant to section 7(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b)

Summary: Disaster Survivor Benefit Clarification Act of 2015 Expresses the sense of Congress that disaster loans made by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that carry interest and must be repaid should not be considered the same type of benefit as a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for purposes of calculating duplication of benefits under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Amends the Stafford Act to provide that an SBA disaster loan made on or after January 1, 2012, shall not be considered financial assistance for purposes of the prohibition on receiving duplicative disaster assistance if: (1) such loan has been repaid in full; or (2) the borrower is making the required payments on time. Deems the borrower of any such loan made by the date of this Act's enactment for which the borrower was not making the required payments on time to be compliant with this Act if, within 60 days, the borrower becomes current on the loan payments.