I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6549 
To prevent the acceleration of the due date of business loans during the 
COVID–19 national emergency, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 17, 2020 
Mr. SHERMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To prevent the acceleration of the due date of business 
loans during the COVID–19 national emergency, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Business Borrowers 
Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CONSTRUCTION OF LOAN COVENANTS. 
In determining whether any borrower is in violation 
of any loan covenant or is required to repay a loan on 
an accelerated basis, any loan received under any govern-
mental program to deal with the COVID–19 virus shall 
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be excluded. Any loan received from any governmental en-
tity under any program to deal with the COVID–19 virus 
shall not be taken into account in determining the debts 
or liabilities of the borrower for purposes of determining 
whether the borrower is in conformity with any loan agree-
ment, or whether the lender has the right to accelerate 
the due date of any loan agreement. 
SEC. 3. LOAN COVENANT EFORCEMENT NOT REQUIRED. 
From the date of enactment until the date two years 
after the termination of the national emergency declared 
by the President on March 13, 2020, under the National 
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) it is the policy 
of the United States that lenders should not accelerate the 
due date of any business loan or curtail any line of credit. 
Federal regulatory entities shall adopt policies or regula-
tions so that no lender is held to be in violation of any 
regulation due to the lender’s adherence to the policy set 
forth in the preceding sentence. 
SEC. 4. TRUSTEES NOT REQUIRED TO ENFORCE LOAN COV-
ENANTS. 
From the date of enactment until the date two years 
after the termination of the national emergency declared 
by the President on March 13, 2020, under the National 
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) no trustee or 
other person with a fiduciary duty to the holders of any 
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debt security shall be liable for any decision made not to 
enforce a loan covenant. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) GOVERNMENTAL PROGRAM TO DEAL WITH THE 
COVID-19 VIRUS.—The term ‘‘governmental program to 
deal with the COVID-19 virus’’ means any program cre-
ated by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Sup-
plemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116– 
123), the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Pub-
lic Law 116–127), or the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and 
Economic Security Act (Public Law 116–136) and any 
program established by the Federal Government or any 
State, local, tribal, or territorial government for the pur-
pose of reducing the economic dislocation caused by the 
spread of COVID-19. 
(b) LOAN COVENANT.—The term ‘‘loan covenant’’ 
means any provision which allows or requires the accelera-
tion of repayments due under any loan agreement, or 
which reduces the availability of funds under a line of 
credit, due to any act or omission of the borrower or any 
entity related to the borrower. ‘‘Loan covenant’’ includes 
any provision which accelerates repayment under a loan, 
or reduces the amount that may be borrowed under a line 
of credit, because the borrower’s total liabilities or current 
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liabilities exceed any benchmark, or any percentage of the 
borrower’s assets, revenues, equity, or other benchmark. 
Æ 
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