I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6790 
To prohibit the enforcement of certain loan covenants during the COVID– 
19 national emergency, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 8, 2020 
Mr. SHERMAN (for himself and Ms. WATERS) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To prohibit the enforcement of certain loan covenants 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. ENFORCEMENT OF LOAN COVENANTS. 
(a) LOANS RECEIVED UNDER COVID–19 RELIEF 
PROGRAMS.—Any loan that a borrower receives under a 
COVID–19 relief program may not be taken into ac-
count— 
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(1) in determining whether— 
(A) the borrower is in violation of any loan 
covenant of a covered loan; or 
(B) a lender may accelerate the due date 
of any covered loan agreement; or 
(2) in calculating the debts or liabilities of the 
borrower for purposes of determining whether such 
borrower is in conformity with any covered loan 
agreement. 
(b) LOAN COVENANTS NOT ENFORCEABLE DURING 
COVID–19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A lender may not enforce 
any loan covenant during the period beginning on 
the date of enactment of this Act and ending on the 
day that is 1 year after the termination of the na-
tional emergency declared by the President on 
March 13, 2020, under the National Emergencies 
Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) relating to the 
COVID–19 pandemic. 
(2) RULEMAKING.—Not later than the end of 
the 60-day period beginning on the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
issue such regulations and guidance as may be nec-
essary to ensure that any lender who complies with 
the requirements described in paragraph (1) is not 
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deemed to be in violation of any law or regulation 
relating to the enforcement of loan covenants. 
(c) TRUSTEE OR PERSON WITH FIDUCIARY DUTY 
NOT LIABLE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—No trustee or other person 
with a fiduciary duty to the holders of any debt se-
curity shall be liable for any decision made not to 
enforce a loan covenant related to such debt secu-
rity. 
(2) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) shall only 
apply during the period beginning on March 12, 
2020, and ending on March 13, 2022. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the following defini-
tions apply: 
(1) COVERED LOAN.—The term ‘‘covered loan’’ 
means a loan entered into on or before the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
(2) COVID–19 RELIEF PROGRAM.—The term 
‘‘COVID–19 relief program’’ means any program 
created by— 
(A) the Coronavirus Preparedness and Re-
sponse Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 
(Public Law 116–123); 
(B) the Families First Coronavirus Re-
sponse Act (Public Law 116–127); 
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(C) the CARES Act (Public Law 116– 
136); or 
(D) the Federal Government or any State, 
local, Tribal, or territorial government for the 
purpose of reducing the financial losses of busi-
nesses caused by the spread of COVID–19. 
(3) LOAN
COVENANT.—The term ‘‘loan cov-
enant’’ means any provision in a covered loan agree-
ment that allows or requires the acceleration of re-
payments due under any loan agreement or that re-
duces the availability of funds under a line of cred-
it— 
(A) due to any act or omission of a bor-
rower or any entity related to the borrower; or 
(B) because the total liabilities or current 
liabilities of a borrower exceed— 
(i) any benchmark; or 
(ii) any percentage of the assets of the 
borrower, revenues, equity, or any other 
benchmark. 
Æ 
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