I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2594 
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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 1, 2015 
Mr. MACARTHUR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act to ensure that the receipt of certain 
loans provided by the Small Business Administration 
does not violate the prohibition against receiving duplica-
tive financial assistance in the case of a disaster. 
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 ‘‘Disaster Survivor Ben-
efit Clarification Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122 et seq.) 
prohibits duplication of benefits, including any Fed-
eral financial assistance or insurance, which includes 
loans made by the Small Business Administration 
which carry interest. 
(2) Loans made by the Small Business Admin-
istration 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 Adminis-
tration, without knowing that receipt of these loans 
could make the survivors ineligible for grants from 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
SEC. 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 dupli-
cation of benefits under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122 et 
seq.). 
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SEC. 4. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER 
LOANS PERMITTED. 
Section 312(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155(b)) 
is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 
paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) EXEMPTION FOR SMALL BUSINESS ADMIN-
ISTRATION DISASTER LOANS.—A loan made pursu-
ant to section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 636(b)) shall not be considered financial as-
sistance for the purposes of subsection (a) if— 
‘‘(A) such loan has been repaid in full (in-
cluding interest); or 
‘‘(B) the borrower of such loan is making 
the required payments on time, as determined 
by the terms of such loan.’’. 
SEC. 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)) that were made on or after Janu-
ary 1, 2012. 
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SEC. 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)) during the period 
beginning on January 1, 2012, and ending on the date 
of enactment of this Act in which the borrower was not 
making the required payments for such loan on time (as 
determined by the terms of such loan) the borrower shall 
be deemed to be compliant with the requirements of sec-
tion 312(2)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (as added by section 4 of 
this Act) if, within 60 days, the borrower becomes current 
on payments on the loan. 
Æ 
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