I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1361 
To improve the disaster relief programs of the Small Business Administration, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 6, 2007 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. BAKER, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. 
MELANCON, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. MOORE 
of Wisconsin, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small 
Business 
A BILL 
To improve the disaster relief programs of the Small 
Business Administration, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Relief for Entrepreneurs: Coordination of Objectives and 
Values for Effective Recovery Act of 2007’’ or the ‘‘RE-
COVER Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—PLANNING 
Sec. 101. Comprehensive disaster response plan. 
Sec. 102. Annual disaster simulation exercise. 
Sec. 103. Disaster reserve corps. 
Sec. 104. Plans to secure additional office space. 
Sec. 105. Coordination of disaster assistance programs with FEMA. 
Sec. 106. Associate Administrator for Disaster Assistance. 
TITLE II—LENDING 
Sec. 201. Incidents of National Significance. 
Sec. 202. Information tracking and follow-up system. 
Sec. 203. Immediate Disaster Assistance program. 
Sec. 204. Increased deferment period. 
Sec. 205. Revised repayment terms. 
Sec. 206. Revised disbursement process. 
Sec. 207. Revised collateral requirements. 
Sec. 208. Enhanced lending authority for private lenders. 
Sec. 209. Disaster processing redundancy. 
Sec. 210. Grant program. 
Sec. 211. Waiver of prohibition on duplication of certain benefits. 
Sec. 212. Increase legislative limit. 
Sec. 213. Net earnings clauses prohibited. 
Sec. 214. Economic injury disaster loans to nonprofits. 
Sec. 215. Applicants that will constitute a major source of employment due to 
changed economic circumstances. 
TITLE III—OVERSIGHT 
Sec. 301. Reports on disaster assistance. 
TITLE I—PLANNING 
SEC. 101. COMPREHENSIVE DISASTER RESPONSE PLAN. 
The Small Business Act is amended by redesignating 
section 37 as 99 and by inserting after section 36 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 37. COMPREHENSIVE DISASTER RESPONSE PLAN. 
‘‘(a) PLAN REQUIRED.—The Administrator shall de-
velop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive written 
disaster response plan. The plan shall include the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(1) For each region of the Administration, a 
description of the disasters most likely to occur in 
that region. 
‘‘(2) For each disaster described under para-
graph (1)— 
‘‘(A) an assessment of the disaster; 
‘‘(B) an assessment of the demand for Ad-
ministration assistance most likely to occur in 
response to the disaster; 
‘‘(C) an assessment of the needs of the Ad-
ministration, with respect to such resources as 
information 
technology, 
telecommunications, 
human resources, and office space, to meet the 
demand referred to in subparagraph (B); and 
‘‘(D) guidelines pursuant to which the Ad-
ministration will coordinate with other Federal 
agencies and with State and local authorities to 
best respond to the demand referred to in sub-
paragraph (B) and to best use the resources re-
ferred to in that subparagraph. 
‘‘(b) COMPLETION; REVISION.—The first plan re-
quired by subsection (a) shall be completed not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this section. 
Thereafter, the Administrator shall update the plan on an 
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annual basis and following any incident of national signifi-
cance (as declared by the President or his designee). 
‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Administrator shall include a re-
port on the plan whenever the Administrator submits the 
report required by section 47(a).’’. 
SEC. 102. ANNUAL DISASTER SIMULATION EXERCISE. 
The Small Business Act is amended by inserting after 
section 37 (as added by section 101) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 38. ANNUAL DISASTER SIMULATION EXERCISE. 
‘‘(a) EXERCISE REQUIRED.—The Administrator shall 
conduct a disaster simulation exercise at least once each 
fiscal year. The exercise shall include the participation of, 
at a minimum, not less than half of the individuals in the 
disaster reserve corps and shall test, at maximum capac-
ity, all of the information technology and telecommuni-
cations systems of the Administration that are vital to the 
activities of the Administration during such a disaster. 
‘‘(b) REPORT.—The Administrator shall include a re-
port on the disaster simulation exercise whenever the Ad-
ministration submits the report required by section 
47(a).’’. 
SEC. 103. DISASTER RESERVE CORPS. 
The Small Business Act is amended by inserting after 
section 38 (as added by section 102) the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 39. DISASTER RESERVE CORPS. 
‘‘(a) CORPS REQUIRED.—The Administrator shall 
maintain within the Administration a disaster reserve 
corps, the purpose of which is to perform the functions 
of the Administration related to disaster response. The 
corps shall consist of at least 1,000 individuals, each of 
whom— 
‘‘(1) does not ordinarily have the duties of a 
full-time officer or employee of the Administration; 
but 
‘‘(2) is able to assume duties related to disaster 
response when the Administrator so requires. 
‘‘(b) TRAINING.—The Administrator shall ensure 
that each individual in the corps receives training each 
year in one or more functions relating to disaster response. 
To the maximum extent practicable, the function in which 
an individual is trained in one year shall be different from 
the function in which the individual was trained in prior 
years. 
‘‘(c) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Adminis-
trator shall ensure that not more than 30 percent of the 
individuals in the corps reside in any one region of the 
Administration. 
‘‘(d) REPORT.—The Administrator shall include a re-
port on the corps whenever the Administration submits 
the report required by section 47(a).’’. 
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SEC. 104. PLANS TO SECURE ADDITIONAL OFFICE SPACE. 
The Small Business Act is amended by inserting after 
section 39 (as added by section 103) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 40. PLANS TO SECURE ADDITIONAL OFFICE SPACE. 
‘‘(a) PLANS REQUIRED.—The Administrator shall 
develop long-term plans to secure additional office space 
to accommodate an expanded workforce in times of dis-
aster. 
‘‘(b) REPORT.—The Administrator shall include a re-
port on the plans whenever the Administration submits 
the report required by section 47(a).’’. 
SEC. 105. COORDINATION OF DISASTER ASSISTANCE PRO-
GRAMS WITH FEMA. 
The Small Business Act is amended by inserting after 
section 40 (as added by section 104) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 41. COORDINATION OF DISASTER ASSISTANCE PRO-
GRAMS WITH FEMA. 
‘‘(a) COORDINATION REQUIRED.—The Administrator 
shall ensure that the disaster assistance programs of the 
Administration are coordinated, to the maximum extent 
practicable, with the disaster assistance programs of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—The Administrator, 
in consultation with the Director of the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency, shall establish regulations to 
ensure that each application for disaster assistance is sub-
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