Title: Small Business Emergency Disaster Bridge Loan Act of 2017
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Small Business Emergency Disaster Bridge Loan Act of 2017
This bill amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Small Business Administration to provide guaranteed bridge loans (i.e., loans made to small businesses while their applications for assistance under a disaster loan program are pending) to small businesses located in declared major disaster areas.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4367 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4367

To amend the Small Business Act to provide guaranteed disaster loans to 
        certain small business concerns, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 9, 2017

Ms. Velazquez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Small Business Act to provide guaranteed disaster loans to 
        certain small business concerns, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Emergency Disaster 
Bridge Loan Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS EMERGENCY BRIDGE LOAN PROGRAM.

    Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is 
amended by inserting after paragraph (15) the following new paragraph:
            ``(16) Small business emergency bridge loan program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator may guarantee 
                a bridge loan to a small business concern made by an 
                eligible lender, if such small business concern was 
                located within an area and during the time period with 
                respect to which--
                            ``(i) a major disaster was declared by the 
                        President under section 401 of the Robert T. 
                        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                        Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); or
                            ``(ii) the Administrator determined a 
                        disaster occurred.
                    ``(B) Procedures.--Except as otherwise provided in 
                this paragraph, a bridge loan guarantee made under this 
                paragraph shall be subject to the same requirements and 
                procedures that are used to make loans pursuant to this 
                subsection.
                    ``(C) Use of funds.--A small business concern 
                described in subparagraph (A) may apply to the 
                Administrator--
                            ``(i) for a bridge loan to repair or 
                        replace real property or property of the small 
                        business concern property damaged or destroyed 
                        by reason of such major disaster; or
                            ``(ii) if such a small business concern has 
                        suffered substantial economic injury by reason 
                        of such major disaster, for a bridge loan to 
                        assist such a small business concern.
                    ``(D) Rate.--The Administrator may guarantee not 
                more than 95 percent of a bridge loan made under this 
                paragraph.
                    ``(E) Requirements.--A bridge loan guaranteed under 
                this subsection--
                            ``(i) may not exceed $50,000;
                            ``(ii) shall be for a term of not more than 
                        10 years;
                            ``(iii) during the 6-month period beginning 
                        on the date on which the bridge loan is 
                        disbursed, the rate of interest on such loan 
                        shall be zero and the borrower shall not be 
                        required to make any payments on such bridge 
                        loan; and
                            ``(iv) after such 6-month period, the rate 
                        of interest on such bridge loan shall be 
                        determined by the Administrator.
                    ``(F) Underwriting.--An eligible lender shall use 
                the procedures and forms of such eligible lender in 
                making a bridge loan under this subsection.
                    ``(G) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Bridge loan.--The term `bridge loan' 
                        means a loan made to a small business concern 
                        while the application of such concern for 
                        assistance under a disaster loan program is 
                        pending.
                            ``(ii) Disaster loan program.--The term 
                        `disaster loan program' means a program 
                        established under paragraphs (1), (2), or (9) 
                        of this subsection.
                            ``(iii) Eligible lender.--The term 
                        `eligible lender' means a lender who is a 
                        community development financial institution, as 
                        defined in section 103(5) of the Riegle 
                        Community Development and Regulatory 
                        Improvement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702(5)) or 
                        another lender that the Administrator has 
                        determined is an appropriate lender.''.
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