Title: Expediting the EIDL Program Act of 2020
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Expediting the EIDL Program Act of 2020
This bill modifies the disbursement of economic injury disaster loans by the Small Business Administration (SBA) with respect to such loans made in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
Specifically, the bill authorizes the SBA to increase the amount of a disaster loan to a small business by 20% to cover costs related to continuity of operations and risk mitigation improvements. The bill also authorizes the SBA to make such loans to startups and to waive rules related to affiliation, and it requires the SBA to waive the personal guarantee requirement on such loans made to cooperatives.
In addition, an applicant for a disaster loan may request an advance on such loan up to a specified amount, and they shall not be required to repay any amount of an advance if they are subsequently denied a disaster loan. The bill also authorizes the SBA to approve an applicant for a disaster loan that is below a certain amount based solely on the applicant's credit score and to use alternative methods to determine such applicant's ability to repay.
Further, the bill establishes a maximum interest rate on a disaster loan based on an applicant's ability to obtain credit elsewhere, and it expands the qualifying events for which a disaster loan may be awarded to include emergencies involving federal primary responsibility.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6344 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6344

   To modify the economic injury disaster loan of the Small Business 
    Administration in response to COVID-19, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 2020

  Mr. Evans introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To modify the economic injury disaster loan of the Small Business 
    Administration in response to COVID-19, 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 ``Expediting the EIDL Program Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. ECONOMIC INJURY DISASTER LOANS.

    (a) Terms.--With respect to a loan made under section 7(b)(2) of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) in response to COVID-19, 
the Administrator of the Small Business Administration--
            (1) may make such a loan to a start-up small business 
        concern;
            (2) may waive any rules related to affiliation; and
            (3) shall, with respect to such a loan made to a 
        cooperative, waive any requirement that the borrower of such 
        loan provide a personal guarantee to repay such loan.
    (b) Preliminary Amounts.--
            (1) In general.--An applicant for a loan under section 
        7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) in 
        response to COVID-19 may request that the Administrator provide 
        an advance in the amount requested by such applicant (not to 
        exceed $10,000) to such applicant within 3 days after the 
        Administrator receives an application from such applicant.
            (2) Verification.--Before disbursing amounts under this 
        subsection, the Administrator shall verify that the applicant 
        is a small business concern (as defined under section 3 of such 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 632)).
            (3) Repayment.--An applicant that is subsequently denied a 
        loan under such section 7(b)(2) shall not be required to repay 
        any amounts of an advance provided under this subsection.
    (c) Approval and Ability To Repay for Small Dollar Loans.--With 
respect to a loan made under section 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) in response to COVID-19 that does not exceed 
$350,000, the Administrator--
            (1) may approve an applicant based solely on the credit 
        score of the applicant and shall not require an applicant to 
        submit a tax return or a tax return transcript for such 
        approval; or
            (2) use alternative appropriate methods to determine an 
        applicant's ability to repay.
    (d) Emergencies Involving Federal Primary Responsibility Qualifying 
for Small Business Administration Assistance.--Section 7(b)(2) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (3) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (4) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E);
            (5) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
                    ``(D) an emergency involving Federal primary 
                responsibility determined to exist by the President 
                under section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
                Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
                5191(b)); or'';
            (6) in subparagraph (E), as so redesignated--
                    (A) by striking ``or (C)'' and inserting ``(C), or 
                (D)'';
                    (B) by striking ``disaster declaration'' each place 
                it appears and inserting ``disaster or emergency 
                declaration'';
                    (C) by striking ``disaster has occurred'' and 
                inserting ``disaster or emergency has occurred'';
                    (D) by striking ``such disaster'' and inserting 
                ``such disaster or emergency''; and
                    (E) by striking ``disaster stricken'' and inserting 
                ``disaster- or emergency-stricken''; and
            (7) in the flush matter following subparagraph (E) (as so 
        redesignated), by striking the period at the end and inserting 
        the following: ``: Provided further, That for purposes of 
        subparagraph (D), the Administrator shall deem that such an 
        emergency affects each State or subdivision thereof (including 
        counties), and that each State or subdivision has sufficient 
        economic damage to small business concerns to qualify for 
        assistance under this paragraph and the Administrator shall 
        accept applications for such assistance immediately.''
    (e) Credit Elsewhere Requirements.--The flush matter following 
subparagraph (E) (as so redesignated) of section 7(b)(2) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) is amended by striking ``That no 
loan or guarantee'' and all that follows through ``credit elsewhere.'' 
and inserting the following: ``The interest rate on a loan or guarantee 
made under this paragraph shall be not more than 2 percent, if the 
Administrator determines the applicant is not able to obtain credit 
elsewhere, or not more than 4 percent, if the Administrator determines 
the applicant is able to obtain credit elsewhere.''.
    (f) Eligibility.--Section 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act is 
amended by striking ``small agricultural cooperative'' and inserting 
``small cooperative''.
    (g) Additional Amounts.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator of the Small Business 
        Administration may increase by 20 percent the amount received 
        by an eligible small business concern under section 7(b)(2) of 
        the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) to cover 
        continuity-of-operations and risk mitigation improvements, 
        including telework capability, offsite record keeping, 
        redundancy, the administrative costs of establishing paid sick 
        leave, and presenteeism prevention.
            (2) Definition.--In this section, the term ``eligible small 
        business concern'' means a small business concern that--
                    (A) meets the applicable size standard established 
                under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
                632); and
                    (B) is receiving assistance under section 7(b)(2) 
                of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) related 
                to COVID-19.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the loan program under 
section 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2))--
            (1) $177,000,000 for administration costs; and
            (2) $1,000,000,000 to provide loans or other assistance.
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