Title: Simplifying PPP Forgiveness Act
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
This bill revises the Paycheck Protection Program, established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), to simplify the application process for loan forgiveness and to establish or certify an online calculator that allows loan recipients to (1) estimate the amount of forgiveness for which they are eligible, and (2) assist with their loan forgiveness applications.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4954 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4954

   To amend the CARES Act to simplify the procedure for applying for 
   forgiveness for certain loans made under the Paycheck Protection 
                    Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 3, 2020

  Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the CARES Act to simplify the procedure for applying for 
   forgiveness for certain loans made under the Paycheck Protection 
                    Program, 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 ``Simplifying PPP Forgiveness Act''.

SEC. 2. SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION.

    Section 1106 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9005) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``An eligible'' and inserting ``Except as 
        provided in subsection (m), an eligible'';
            (2) in subsection (f), by inserting ``or the information 
        required under subsection (m), as applicable'' after 
        ``subsection (e)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m) Simplified Application.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (e), with 
        respect to a covered loan made to an eligible recipient that is 
        not more than $100,000, the covered loan amount shall be 
        forgiven under this section if the eligible recipient--
                    ``(A) signs and submits to the lender an 
                attestation that the eligible recipient made a good 
                faith effort to comply with the requirements under 
                section 7(a)(36) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
                636(a)(36)); and
                    ``(B) for the 3-year period following submission of 
                the attestation under subparagraph (A), retains records 
                relevant to the attestation that prove compliance with 
                those requirements.
            ``(2) Demographic information.--An eligible recipient of a 
        covered loan described in paragraph (1) may complete and submit 
        any form related to borrower demographic information.
            ``(3) Audit.--The Administrator may--
                    ``(A) review and audit covered loans described in 
                paragraph (1); and
                    ``(B) in the case of fraud, ineligibility, or other 
                material noncompliance with applicable loan or loan 
                forgiveness requirements, modify--
                            ``(i) the amount of a covered loan 
                        described in paragraph (1); or
                            ``(ii) the loan forgiveness amount with 
                        respect to a covered loan described in 
                        paragraph (1).''.

SEC. 3. CALCULATOR FOR PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM LOAN FORGIVENESS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Small Business Administration; and
            (2) the term ``covered loan'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 7(a)(36) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
        636(a)(36)).
    (b) Online Calculator.--The Administrator shall take actions, in 
accordance with this section, to ensure the availability of a 
calculator with respect to forgiveness of covered loans that--
            (1) is easily accessible by the public online;
            (2) can be utilized without cost;
            (3) with respect to a covered loan, allows a lender or 
        recipient to accurately estimate the amount of loan forgiveness 
        related to the covered loan; and
            (4) assists a lender or recipient to complete an 
        application to request loan forgiveness with respect to a 
        covered loan.
    (c) Manner of Provision.--Not later than 5 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish, and 
thereafter maintain--
            (1) a calculator that satisfies the requirements specified 
        in subsection (b); or
            (2) a process to certify a calculator established and 
        maintained by a third party that satisfies those requirements.
    (d) Certification Process Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--If, under subsection (c), the 
        Administrator elects only to establish the certification 
        process referenced in paragraph (2) of that subsection, the 
        Administrator--
                    (A) not later than 10 days after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, shall certify not less than 1 
                calculator that satisfies the requirements specified in 
                subsection (b);
                    (B) upon request, shall review and, after a 
                certification under subparagraph (A), may certify 
                additional calculators that satisfy the requirements 
                specified in paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of subsection 
                (b), with certification determinations made not later 
                than 10 days after the receipt of an application for 
                review; and
                    (C) not later than 10 days after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, and weekly thereafter, shall 
                make available to the public online a list specifying 
                the calculators--
                            (i) certified pursuant to this section; and
                            (ii) under review for certification.
            (2) Assisted applications.--The Administrator shall accept 
        an application to request loan forgiveness with respect to a 
        covered loan submitted with the assistance of a calculator 
        certified under this section.
            (3) Use of logo.--The Administrator may establish a logo 
        that a third party may utilize to signify that a calculator is 
        certified pursuant to this section.
    (e) Coordination With Department of the Treasury.--The 
Administrator shall carry out this section in coordination with the 
Secretary of the Treasury.
    (f) Expiration.--The requirements under this section shall cease to 
have effect on October 31, 2021.
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