Title: PREPARE Act
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Providing Resources for Emergency Preparedness and Resilient Enterprises Act or the PREPARE Act
This bill permanently reauthorizes the pre-disaster mitigation loan program of the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Under this program, the SBA may loan up to $500,000 in a 12-month period to small businesses so that such businesses may use mitigation techniques to protect their commercial real estate, equipment, inventory, supplies, and materials from damages related to disasters.
The SBA must submit a report on the program that includes information such as (1) the geographic areas in which loan recipients are located, (2) the number and dollar value of loans made, and (3) the estimated aggregate value resulting from the use of funded mitigation techniques.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7552 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7552

  To reauthorize and limit the pre-disaster mitigation program of the 
         Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 9, 2020

  Mr. Morelle (for himself, Mr. Bergman, Mr. Golden, Mr. Stauber, Ms. 
 Stefanik, and Mrs. Murphy of Florida) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To reauthorize and limit the pre-disaster mitigation program of the 
         Small Business Administration, 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 ``Providing Resources for Emergency 
Preparedness and Resilient Enterprises Act'' or the ``PREPARE Act''.

SEC. 2. PRE-DISASTER MITIGATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
636(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(C)--
                    (A) by striking ``during fiscal years 2000 through 
                2004, to establish a predisaster mitigation program'' 
                and inserting ``to establish a pre-disaster mitigation 
                program'';
                    (B) by inserting ``in accordance with paragraph 
                (16) and'' before ``as the Administrator may'';
                    (C) by striking ``to enable small businesses'' and 
                inserting ``to small business concerns to enable such 
                concerns''; and
                    (D) by striking ``in support of a formal'' and all 
                that follows and inserting ``to protect the commercial 
                real estate, equipment, inventory, supplies, and 
                materials of such concerns from damages related to 
                disasters;''; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (15) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(16) Pre-disaster mitigation program loans.--
                    ``(A) Annual loan cap.--The aggregate amount of 
                loans made under the pre-disaster mitigation program 
                under paragraph (1)(C) to a borrower may not exceed 
                $500,000 in any 12-month period.
                    ``(B) Outreach.--In carrying out the pre-disaster 
                mitigation program under paragraph (1)(C), the 
                Administrator shall--
                            ``(i) conduct outreach campaigns to small 
                        business concerns regarding such program, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) advertising to educate such 
                                concerns on the importance of disaster 
                                mitigation; and
                                    ``(II) campaigns to promote 
                                participation in such program by small 
                                business concerns located in 
                                economically depressed areas;
                            ``(ii) provide instructions on how to 
                        participate in such program; and
                            ``(iii) provide detailed information on the 
                        purposes for which funds from loans made under 
                        such program may be used.
                    ``(C) Reservation of funds.--Not more than 4 
                percent of the funds made available to the 
                Administrator to carry out the pre-disaster mitigation 
                program under paragraph (1)(C) may be reserved by the 
                Administrator for--
                            ``(i) the administrative costs of such 
                        program; and
                            ``(ii) the activities described in 
                        subparagraph (B).''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 20(c) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated for the purpose of carrying out the program established 
under section 7(b)(1)(C) the following amounts:
            ``(1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2021.
            ``(2) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2022.
            ``(3) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2023.
            ``(4) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2024.
            ``(5) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2025.''.
    (c) Program Evaluation.--Not later than January 31, 2025, the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall submit to the 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the 
Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report on 
the pre-disaster mitigation program under section 7(b)(1)(C) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(C)), as amended by this Act, 
including--
            (1) a list of the geographic areas in which recipients of 
        loans under the program are located;
            (2) the number and dollar value of the loans made under the 
        program;
            (3) the estimated aggregate value resulting from the use of 
        mitigation techniques funded by loans made under the program, 
        including--
                    (A) the lost productivity and expenses that were 
                avoided; and
                    (B) the amount saved by the Federal Government;
            (4) the information required by paragraph (3) disaggregated 
        by region, by State, and by industry; and
            (5) the estimated dollar value of loans that would have 
        been made under section 7(b)(1)(A) of the Small Business Act 
        (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(A)) without the loans made under the 
        program.
    (d) Applicability.--The amendments made by this Act shall apply 
only with respect to loans made under section 7(b)(1)(C) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(C)), as amended by this Act, on or 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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