RELIEF Act

Bill: 118-s-5332
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC]
Introduced: 2024-11-14
Policy area: Commerce
Latest action: action_date: 2024-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5332 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 14, 2024 Mr. Tillis (for himself, Mr. Budd , Mr. Cassidy , Mr. Warner , Mr. Heinrich , Mr. Scott of South Carolina , and Ms. Ernst ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship A BILL To appropriate amounts to the Disaster Loans Program Account, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Restoring an Economic Lifeline with Immediate Emergency Funding Act or the RELIEF Act . 2. Small business disaster loans (a) Direct appropriations (1) In general There is appropriated, out of amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for an additional amount for Disaster Loans Program Account for fiscal year 2025 for the cost of direct loans authorized by section 7(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b) ), $810,000,000, to remain available until expended, of which— (A) $10,000,000 shall be transferred to Office of Inspector General for audits and reviews of disaster loans and the disaster loan programs; and (B) $250,000,000 may be transferred to Salaries and Expenses for administrative expenses to carry out the disaster loan program authorized by such section 7(b). (2) Prohibition None of the funds appropriated under paragraph (1) may be used for indirect administrative expenses. (3) Emergency designation (A) In general The amounts provided by this subsection are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 ( 2 U.S.C. 933(g) ). (B) Designation in House and Senate This subsection is designated as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4001(a)(1) of S. Con. Res. 14 (117th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2022, and to legislation establishing fiscal year 2025 budget enforcement in the House of Representatives. (b) Inspector General review (1) Definitions In this subsection— (A) the terms Administration and ‘‘Administrator’’ mean the Small Business Administration and the Administrator thereof, respectively; (B) the term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ means the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; (C) the term covered amounts means amounts made available for the cost of direct loans authorized by section 7(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b) ); and (D) the term Inspector General means the Inspector General of the Administration. (2) Review (A) In general The Inspector General shall conduct a review of the circumstances and the underlying causes surrounding the funding shortfall with respect to covered amounts, as described in the letter from President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. entitled Letter to Congress on Disaster Needs , dated October 4, 2024, and the letter from the Administrator submitted to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives, dated October 10, 2024. (B) Contents The review conducted under subparagraph (A) shall include, with respect to the funding shortfall described in that subparagraph— (i) a comparison of monthly obligations of covered amounts against projected obligations of covered amounts; (ii) an analysis of the accuracy of projections and estimates related to projected obligations of covered amounts; (iii) the identification and description of any internal controls in place to manage covered amounts; (iv) the identification of actions that the Administration can take to improve the accuracy of information submitted by the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, with respect to the Administration, prevent any future funding shortfall with respect to any account of the Administration, and improve the report submitted to the appropriate committees of Congress under section 12091(a) of the Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act of 2008 ( 15 U.S.C. 636k(a) ); and (v) any other matter determined relevant by the Inspector General. (C) Report on findings Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that contains the findings of the review conducted under subparagraph (A). (3) Reports on corrections The Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress— (A) not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, a report detailing corrections the Administration will make to improve forecasting, data quality, and budget assumptions relating to budget submissions relating to amounts made available for the cost of direct loans authorized by section 7(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b) ); and (B) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter until the date that is 90 days after the date on which all the corrections described in subparagraph (A) have been implemented, a report— (i) detailing the actions the Administration has taken to implement the corrections described in subparagraph (A); and (ii) explaining how each action detailed under clause (i) is directly related to implementing 1 or more corrections described in subparagraph (A).