COVID–19 Small Business Recovery Grants Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6292 To establish the Office of Coronavirus COVID–19 Small Business Recovery Grants in the Small Business Administration to compensate certain small business concerns for substantial economic injury, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 19, 2020 Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the Office of Coronavirus COVID–19 Small Business Recovery Grants in the Small Business Admin- istration to compensate certain small business concerns for substantial economic injury, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Small 4 Business Recovery Grants Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6292 IH (1) CLAIM.—The term ‘‘claim’’ means a claim 1 by an injured concern under this Act for payment 2 for substantial economic injury suffered by the in- 3 jured concern as a result of COVID–19. 4 (2) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means 5 an injured concern that submits a claim under sec- 6 tion 4(b). 7 (3) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Small Busi- 9 ness Administration. 10 (4) INJURED CONCERN.—The term ‘‘injured 11 concern’’— 12 (A) means a small business concern that is 13 located in an area that is a qualified disaster 14 area as a result of COVID–19; and 15 (B) does not include— 16 (i) a lender that holds a mortgage on 17 or security interest in real or personal 18 property affected by COVID–19; or 19 (ii) a person that holds a lien on real 20 or personal property affected by COVID– 21 19. 22 (5) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of- 23 fice of Coronavirus COVID–19 Small Business Re- 24 covery Grants established by section 3. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6292 IH SEC. 3. OFFICE OF CORONAVIRUS COVID–19 SMALL BUSI- 1 NESS RECOVERY GRANTS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the 3 Small Business Administration an office to be known as 4 the ‘‘Office of Coronavirus COVID–19 Small Business Re- 5 covery Grants’’. 6 (b) PURPOSE.—The Office shall receive, process, and 7 pay claims in accordance with section 4. 8 (c) FUNDING.—The Office— 9 (1) shall be funded from funds made available 10 under this Act; and 11 (2) may reimburse any other Federal agency 12 for provision of assistance in the receipt and proc- 13 essing of claims. 14 (d) PERSONNEL.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office may appoint and 16 fix the compensation of such temporary personnel as 17 are necessary to carry out the duties of the Office, 18 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 19 States Code, governing appointments in the competi- 20 tive service. 21 (2) PERSONNEL FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—On 22 the request of the Administrator, the head of any 23 other Federal agency may detail, on a reimbursable 24 basis, any of the personnel of the agency to the Fed- 25 eral Emergency Management Agency to assist the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6292 IH Office in carrying out the duties of the Office under 1 this Act. 2 (3) EFFECT ON OTHER SBA DUTIES.—The es- 3 tablishment of the Office shall not diminish the au- 4 thority of, or funding available to, the Administrator 5 to carry out the responsibilities of the Small Busi- 6 ness Act. 7 SEC. 4. COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS OF COVID–19. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each injured concern may receive 9 compensation for substantial economic injury suffered as 10 a result of COVID–19, as determined by the Adminis- 11 trator. 12 (b) SUBMISSION OF CLAIMS.—Not later than 1 year 13 after the date on which interim final regulations are pro- 14 mulgated under subsection (h), an injured concern may 15 submit to the Administrator a written claim for compensa- 16 tion for substantial economic injury suffered as a result 17 of COVID–19. 18 (c) HANDLING OF CLAIMS.—The Administrator shall 19 investigate, adjust, grant, deny, settle, or compromise any 20 claim submitted under subsection (b). 21 (d) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any grant made to an in- 23 jured concern— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6292 IH (A) shall be limited to the amount nec- 1 essary to compensate the injured concern for 2 substantial economic injury described in para- 3 graph (2) suffered as a result of COVID–19 4 during the period beginning on December 1, 5 2019, and ending on December 31, 2021; 6 (B) shall not include— 7 (i) interest on the amount of the pay- 8 ment before the date of settlement or pay- 9 ment of a claim; or 10 (ii) punitive damages or any other 11 form of noncompensatory damages; and 12 (C) shall not exceed $100,000, except in 13 the case of a grant application for which the 14 Administrator determines that a greater 15 amount up to $250,000 is appropriate. 16 (2) SUBSTANTIAL ECONOMIC INJURY.—Under 17 paragraph (1), an injured concern may receive pay- 18 ment for substantial economic injury consisting of 19 one or more of the following: 20 (A) An uninsured or underinsured property 21 loss. 22 (B) Damage to or destruction of physical 23 infrastructure. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6292 IH (C) Damage to or destruction of tangible 1 assets or inventory. 2 (D) A business interruption loss. 3 (E) Overhead costs. 4 (F) Employee wages for work not per- 5 formed. 6 (G) An insurance deductible. 7 (H) A temporary relocation expense. 8 (I) Debris removal and other cleanup 9 costs. 10 (J) Any other type of substantial economic 11 injury that the Administrator determines to be 12 appropriate. 13 (3) BURDEN OF PROOF.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—A claimant shall have 15 the burden of demonstrating substantial eco- 16 nomic injury. 17 (B) ABSENCE OF DOCUMENTS.—If docu- 18 mentary evidence substantiating substantial 19 economic injury is not reasonably available, the 20 Administrator may pay a claim based on an af- 21 fidavit or other documentation executed by the 22 claimant. 23 (e) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6292 IH (1) DETERMINATION AND PAYMENT OF 1 AMOUNT.— 2 (A) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex- 3 tent practicable, not later than 180 days after 4 the date on which a claim is submitted under 5 subsection (b), the Administrator shall— 6 (i) determine the amount, if any, to 7 be paid for the claim; and 8 (ii) pay the amount. 9 (B) PRIORITY.—The Administrator may 10 establish priorities for processing and paying 11 claims based on— 12 (i) an assessment of the needs of the 13 claimants; and 14 (ii) any other criteria that the Admin- 15 istrator determines to be appropriate. 16 (C) PARAMETERS OF DETERMINATION.— 17 In determining and paying a claim, the Admin- 18 istrator shall determine only— 19 (i) whether the claimant is an injured 20 concern; and 21 (ii) whether the injuries that are the 22 subject of the claim resulted from COVID– 23 19. 24 (D) INSURANCE AND OTHER BENEFITS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6292 IH (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 1 (ii), to prevent recovery by a claimant in 2 excess of the equivalent of actual amount 3 of the substantial economic injury suffered 4 by the claimant in accordance with sub- 5 section (d), the Administrator shall reduce 6 the amount to be paid for the claim by an 7 amount that is equal to the sum of the 8 payments or settlements of any kind that 9 were paid, or will be paid, with respect to 10 the claim, including payments by an insur- 11 ance company. 12 (ii) GOVERNMENT LOANS.—Clause (i) 13 shall not apply to the receipt by a claimant 14 of any Federal, State, or local government 15 loan that is required to be repaid by the 16 claimant. 17 (2) ADVANCE OR PARTIAL PAYMENTS.—At the 18 request of a claimant, the Administrator may make 19 one or more advance or partial payments before the 20 final approval of a grant. 21 (f) RECOVERY OF FUNDS IMPROPERLY PAID OR MIS- 22 USED.—The Administrator may recover any portion of a 23 payment on a grant that was improperly paid to the claim- 24 ant as a result of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6292 IH (1) fraud or misrepresentation on the part of 1 the claimant or a representative of the claimant; 2 (2) a material mistake on the part of the Ad- 3 ministrator; 4 (3) the payment of insurance or benefits de- 5 scribed in subsection (e)(1)(D) that were not taken 6 into account in determining the amount of the pay- 7 ment; or 8 (4) the failure of the claimant to cooperate in 9 an audit. 10 (g) APPEALS OF DECISIONS.— 11 (1) RIGHT OF APPEAL.—A claimant may appeal 12 a decision concerning payment of a claim by filing, 13 not later than 60 days after the date on which the 14 claimant is notified that the claim of the claimant 15 will or will not be paid, a notice of appeal in the case 16 of a decision on a claim relating to a business loss, 17 with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 18 Management Administration. 19 (2) PERIOD FOR DECISION.—A decision con- 20 cerning an appeal under paragraph (1) shall be ren- 21 dered not later than 90 days after the date on which 22 the notice of appeal is received. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6292 IH (h) REGULATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 1 vision of law, not later than 45 days after the date of en- 2 actment of this Act— 3 (1) the Administrator shall promulgate and 4 publish in the Federal Register interim final regula- 5 tions for the processing and payment of claims; and 6 (2) the Administrator and the Administrator of 7 the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall 8 jointly promulgate and publish in the Federal Reg- 9 ister procedures under which a dispute concerning 10 payment of a claim may be settled through an ap- 11 peals process described in subsection (g). 12 (i) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—At the time of publica- 13 tion of interim final regulations under subsection (h), the 14 Administrator shall publish a clear, concise, and easily un- 15 derstandable explanation of the grant program established 16 under this Act the procedural and other requirements of 17 the regulations promulgated under subsection (h). Such 18 explanation shall be— 19 (1) disseminated through brochures, pamphlets, 20 radio, television, the print news media, and such 21 other media as the Administrator determines to be 22 likely to reach prospective claimants; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6292 IH (2) provided in English, Spanish, and any other 1 language that the Administrator determines to be 2 appropriate. 3 (j) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 4 Administrator shall coordinate with the Administrator of 5 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, other Fed- 6 eral, State and local agencies, and any other individual 7 or entity, as the Administrator determines to be necessary 8 to ensure the efficient administration of the claims proc- 9 ess. 10 (k) APPLICABILITY OF DEBT COLLECTION REQUIRE- 11 MENTS.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3716 of title 31, 13 United States Code, shall not preclude any payment 14 on a claim. 15 (2) ASSIGNMENT AND EXEMPTION FROM 16 CLAIMS OF CREDITORS.— 17 (A) ASSIGNMENT.—No assignment, re- 18 lease, or commutation of a payment due or pay- 19 able under this Act shall be valid. 20 (B) EXEMPTION.— 21 (i) IN GENERAL.—A payment under 22 this Act shall be exempt from all claims of 23 creditors and from levy, execution, attach- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6292 IH ment, or other remedy for recovery or col- 1 lection of a debt. 2 (ii) NONWAIVABLE EXEMPTION.—The 3 exemption provided by clause (i) may not 4 be waived. 5 SEC. 5. REPORTS AND AUDITS. 6 (a) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 7 of promulgation of interim final regulations under section 8 4(h) and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall sub- 9 mit to Congress a report that describes the claims sub- 10 mitted under section 4(b) during the year preceding the 11 date of submission of the report, including, with respect 12 to each claim— 13 (1) the amount claimed; 14 (2) a brief description of the nature of the 15 claim; and 16 (3) the status or disposition of the claim, in- 17 cluding the amount of any payment on the claim. 18 (b) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United 19 States shall— 20 (1) conduct an annual audit of the payment of 21 all claims submitted under section 4(b); and 22 (2) not later than 120 days after the date on 23 which the Administrator submits the initial report 24 required by subsection (a) and annually thereafter, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Mar 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6292.IH H6292 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 6292 IH submit to Congress a report on the results of the 1 audit. 2 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro- 4 priated to carry out this Act— 5 (1) to the Office of Business Recovery Grants 6 established under section 3 to administer the claims 7 process, $25,000,000; and 8 (2) for payment of claims, $975,000,000. 9 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available under 10 subsection (a) shall [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]