II
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1621
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 13, 2021
Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. King, Ms. Collins, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Cardin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
A BILL
To reauthorize and limit the pre-disaster mitigation program of the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Providing Resources for Emergency Preparedness And Resilient Enterprises Act
or the PREPARE Act
.
Pre-disaster mitigation program
In general
Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended—
in paragraph (1)(C)—
by striking during fiscal years 2000 through 2004, to establish a predisaster mitigation program
and inserting to establish a pre-disaster mitigation program
;
by inserting in accordance with paragraph (16) and
before as the Administrator may
;
by striking to enable small businesses
and inserting to small business concerns to enable those concerns
; and
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 those concerns from damages related to disasters;
; and
by inserting after paragraph (15) the following:
Pre-disaster mitigation program loans
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.
Outreach
In carrying out the pre-disaster mitigation program under paragraph (1)(C), the Administrator shall—
establish an advertising and outreach program to help small business concerns understand the value of mitigation and that the pre-disaster mitigation program is available for that purpose;
conduct outreach campaigns to small business concerns regarding the pre-disaster mitigation program, including—
advertising to educate those concerns on the importance of disaster mitigation; and
campaigns to promote participation in the program by small business concerns located in economically depressed areas;
provide technical assistance to applicants, including instructions on how to participate in the pre-disaster mitigation program, assistance in preparing applications, and expertise on best practices for projects; and
provide detailed information on the purposes for which funds from loans made under the pre-disaster mitigation program may be used.
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—
the administrative costs of the program; and
the activities described in subparagraph (B).
Guidance
The Administrator shall issue guidance to ensure that borrowers purchase and maintain adequate insurance coverage over the duration of a loan obtained under the pre-disaster mitigation program under paragraph (1)(C).
.
Authorization of appropriations
Section 20(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is amended to read as follows:
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:
$25,000,000 for fiscal year 2022.
$25,000,000 for fiscal year 2023.
$25,000,000 for fiscal year 2024.
$25,000,000 for fiscal year 2025.
$25,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.
.
Program evaluation
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 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—
a list of the geographic areas in which recipients of loans under the program are located;
the types of mitigation projects that were funded;
the number and dollar value of the loans made under the program;
the estimated aggregate value resulting from the use of mitigation techniques funded by loans made under the program, including—
the lost productivity and expenses that were avoided; and
the estimated amount saved by the Federal Government;
the information required by paragraph (4) disaggregated by region, by State, and by industry; and
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.
Initial reporting on pilot program
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 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 description of and all related materials for outreach advertising campaign efforts made during the duration of the pre-disaster mitigation pilot program of the Small Business Administration;
information on how the Small Business Administration appropriately staffed the Office of Disaster Assistance to carry out the pilot program described in paragraph (1); and
the amount of the budget of the pilot program described in paragraph (1) that was used for outreach advertising campaign efforts.
Applicability
The amendments made by this section 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 enactment of this Act.
Increase in allowable amount of physical disaster loan for mitigation
Section 7(b)(1)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(A)) is amended, in the second proviso, by striking 20 per centum
and inserting 30 percent
.
