S. 956: Small Business Disaster Reform Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-04-15 · Commerce · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-04-15 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi [D-ND] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Small Business Disaster Reform Act of 2015

Plain summary

Small Business Disaster Reform Act of 2015 Amends the Small Business Act with respect to obtaining the best available collateral for a disaster loan of up to $200,000 relating to damage to or destruction of the property of, or economic injury to, a small business. Prohibits the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), in obtaining such collateral, from requiring the small business owner to use the owner's primary residence as collateral if the owner has other assets with a value equal to or greater than the loan amount that could be used. Allows the Administrator to authorize a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to provide assistance to small businesses outside the state of that SBDC, without regard to geographical proximity, if the small business is in a declared major disaster area. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Administrator shall ensure that a SBDC is appropriately reimbursed for any legitimate expenses in carrying out such assistance. Directs the Administrator to increase oversight of small businesses receiving economic injury disaster loans, including random site visits and random reviews of loan usage. Expresses the sense of Congress that no additional federal funds shall be made available for such increased oversight. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Administrator should: (1) reduce paperwork burdens on small businesses applying for SBA disaster assistance loans; and (2) ensure that the application for such assistance facilitates deterring and detecting potential instances of waste, fraud, and abuse. Requires the Administrator to take steps to reduce such paperwork. Requires a report from the Administrator to specified congressional committees relating to the creation of a web portal to track the status of applications for SBA disaster assistance.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Small Business Disaster Reform Act of 2015

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi [D-ND] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s956.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s956 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114