On the recordJuly 13, 2015
Earlier today I was pleased to support the Superstorm Sandy Relief and Disaster Loan Program Improvement Act (H.R. 208). This legislation will provide assistance to both homeowners and businesses that were utterly failed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) in the aftermath of the Superstorm Sandy, opening up assistance eligibility for an additional year and making necessary changes to the Disaster Loan Program. Last week, I had the privilege of testifying before the House Small Business Committee regarding the hardships now faced by homeowners who applied for SBA disaster assistance due to a complete lack of information and disclosure in the loan process. This bill will help those who did not even have the opportunity to obtain or file a loan application due to SBA's serious incompetence and disorganization. As the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported, SBA missed its timeliness goals by a longshot and is likely still unprepared for another large-scale disaster. SBA was plagued by missed deadlines, decision backlogs, computer systems failures, and insufficient personnel training--problems that should not have come as a surprise in the aftermath of SBA's abysmal response to Hurricane Katrina. Further, GAO found SBA could once again ``be unprepared for a large volume of applications to be submitted quickly following future disasters, which may result in delays in loan funds for disaster victims.'' These failures cannot continue.…
