Nydia M. Velazquez: “When Hurricane Sandy made landfall in 2012, New York City was one of the hardest hit areas. Thousands of homes suffered…”

“When Hurricane Sandy made landfall in 2012, New York City was one of the hardest hit areas. Thousands of homes suffered damage, infrastructure was disrupted, and our city's small businesses were impacted physically and economically. Mr. Speaker, 32,000 New Yorkers lost their jobs that November, losses many economists attribute to the storm's economic impact. After disasters like these, it is not uncommon for as many as 40 percent of impacted small businesses to fail, depressing commerce and slowing the overall community's recovery. The Small Business Administration's disaster lending functions are meant to provide quick credit to small firms and homeowners that have been impacted by catastrophes. With entrepreneurs' and homeowners' livelihoods at stake, it is vital that the SBA's disaster programs operate effectively. That is why, in 2008, after Katrina, Congress passed reforms meant to improve SBA's disaster response. It became evident after Hurricane Sandy that there is still more work to be done. The Government Accountability Office, the inspector general, and reports from Small Business Committee Democrats have all documented long delays in the processing and disbursement of loans. Our committee found, for instance, that small businesses waited 46 days to get their application processed by SBA, a threefold increase over previous Atlantic storms. Mr. Speaker, H.R.…”