[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6361 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6361
To provide loan and obligation payment relief for small businesses and
nonprofits affected by the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 23, 2020
Mr. Perlmutter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide loan and obligation payment relief for small businesses and
nonprofits affected by the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Relief for Small Businesses and
Nonprofits Act''.
SEC. 2. LOAN AND OBLIGATION PAYMENT RELIEF FOR AFFECTED SMALL
BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS.
(a) In General.--
(1) In general.--During the COVID-19 emergency, a debt
collector may not, with respect to a debt of a small business
or nonprofit (other than debt related to a federally related
mortgage loan)--
(A) capitalize unpaid interest;
(B) apply a higher interest rate triggered by the
nonpayment of a debt to the debt balance;
(C) charge a fee triggered by the nonpayment of a
debt;
(D) sue or threaten to sue for nonpayment of a
debt;
(E) continue litigation to collect a debt that was
initiated before the date of enactment of this section;
(F) submit or cause to be submitted a confession of
judgment to any court;
(G) enforce a security interest through
repossession, limitation of use, or foreclosure;
(H) take or threaten to take any action to enforce
collection, or any adverse action for nonpayment of a
debt, or for nonappearance at any hearing relating to a
debt;
(I) commence or continue any action to cause or to
seek to cause the collection of a debt, including
pursuant to a court order issued before the end of the
120-day period following the end of the COVID-19
emergency, from wages, Federal benefits, or other
amounts due to a small business or nonprofit by way of
garnishment, deduction, offset, or other seizure;
(J) cause or seek to cause the collection of a
debt, including pursuant to a court order issued before
the end of the 120-day period following the end of the
COVID-19 emergency, by levying on funds from a bank
account or seizing any other assets of a small business
or nonprofit;
(K) commence or continue an action to evict a small
business or nonprofit from real or personal property;
or
(L) disconnect or terminate service from utility
service, including electricity, natural gas,
telecommunications or broadband, water, or sewer.
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection may
be construed to prohibit a small business or nonprofit from
voluntarily paying, in whole or in part, a debt.
(3) Repayment period.--After the expiration of the COVID-19
emergency, with respect to a debt described under paragraph
(1), a debt collector--
(A) may not add to the debt balance any interest or
fee prohibited by paragraph (1);
(B) shall, for credit with a defined term or
payment period, extend the time period to repay the
debt balance by 1 payment period for each payment that
a small business or nonprofit missed during the COVID-
19 emergency, with the payments due in the same amounts
and at the same intervals as the pre-existing payment
schedule;
(C) shall, for an open end credit plan (as defined
under section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act) or other
credit without a defined term, allow the small business
or nonprofit to repay the debt balance in a manner that
does not exceed the amounts permitted by formulas under
section 170(c) of the Truth in Lending Act and
regulations promulgated thereunder; and
(D) shall, when the small business or nonprofit
notifies the debt collector, offer reasonable and
affordable repayment plans, loan modifications,
refinancing, options with a reasonable time in which to
repay the debt.
(4) Communications in connection with the collection of a
debt.--
(A) In general.--During the COVID-19 emergency,
without prior consent of a small business or nonprofit
given directly to a debt collector during the COVID-19
emergency, or the express permission of a court of
competent jurisdiction, a debt collector may only
communicate in writing in connection with the
collection of any debt (other than debt related to a
federally related mortgage loan).
(B) Required disclosures.--
(i) In general.--All written communications
described under subparagraph (A) shall inform
the small business or nonprofit that the
communication is for informational purposes and
is not an attempt to collect a debt.
(ii) Requirements.--The disclosure required
under clause (i) shall be made--
(I) in type or lettering not
smaller than 14-point bold type;
(II) separate from any other
disclosure;
(III) in a manner designed to
ensure that the recipient sees the
disclosure clearly;
(IV) in English and Spanish and in
any additional languages in which the
debt collector communicates, including
the language in which the loan was
negotiated, to the extent known by the
debt collector; and
(V) may be provided by first-class
mail or electronically, if the borrower
has otherwise consented to electronic
communication with the debt collector
and has not revoked such consent.
(iii) Oral notification.--Any oral
notification shall be provided in the language
the debt collector otherwise uses to
communicate with the borrower.
(iv) Written translations.--In providing
written notifications in languages other than
English in this section, a debt collector may
rely on written translations developed by the
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
(5) Violations.--
(A) In general.--Any person who violates this
section shall be subject to civil liability in
accordance with section 813 of the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act, as if the person is a debt collector for
purposes of that section.
(B) Predispute arbitration agreements.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
predispute arbitration agreement or predispute joint-
action waiver shall be valid or enforceable with
respect to a dispute brought under this section,
including a dispute as to the applicability of this
section, which shall be determined under Federal law.
(6) Tolling.--Except as provided in paragraph (7)(D), any
applicable time limitations, including statutes of limitations,
related to a debt under Federal or State law shall be tolled
during the COVID-19 emergency.
(7) Claims of affected creditors and debt collectors.--
(A) Valuation of property.--With respect to any
action asserting a taking under the Fifth Amendment of
the Constitution of the United States as a result of
this section or seeking a declaratory judgment
regarding the constitutionality of this section, the
value of the property alleged to have been taken
without just compensation shall be evaluated--
(i) with consideration of the likelihood of
full and timely payment of the obligation
without the actions taken pursuant to this
section; and
(ii) without consideration of any
assistance provided directly or indirectly to
the small business or nonprofit from other
Federal, State, and local government programs
instituted or legislation enacted in response
to the COVID-19 emergency.
(B) Scope of just compensation.--In an action
described in subparagraph (A), any assistance or
benefit provided directly or indirectly to the person
from other Federal, State, and local government
programs instituted in or legislation enacted response
to the COVID-19 emergency, shall be deemed to be
compensation for the property taken, even if such
assistance or benefit is not specifically provided as
compensation for property taken by this section.
(C) Appeals.--Any appeal from an action under this
section shall be treated under section 158 of title 28,
United States Code, as if it were an appeal in a case
under title 11, United States Code.
(D) Repose.--Any action asserting a taking under
the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States as a result of this section shall be brought
within not later than 180 days after the end of the
COVID-19 emergency.
(8) Definitions.--In this section:
(A) COVID-19 emergency.--The term ``COVID-19
emergency'' means the period that begins upon the date
of the enactment of this Act and ends on the date of
the termination by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency of the emergency declared on March 13, 2020, by
the President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 4121 et
seq.) relating to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-
19) pandemic.
(B) Creditor.--The term ``creditor'' means--
(i) any person who offers or extends credit
creating a debt or to whom a debt is owed or
other obligation for payment;
(ii) any lessor of real or personal
property; or
(iii) any provider of utility services.
(C) Debt.--The term ``debt''--
(i) means any obligation or alleged
obligation--
(I) for which the original
agreement, or if there is no agreement,
the original obligation to pay was
created before or during the COVID-19
emergency, whether or not such
obligation has been reduced to
judgment; and
(II) that arises out of a
transaction with a small business or
nonprofit; and
(ii) does not include a federally related
mortgage loan.
(D) Debt collector.--The term ``debt collector''
means a creditor, and any person or entity that engages
in the collection of debt, including the Federal
Government and a State government, irrespective of
whether the debt is allegedly owed to or assigned to
that person or to the entity.
(E) Federally related mortgage loan.--The term
``federally related mortgage loan'' has the meaning
given that term under section 3 of the Real Estate
Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2602).
(F) Nonprofit.--The term ``nonprofit'' means an
organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation
under section 501(a) of such Code.
(G) Small business.--The term ``small business''
has the meaning given the term ``small business
concern'' under section 3 of the Small Business Act.
(b) Credit Facility for Other Purposes.--The Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System shall establish a facility that the Board of
Governors shall use to make payments to holders of loans or obligations
to compensate such holders for documented financial losses--
(1) with respect to a loan or obligation made to an
individual, small business, or nonprofit; and
(2) where such losses were caused by a suspension of
payments required under Federal law in connection with the
COVID-19 emergency.
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