[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 68 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 68
To prohibit the suspension of collections on loans made to small
businesses related to COVID-19, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 9, 2025
Ms. Ernst (for herself, Mr. Young, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Lankford, and
Mr. Curtis) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the suspension of collections on loans made to small
businesses related to COVID-19, 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 ``Complete COVID Collections Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administration; administrator.--The terms
``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean the Small
Business Administration and the Administrator thereof,
respectively.
(2) Covered funds.--The term ``covered funds'' means
amounts made available for COVID-19 relief under--
(A) the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116-
123; 134 Stat 146);
(B) the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
(Public Law 116-127; 134 Stat. 178);
(C) the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136; 134 Stat.
281);
(D) the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care
Enhancement Act (Public Law 116-139; 134 Stat. 620);
(E) division M or N of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260; 134 Stat.
1909); or
(F) the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public
Law 117-2; 135 Stat. 4).
(3) Covered loan.--The term ``covered loan'' means--
(A) a loan guaranteed under paragraph (36) or (37)
of section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
636(a)); and
(B) a loan made under section 7(b)(2) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(2)) related to COVID-19.
(4) Covered program.--The term ``covered program'' means--
(A) loans made under paragraph (36) or (37) of
section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
636(a));
(B) economic injury disaster loans made under
section 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
636(b)(2)) related to COVID-19;
(C) advances provided pursuant to section 1110 of
the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9009), section 331 of division
N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (15
U.S.C. 9009b), or section 5002(b) of the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (15 U.S.C. 9009 note);
(D) restaurant revitalization grants made under
section 5003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
(15 U.S.C. 9009c); and
(E) grants for shuttered venue operators made under
section 324 of division N of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 (15 U.S.C. 9009a).
(5) Improper payment.--The term ``improper payment'' has
the meaning given the term in section 3351 of title 31, United
States Code.
SEC. 3. SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR PANDEMIC RECOVERY.
(a) Extension.--Section 4018 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9053) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(1), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A)--
(A) by inserting ``or the Administrator of the
Small Business Administration (referred to in this
section as the `Administrator')'' after ``the Secretary
of the Treasury'';
(B) by inserting ``or the Administrator'' after
``established by the Secretary'';
(C) by inserting ``or any assistance provided under
any covered program'' after ``under this Act'' each
place that term appears; and
(D) by inserting ``or the Administrator'' after
``management by the Secretary'';
(2) in subsection (h), by striking ``the date 5 years after
March 27, 2020'' and inserting ``September 30, 2030''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(k) Coordination and Provision of Information.--
``(1) Coordination.--In carrying out the duties,
responsibilities, and authorities of the Special Inspector
General under this section, the Special Inspector General shall
coordinate with, and receive the cooperation of, the
Administrator and the Inspector General of the Small Business
Administration.
``(2) Information.--The Administrator shall provide data
and information related to covered programs to the Special
Inspector General in the same manner as the Administrator
provides that data and information to the Inspector General of
the Small Business Administration.
``(l) Covered Program.--In this section, the term `covered program'
has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Complete COVID
Collections Act.''.
SEC. 4. FRAUD ENFORCEMENT HARMONIZATION.
(a) Emergency Relief and Taxpayer Protections.--Section 4003 of the
CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9042) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(i) Fraud Enforcement Harmonization.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any criminal charge or civil enforcement action
alleging that a business, State, or municipality engaged in fraud or
similarly related crime with respect to any loan, loan guarantee, or
other investment made under this section shall be filed not later than
10 years after the offense was committed.''.
(b) Grants for Shuttered Venue Operators.--Section 324 of division
N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (15 U.S.C. 9009a) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Fraud Enforcement Harmonization.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any criminal charge or civil enforcement action
alleging that a business, State, or municipality engaged in fraud or
similarly related crime with respect to any grant made under this
section shall be filed not later than 10 years after the offense was
committed.''.
(c) Restaurant Revitalization Grants.--Section 5003 of the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (15 U.S.C. 9009c) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(d) Fraud Enforcement Harmonization.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any criminal charge or civil enforcement action
alleging that a business, State, or municipality engaged in fraud or
similarly related crime with respect to any grant made under this
section shall be filed not later than 10 years after the offense was
committed.''.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON SUSPENDING COLLECTIONS ON SBA LOANS RELATED TO
COVID-19.
(a) Referral of Claims.--The Administrator shall refer to the
Department of the Treasury any claim for collection related to a
covered loan under $100,000.
(b) Department of the Treasury Determination.--The Department of
the Treasury shall render a final decision as to suspend, end, or make
collection on a claim referred to the Department of the Treasury by the
Administrator under subsection (a).
(c) Briefings and Testimony.--
(1) Monthly briefings.--Not later than 30 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, and every 30 days thereafter,
the Administrator shall brief the Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small
Business of the House of Representatives on the progress of the
Administrator in pursuing the collection of claims related to
covered loans and transferring claims to the Department of the
Treasury for collection in accordance with subchapter II of
chapter 37 of title 31, United States Code.
(2) Testimony.--
(A) In general.--The Administrator shall testify
annually before the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on
Small Business of the House of Representatives on--
(i) the implementation of collections of
claims related to covered loans;
(ii) improper payments related to covered
programs; and
(iii) the compliance of the Administration
with the reporting requirements under
subchapter IV of chapter 33 of title 31, United
States Code.
(B) Nondelegation.--The Administrator may not
delegate the responsibility under subparagraph (A) to
any other individual.
SEC. 6. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COVID-19 PROGRAM FRAUD REPORT.
(a) Requirement.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and every month thereafter, the Attorney General
shall submit to Congress a report on activities related to covered
programs, which shall include--
(1) a summary of the information contained in the report,
specifically the total number of prosecutions, the total dollar
amount recovered by prosecutions, the total number of referrals
and source of such referrals, and the total number of declined
cases and reasons for declining;
(2) with respect to each covered program--
(A) the number and disposition of each prosecution;
(B) the dollar amount recovered from prosecutions;
(C) the number of declined cases and the reasons
for declining;
(D) the number of referrals--
(i) from the Department of Justice; and
(ii) from sources other than the Department
of Justice, such as other inspectors general;
and
(E) the disposition of each referral described in
subparagraph (D), specifically whether the referral
resulted in prosecution or declination; and
(3) any additional matters as the Attorney General
determines appropriate.
SEC. 7. RECOVERIES TRANSPARENCY.
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee established under section
15010 of division B of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136; 134 Stat.
533) shall establish and maintain on the website of the Committee real-
time data relating to covered funds recovered by the Federal
Government, which shall be broken out by type of covered funds and
dollar amount of covered funds recovered by the Federal Government.
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