Helene Small Business Recovery Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2364 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2364

    To provide for a waiver of duplication of benefits for certain
 assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
 Assistance Act as a result of a major disaster or emergency, and for
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 26, 2025

 Mr. Edwards (for himself, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, and Ms. Foxx)
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
                   Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

    To provide for a waiver of duplication of benefits for certain
 assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
 Assistance Act as a result of a major disaster or 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 ``Helene Small Business Recovery
Act''.

SEC. 2. WAIVER OF DUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.

    (a) Waiver of General Prohibition.--
            (1) In general.--The President may waive the general
        prohibition provided in section 312(a) of the Robert T.
        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
        U.S.C. 5155(a)) upon request of a Governor on behalf of the
        State or on behalf of a person, business concern, or any other
        entity suffering losses as a result of a major disaster or
        emergency, if the President finds such waiver is in the public
        interest and will not result in waste, fraud, or abuse. In
        making this decision, the President may consider the following:
                    (A) The recommendations of the Administration of
                the Federal Emergency Management Agency made in
                consultation with the Federal agency or agencies
                administering the duplicative program.
                    (B) If a wavier is granted, the assistance to be
                funded is cost effective.
                    (C) Equity and good conscience.
                    (D) Other matters of public policy considered
                appropriate by the President.
            (2) Grant or denial of waiver.--A request under paragraph
        (1) shall be granted or denied not later than 45 days after
        submission of such request.
            (3) Prohibition on determination that loan is a
        duplication.--Notwithstanding section 312(c) of the Robert T.
        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
        U.S.C. 5155(c)), in carrying out paragraph (1), the President
        may not determine that a loan is a duplication of assistance,
        provided that all Federal assistance is used toward a loss
        suffered as a result of the major disaster or emergency.
            (4) Prohibition on income threshold.--In carrying out this
        subsection, no income threshold may be applied to limit the
        eligibility of a recipient from qualifying for a waiver.
    (b) Applicability.--Subsection (a) shall apply to the provision of
assistance in response to a major disaster declared by the President
under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act that occurred in calendar year 2023 or 2024.
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