PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 5, 2025
Small Business Disaster Damage Fairness Act of 2025
This bill increases from $14,000 to $50,000 the threshold loan amount over which the Small Business Administration (SBA) may require collateral for a disaster loan.
The Government Accountability Office must report on the performance, including the default rate, of such loans.
Additionally, the SBA must (1) distinguish between rural and urban communities in the outreach and marketing for disaster loans, and (2) incorporate actions to mitigate challenges encountered by rural communities in accessing such loans.
People & committees
Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] · D–CO
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-05 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would change a dollar amount and the disaster wording in an existing rule on collateral, meaning property pledged to secure a loan. It would also require the Small Business Administration to distinguish rural from urban communities in disaster-loan outreach and address challenges rural communities face in accessing those loans.
Collateral requirements for disaster loans Section 7(d)(6) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(d)(6)) is amended, in the second sentence, in the third proviso— (1) by striking $14,000 and inserting $50,000; and (2) by striking major disaster and inserting disaster.
(1) distinguishes between rural and urban communities in the outreach and marketing plan of the Administration with respect to the covered program; and (2) incorporates actions to mitigate challenges encountered by rural communities in accessing loans under the covered program.
(1) Administration The term Administration means the Small Business Administration.
Section 2 would replace $14,000 with $50,000 and replace “major disaster” with “disaster” in a specified part of the existing disaster-loan collateral rule. The bill does not reproduce that rule, so these substitutions alone do not fully explain which loans or collateral requirements would change.
Section 7(d)(6) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(d)(6)) is amended, in the second sentence, in the third proviso— (1) by striking $14,000 and inserting $50,000; and (2) by striking major disaster and inserting disaster.
Within three years after enactment, the Comptroller General would have to report to the Senate and House small-business committees on the performance of loans under section 7(b)(1). The report must include defaults—failures to meet loan repayment obligations—and assess how section 2’s collateral changes affected loan performance.
Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report on the performance, including the default rate, of loans made under section 7(b)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)), and the impact of the amendments to collateral amounts made under section 2 of this Act on the performance of those loans
The loan-performance report would cover the period beginning September 30, 2020, and ending two years after enactment.
during the period— (1) beginning on September 30, 2020; and (2) ending on the date on that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
Beginning on enactment, the Small Business Administration’s Administrator would have to ensure that its disaster recovery office distinguishes rural and urban communities in marketing and outreach for the section 7(b) disaster-loan program and includes actions to reduce rural access challenges. This work must be consistent with the recommendations in the specified February 22, 2024, Government Accountability Office report.
(3) Associate Administrator The term Associate Administrator means the Associate Administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience of the Administration. (4) Covered program The term covered program means the disaster loan program authorized by section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)).
Beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, consistent with the recommendations of the Government Accountability Office in the report entitled Small Business Administration: Targeted Outreach about Disaster Assistance Could Benefit Rural Communities (GAO–24–106755) (February 22, 2024), the Administrator shall ensure that the Associate Administrator— (1) distinguishes between rural and urban communities in the outreach and marketing plan of the Administration with respect to the covered program; and (2) incorporates actions to mitigate challenges encountered by rural communities in accessing loans under the covered program.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated December 5, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Small Business on February 5, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2025-12-05T22:02:23Z. 2025-02-05: Referred to the House Committee on Small Business. 2025-02-05: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-05. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; formal earmark status in other versions or accompanying materials is not established.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text under the requested definition. Measures supporting access to a generally available program do not alone qualify. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Dec 5, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI