PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 23, 2020
Expediting the EIDL Program Act of 2020
This bill modifies the disbursement of economic injury disaster loans by the Small Business Administration (SBA) with respect to such loans made in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
Specifically, the bill authorizes the SBA to increase the amount of a disaster loan to a small business by 20% to cover costs related to continuity of operations and risk mitigation improvements. The bill also authorizes the SBA to make such loans to startups and to waive rules related to affiliation, and it requires the SBA to waive the personal guarantee requirement on such loans made to cooperatives.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
In addition, an applicant for a disaster loan may request an advance on such loan up to a specified amount, and they shall not be required to repay any amount of an advance if they are subsequently denied a disaster loan. The bill also authorizes the SBA to approve an applicant for a disaster loan that is below a certain amount based solely on the applicant's credit score and to use alternative methods to determine such applicant's ability to repay.
Further, the bill establishes a maximum interest rate on a disaster loan based on an applicant's ability to obtain credit elsewhere, and it expands the qualifying events for which a disaster loan may be awarded to include emergencies involving federal primary responsibility.
People & committees
Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3] · D–PA
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 currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Apr 7, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.6344 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.6344 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.6344 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.6344 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.