COVID–19 RELIEF for Small Businesses Act of 2020
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
COVID-19 Recovery by Enhancing Loan, Investment, and Education Funds for Small Businesses Act of 2020 or the COVID-19 RELIEF for Small Businesses Act of 2020
This bill establishes measures to provide assistance to small businesses impacted by COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
Specifically, the Small Business Administration (SBA) must (1) provide economic injury grants for certain small businesses that have suffered substantial economic injury resulting from COVID-19; (2) establish a program to make direct loans to small businesses, up to 50% of which may be forgiven; and (3) pay the principal, interest, and associated fees on certain SBA loans, including microloans, for a six-month period.
The bill also
temporarily increases guarantee amounts and loan sizes for certain SBA loans, temporarily waives or reduces certain fees on SBA loans, and permanently waives the guarantee fee on SBA loans for veterans;
revises the Microloan Program to increase available funds, extend repayment terms, and waive certain requirements for technical assistance grants;
provides additional funding for small business economic development programs;
revises and makes permanent the SBA's Intermediary Lending Program, the Community Advantage Loan Program, the Small Business Innovation Research Program, and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program;
establishes the Innovation Centers Program whereby the SBA shall enter into cooperative agreements with certain entities to spur innovation and economic growth in underserved and rural communities; and
establishes the Office of Emerging Markets to oversee the planning, coordination, and implementation of SBA efforts to enhance the economic well-being of small businesses in emerging markets.
The federal government must grant certain flexibilities (e.g., additional performance time) to small business federal contractors and expedite the contract award process.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 20, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 20, 2020: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced it on March 20, 2020, and 9 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 9 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 20, 2020, 2365 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2365 days ago, on March 20, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers