WASHINGTON – Today, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) chaired a hearing to examine the Disaster Loan program run by the Small Business Administration (SBA) just days after a fire devastated 135 businesses and homeowners in Uxbridge, Mass.  The Committee heard testimony about problems with the program in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Kerry pressed for full Senate passage of his bill to overhaul the program.

 

“The people of Massachusetts have shown great strength and resolve in rebuilding after a disaster, and no where is that more evident today than the community of Uxbridge as they begin the journey to a full recovery,” said Kerry, Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. “Whether a fire, like Saturday’s at Bernat Mill, flooding after this spring’s nor’easter, or the red tide that has economically harmed our North Shore clammers, I’m working to address the problems unearthed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina so that businesses and homeowners right here in Massachusetts can get the assistance they need quickly.”

 

The Committee heard from former SBA loan officer Gale Martin and SBA Inspector General Eric Thorson about charges that staff improperly cancelled already approved loans, forced loan withdrawals, or disbursed loans without the homeowner’s or business owner’s consent. Kerry is working to make sure Massachusetts residents don’t face the same flawed reviewing process experienced in the Gulf Coast and praised SBA Administrator Steven Preston for taking steps to improve the program and for quickly declaring a disaster for the Uxbridge area.

 

Kerry has authored the Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act, S. 163, which has bipartisan support, including the backing of the Bush Administration. Kerry’s bill will create an expedited disaster assistance loan program, strengthen agency coordination, and increase loans from $1.5 to $2 million.  It also creates a new, elevated level of disaster declaration that triggers nationwide economic injury disaster loans for adversely affected small businesses. The Committee passed the bipartisan bill in March and is awaiting full Senate action.

 

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