Complete COVID Collections Act

Last action on Feb 10, 2025Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Order...

Summary

The Complete COVID Collections Act aims to strengthen the federal government's efforts to recover taxpayer money lost to fraud or unpaid loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. A primary feature of the bill is the extension of the statute of limitations for pandemic-related fraud from five years to ten years. This change would give federal investigators and prosecutors more time to pursue criminal and civil cases against individuals or businesses that illegally obtained relief funds through programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or the Main Street Loan Program.

Additionally, the legislation proposes to reauthorize and expand the authority of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) through September 2030. This watchdog office would be tasked with overseeing a broader range of Small Business Administration (SBA) programs to identify and recoup stolen funds. The bill also seeks to end the suspension of collections on delinquent COVID-19 small business loans, specifically requiring the SBA to refer unpaid loans with balances under $100,000 to the Department of the Treasury for active collection.

Lifecycle of the Bill

Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.

Feb 5, 2025

HearingSenateMeeting

Feb 5, 2025 · 16:15

Business meeting to consider S.68, to prohibit the suspension of collections on loans made to small businesses related to COVID-19, S.273, to allow nonprofit child care providers to participate in certain loan programs of the Small Business Administration, S.298, to require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to relocate 30 percent of the employees assigned to headquarters to duty stations outside the Washington metropolitan area, S.300, to improve accountability in the disaster loan program of the Small Business Administration, an original resolution authorizing expenditures by the committee during the 119th Congress, committee rules, and the nomination of Kelly Loeffler, of Georgia, to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

Committee

Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

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Summary

The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship held a business meeting on February 5, 2025, to consider four bills and the nomination of Kelly Loeffler to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration. The committee advanced all items for consideration by the full Senate. The four bills addressed different aspects of small business support. S. 68, the Complete COVID Collections Act, aims to ensure collections on pandemic-related small business loans are not suspended and extends fraud enforcement deadlines to 10 years. S. 273, the Small Business Child Care Investment Act, would allow nonprofit child care providers to access SBA loan programs previously limited to for-profit businesses. S. 298, the Returning SBA to Main Street Act, would require the SBA to relocate 30 percent of headquarters employees to locations outside the Washington metropolitan area. S. 300, the Disaster Loan Accountability and Reform Act (DLARA), would improve oversight of the SBA's disaster loan program through enhanced reporting requirements and accountability measures. The committee also advanced Loeffler's nomination in a 12-7 vote. Loeffler, a former U.S. Senator from Georgia and businesswoman, was subsequently confirmed by the full Senate on February 19, 2025, by a vote of 52-46 and sworn in as SBA Administrator on February 20, 2025. As a business meeting rather than a hearing with testimony, no witnesses presented arguments for or against the legislation. The bills' advancement does not guarantee they will become law; each must still pass the full Senate and House before being signed by the President.

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Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Reported by Senator Ernst with amendments. Without written report.

Feb 10, 2025

Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Reported by Senator Ernst with amendments. Without written report.

Feb 10, 2025

Complete COVID Collections Act

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Cosponsors (6)

Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

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Complete COVID Collections Act

Summary

Lifecycle of the Bill

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Lifecycle of the Bill

Committee

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Bill Information

Sponsors & Co-sponsors (7)

Cosponsors (6)

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Legislative Subjects (7)

Committees (1)

Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

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