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HR2897119th CongressWALLET

To amend the Small Business Act to make disaster loans available for damages caused by prolonged power outages, and for other purposes.

Sponsored By: Representative Stevens, Haley M. [D-MI-11]

Introduced

Summary

This bill would add prolonged power outages to the Small Business Act’s definition of "disaster" and let disaster loan proceeds pay for energy resilience systems and for replacing food and drink lost in those outages. It aims to help households and small firms recover by letting them use Small Business Administration disaster loans for backup power and spoiled inventory.

Show full summary
  • Households and small businesses could use disaster loans to buy generators, solar panels, batteries, microgrids, fuel cells, and similar systems, and to pay to replace food and drinks spoiled by outages. The Small Business Administration Administrator would decide which technologies and uses qualify.
  • One qualification path defines a prolonged power outage where at least 25 homes or businesses in a county or smaller area incur uninsured losses of at least 40 percent of property value.
  • A second qualification path defines a prolonged power outage where at least 25 homes or businesses in a county or smaller area lose electrical power for at least 48 hours.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Disaster loans for long power outages

This bill would treat long power outages as a disaster for Small Business Administration loans. You could qualify if, in your county or a smaller local area, at least 25 homes or 25 businesses are affected. For property damage loans, each affected property would need uninsured losses of at least 40% of its pre-disaster value. For economic injury loans, at least 25 homes or businesses would need to lose power at the same time for 48 hours or more. When the disaster is a prolonged outage, loan money could be used to buy backup power systems—generators, solar, wind, microgrids, fuel cells, batteries, or similar gear approved by SBA—and to replace food and drinks spoiled by the outage.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Stevens, Haley M. [D-MI-11]

MI • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Bergman, Jack [R-MI-1]

    MI • R

    Sponsored 4/17/2025

  • Rep. Scholten, Hillary J. [D-MI-3]

    MI • D

    Sponsored 4/28/2025

  • Rep. McDonald Rivet, Kristen [D-MI-8]

    MI • D

    Sponsored 5/21/2025

  • Rep. Barrett, Tom [R-MI-7]

    MI • R

    Sponsored 6/5/2025

  • Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9]

    WA • D

    Sponsored 7/21/2025

  • Rep. Nunn, Zachary [R-IA-3]

    IA • R

    Sponsored 9/26/2025

  • Rep. Deluzio, Christopher R. [D-PA-17]

    PA • D

    Sponsored 10/5/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
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