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COVID–19 EIDL Fraud Statute of Limitations Act of 2022 — Congressional Record, House, June 7, 2022 (H5250)

Summary

Congressional Record, House, pages H5250 and H5251, dated June 7, 2022. Velázquez moves to suspend the rules and pass the bill H.R. 7334, the COVID–19 EIDL Fraud Statute of Limitations Act of 2022, and the page prints its text, which provides that criminal charges or civil enforcement actions alleging borrower fraud under certain COVID–19 economic injury disaster loan programs be filed not later than 10 years after the offense was committed. Members speak in support of that bill and of the PPP and Bank Fraud Enforcement Harmonization Act of 2022 and the HUBZone Price Evaluation Preference Clarification Act of 2021. On the motions the Chair states that two-thirds being in the affirmative the ayes have it, and Greene of Georgia demands the yeas and nays.

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Cite this document

“COVID–19 EIDL Fraud Statute of Limitations Act of 2022 — Congressional Record, House, June 7, 2022 (H5250).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2022-06-07-crec-2022-06-07-pt1-pgh5250-5eaa527207/, SHA-256 54b6607be284180320b07e00104d325598086527bdb0ea4913c33c9d83b57423.

Full text

                                            H5250                                              CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE                                                            June 7, 2022
                                            many fintech lenders, who have been                     Fraud Enforcement Harmonization Act of                   COVID–19 EIDL FRAUD STATUTE
                                            associated with problematic loans, to                   2022’’ extends the statute of limitation and               OF LIMITATIONS ACT OF 2022
                                            10 years for banks and credit unions                    provides a timeframe in which criminal                   Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I
                                            that fall under bank fraud.                             charges can be filed against those accused of          move to suspend the rules and pass the
                                               H.R. 7352, the PPP and Bank Fraud                    fraud in connection with the ‘‘Paycheck Pro-           bill (H.R. 7334) to extend the statute of
                                            Enforcement Harmonization Act of                        tection Program’’ and ‘‘Paycheck Protection            limitations for fraud by borrowers
                                            2022, takes important steps to create                   Program Second Draw Loans’’ program.                   under certain COVID–19 economic in-
                                            an across-the-board 10-year statute of                     The Paycheck Protection Program com-                jury disaster loan programs of the
                                            limitations on all loans handed out                     monly known as the ‘‘PPP’’ loan was created            Small Business Administration, and for
                                            through the PPP program. This change                    as a part of the CARES Act—the Covid Aid,              other purposes.
                                            will ensure all law enforcement and in-                 Relief, and Economic Security Act—of March               The Clerk read the title of the bill.
                                            spectors general have the time to track                 2020.                                                    The text of the bill is as follows:
                                            down all wrongdoing no matter the                          The PPP loan was established to help small                              H.R. 7334
                                            type of lender.                                         businesses survive through the COVID–19                  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep-
                                               H.R. 7352 was created via voice vote                 pandemic of 2020, so that they may be able             resentatives of the United States of America in
                                            in committee. I thank the chair for                     to pay their employees and keep their busi-            Congress assembled,
                                            treating this issue with the priority it                                                                       SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
                                                                                                    nesses operating during the tumultuous chal-
                                            deserves and for working with me on                                                                              This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19
                                                                                                    lenges imposed by COVID–19.                            EIDL Fraud Statute of Limitations Act of
                                            the bills before us today. This bill is a                  I urge everyone to remember the times be-           2022’’.
                                            step in the right direction, and I urge                 fore the recent reemergence of a ‘‘business as         SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
                                            my colleagues to support it.                            usual’’ stance that many have now taken, and                       FOR CERTAIN COVID–19 ECONOMIC
                                               In closing, Madam Speaker, when                      remember the omnipresent news reports                              INJURY DISASTER LOAN PROGRAMS.
                                            Congress raced to save American small                                                                            (a) CERTAIN ECONOMIC INJURY DISASTER
                                                                                                    about the horrific and ever-increasing death
                                            businesses, criminal actors lurked in                                                                          LOANS.—Section 7(b) of the Small Business
                                                                                                    toll.                                                  Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting
                                            the shadows. Although one of the most                      Any person who was willing, for their own fi-       after paragraph (15) the following new para-
                                            popular COVID–19 relief measures, the                   nancial gain, to take advantage of that situa-         graph:
                                            PPP program, has firmly moved into                      tion and the emergency funding that was in-              ‘‘(16) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Notwith-
                                            the loan forgiveness period, the inves-                 tended for those who needed it most during             standing any other provision of law, any
                                            tigations surrounding illicit behavior                  the gruesome pandemic deserves to be pun-              criminal charge or civil enforcement action
                                            have just begun.                                        ished for their heinous actions.                       alleging that a borrower engaged in fraud
                                               H.R. 7352 will wisely ensure all loans                                                                      with respect to a loan made under this sub-
                                                                                                       H.R. 7352 would extend the statute of limi-         section in response to COVID–19 during the
                                            handed out through the program, no                      tation for prosecution of loans classified within      covered period (as defined in section 1110(a)
                                            matter the type of lender, have a stat-                 the PPP and Economic Injury Disaster Loan              of the CARES Act) shall be filed not later
                                            ute of limitations window of 10 years.                  (EIDL) categories under the Small Business             than 10 years after the offense was com-
                                               According to some of the most recent                 Act.                                                   mitted.’’.
                                            SBA inspector general reports, nearly                      As it stands now, bank-originated PPP fraud           (b) EIDL ADVANCES.—Section 1110(e) of the
                                            $4.6 billion of the $800 billion could be               is being prosecuted as bank fraud which car-           CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9009(e)) is amended by
                                            potentially fraudulent. While these                                                                            adding at the end the following new para-
                                                                                                    ries a 10-year statute of limitations.                 graph:
                                            numbers will surely change, it is para-                    In contrast, loans that originated through fi-
                                            mount that we provide law enforce-                                                                               ‘‘(9) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Notwith-
                                                                                                    nancial technology avenues—known as                    standing any other provision of law, any
                                            ment the runway to track down all                       Fintech—are currently subject to only a 5-year         criminal charge or civil enforcement action
                                            fraudulent behavior. These are Amer-                    statute of limitations because they are gov-           alleging that a borrower engaged in fraud
                                            ican taxpayer dollars on the line, and                  erned by wire fraud laws.                              with respect to the use of an advance re-
                                            they must be protected.                                                                                        ceived under this subsection shall be filed
                                                                                                       H.R. 7352 will ensure that we are doing our
                                               Madam Speaker, I urge my col-                                                                               not later than 10 years after the offense was
                                                                                                    duty to uphold justice and gather all necessary        committed.’’.
                                            leagues to support this legislation, and
                                                                                                    information and evidence, while extending the            (c) TARGETED EIDL ADVANCES.—Section 331
                                            I yield back the balance of my time.
                                                                                                    reach of the law against these violators.              of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Busi-
                                               Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I
                                                                                                       PPP fraud comes at the expense of all               nesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (15 U.S.C.
                                            yield myself the balance of my time.                                                                           9009b) is amended by adding at the end the
                                               Madam Speaker, we must continue                      Americans, tax-paying Americans who work
                                                                                                    hard for the money they earn.                          following new subsection:
                                            supporting the work of our Federal,                                                                              ‘‘(i) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Notwith-
                                            State, and local law enforcement agen-                     H.R. 7352 will ensure that there’s ample            standing any other provision of law, any
                                            cies as they investigate and prosecute                  time allotted for special attention to the com-        criminal charge or civil enforcement action
                                            pandemic loan fraud. It appears the                     plex nature of PPP loan fraud.                         alleging that a borrower engaged in fraud
                                                                                                       Ensuring that the timeframe is fair and com-        with respect to the use of any amount re-
                                            bulk of PPP loan fraud was originated
                                                                                                    mensurate with the severity of the nature of           ceived pursuant to this section shall be filed
                                            by nonbank lenders and fintech compa-                                                                          not later than 10 years after the offense was
                                            nies, which may not be prosecuted as                    loan fraud, H.R. 7352 will make sure that jus-
                                                                                                                                                           committed.’’.
                                            bank fraud and is therefore subject to a                tice is served in every regard.
                                                                                                       I ask that each of my colleagues joins me             The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu-
                                            much shorter statute of limitations.                                                                           ant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
                                               This presents the possibility that                   in support of H.R. 7352.
                                                                                                       The SPEAKER pro tempore. The                        New York (Ms. VELÁZQUEZ) and the
                                            pandemic loan fraudsters may get off                                                                           gentleman from Missouri (Mr. LUETKE-
                                            the hook because the statute of limita-                 question is on the motion offered by
                                                                                                                                                           MEYER) each will control 20 minutes.
                                            tions expired. We simply cannot let                     the gentlewoman from New York (Ms.
                                                                                                                                                             The Chair recognizes the gentle-
                                            this happen. This bill would give law                   VELÁZQUEZ) that the House suspend the                 woman from New York.
                                            enforcement agencies the time needed                    rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7352.
                                                                                                                                                                             GENERAL LEAVE
                                            to hold fraudsters accountable and                         The question was taken.
                                                                                                                                                             Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I
                                            bring them to justice.                                     The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the                     ask unanimous consent that all Mem-
                                               Once again, I thank our ranking                      opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being                 bers may have 5 legislative days in
                                            member, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, for work-                      in the affirmative, the ayes have it.                  which to revise and extend their re-
                                            ing with me to lead this important ef-                     Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. Madam                       marks and include extraneous material
                                            fort, and all the members of the Small                  Speaker, on that I demand the yeas                     on the measure under consideration.
                                            Business Committee for their bipar-                     and nays.                                                The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there




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                                            tisan work on this bill.                                   The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu-                     objection to the request of the gentle-
                                               Madam Speaker, I urge my col-                        ant to section 3(s) of House Resolution                woman from New York?
                                            leagues to vote ‘‘yes,’’ and I yield back               8, the yeas and nays are ordered.                        There was no objection.
                                            the balance of my time.                                    Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, fur-                 Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I
                                               Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise               ther proceedings on this motion are                    yield myself such time as I may con-
                                            in support of H.R. 7352—the ‘‘PPP and Bank              postponed.                                             sume.



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                                            June 7, 2022                                       CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE                                                              H5251
                                              Madam Speaker, I rise in support of                     Madam Speaker, I rise in support of                    With this massive level of potential
                                            H.R. 7334, the COVID–19 EIDL Fraud                      H.R. 7334, the COVID–19 EIDL Fraud                     fraud, it is imperative that this House
                                            Statute of Limitations Act of 2022, in-                 Statute of Limitations Act of 2022.                    passes    Ranking    Member    LUETKE-
                                            troduced by the ranking member, Mr.                       Similar to the previous bill, the Pay-               MEYER’s bill to extend the current 5-
                                            LUETKEMEYER, and cosponsored by my-                     check Protection Program, the Small                    year statute of limitations for SBA
                                            self.                                                   Business Administration’s Economic                     grants and loans to 10 years. In doing
                                              As with the PPP and Bank Fraud En-                    Injury Disaster Loan program, known                    so we can allow for authorities to in-
                                            forcement Harmonization Act, this bill                  as EIDL, was also activated as the Na-                 vestigate the egregious amount of po-
                                            will extend the statute of limitations                  tion’s small businesses were being shut                tential fraud in the EIDL program and
                                            for COVID–19 EIDL fraud cases to 10                     down due to COVID–19. However, un-                     ensure accountability for those who
                                            years to allow prosecutors more time                    like PPP, EIDL was a direct loan and                   took advantage of the EIDL program
                                            to do their jobs. The bills are com-                    grant program through the SBA. Un-                     to defraud the American people.
                                            panion pieces of legislation and much-                  fortunately, the SBA acting as a direct                  Madam Speaker, I note that this bill
                                            needed to help law enforcement inves-                   lender and grantor has been problem-                   had strong bipartisan support and
                                            tigate and bring fraud charges.                         atic and has resulted in billions of po-               passed out of the Small Business Com-
                                              Congress amended the SBA disaster                     tentially fraudulent dollars flowing to                mittee by voice vote last month. I urge
                                            loan program at the start of the pan-                   criminals.                                             my colleagues to support this impor-
                                            demic to allow small businesses facing                    In fact, the SBA’s inspector general                 tant legislation.
                                            economic injury due to COVID to apply                   has reported that as much as $84.4 bil-                  Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I
                                            for SBA disaster loans which were                       lion within the $400 billion program                   continue to reserve the balance of my
                                            originally designed for natural disas-                  could be fraudulent. Moreover, over 1                  time.
                                            ters. At the same time, SBA lowered                     million applications have been flagged                   Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speak-
                                            the guardrails and disbursed funds                      for identity theft concerns. This is un-               er, I yield such time as she may con-
                                            quickly to provide stability to the                     acceptable and must be addressed.                      sume to the gentlewoman from New
                                            small business economy, which, as we                      H.R. 7334, the COVID–19 EIDL Fraud                   York (Ms. TENNEY), who is the ranking
                                            all know, was facing unprecedented un-                  Statute of Limitations Act of 2022                     member of the Subcommittee on Un-
                                            certainty in 2020.                                      takes the first step and establishes a                 derserved, Agricultural, and Rural
                                              In a very short time, the program                     10-year statute of limitations window                  Business Development.
                                            went from one that responds to natural                  to ensure law enforcement and the                                        b 1600
                                            disasters in a few, distinct geographic                 SBA’s inspector general have the time                    Ms. TENNEY. Madam Speaker, since
                                            areas, depending on the nature of the                   to investigate all wrongdoing. This                    the onset of the pandemic, Congress
                                            disaster, to one that was responding to                 change is even more important as the                   has passed several COVID–19 relief bills
                                            a nationwide crisis almost overnight.                   SBA continues to defer all EIDL pay-                   totaling an unprecedented $5.3 trillion.
                                            Overall, the COVID EIDL program ap-                     ments, thus clouding the true extent of                While some of this spending was un-
                                            proved almost 4 million loans totaling                  fraud within the program.                              wise, other programs, like the Pay-
                                            over $378 billion.                                        Madam Speaker, I thank the chair                     check Protection Program, provided
                                              The SBA administrator transitioned                    for working with me on this measure                    much-needed relief to employers and
                                            the program to the Office of Capital                    which passed out of committee unani-                   businesses devastated by the pandemic.
                                            Access to dedicate additional manage-                   mously earlier in May.                                   One particular area of concern is the
                                            ment capacity. Since that transition,                     If we are to take COVID relief fraud                 COVID–19 Economic Industry Disaster
                                            the office closed out a backlog of near-                seriously, then we need to ensure law                  Loan program, otherwise known as
                                            ly 1 million applicants and increased                   enforcement has what it needs to catch                 EIDL. This program, unlike other re-
                                            loan officer productivity while improv-                 and prosecute all criminals. H.R. 7334                 lief programs, was direct lending by
                                            ing the customer service experience                     provides them the time to act.                         the SBA, the Small Business Adminis-
                                            and solidifying robust fraud controls.                    Madam Speaker, I wholeheartedly                      tration. This means the agency did not
                                            Nevertheless, throughout the pan-                       believe this bill is instrumental when                 partner with our local banks and credit
                                            demic, our committee held numerous                      it comes to fraud recoupment. I urge                   unions and, instead, approved and ad-
                                            oversight hearings with SBA’s inspec-                   my colleagues to support it, and I re-                 ministered these loans directly.
                                            tor general who testified that there is                 serve the balance of my time.                            Since the COVID–19 EIDL funding
                                            a great deal of potential fraud in this                   Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I                     passed, we have learned of countless
                                            program, and it would be a decades-                     continue to reserve the balance of my                  cases of fraud, waste, and abuse. The
                                            long effort to fully investigate.                       time.                                                  Federal Government is simply not set
                                              The IG’s office identified $78 billion                  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speak-                        up to be a direct lender.
                                            in potentially fraudulent activity in                   er, I yield such time as he may con-                     This is one reason I introduced the
                                            the EIDL program as well as over $6                     sume to the gentleman from Pennsyl-                    House version of the Transparency in
                                            billion in loans and grants related to                  vania (Mr. MEUSER), who is the ranking                 COVID–19 Expenditures Act, which
                                            identity theft allegations. Given the                   member of the Subcommittee on Eco-                     would require an audit of all Federal
                                            degree of potential fraud, we need to                   nomic Growth, Tax and Capital Access.                  COVID–19 relief spending. There is ob-
                                            give prosecutors more time to bring                       Mr. MEUSER. Madam Speaker, I                         viously room for improvement in pro-
                                            fraudsters to justice. This bill will give              thank the ranking member, Mr.                          viding additional oversight and return-
                                            law enforcement the time needed to                      LUETKEMEYER, for his leadership on                     ing fraudulently awarded funds back to
                                            conduct their investigations of COVID                   this bill and in committee.                            the taxpayers.
                                            EIDL fraud.                                               The EIDL program, Madam Speaker,                       In    response,    Ranking    Member
                                              That is why I cosponsored this bill                   was established to deliver relief to                   LUETKEMEYER has done great work in-
                                            which will go a long way towards en-                    struggling small businesses during the                 troducing the COVID–19 Economic In-
                                            hancing oversight and accountability.                   pandemic. This is why I rise today in                  dustry Disaster Loans Fraud Statute of
                                              Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking                    support of H.R. 7334.                                  Limitations Act of 2022 that will help
                                            member, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, for intro-                       Unlike the public-private partnership                fix part of the shortcomings by expand-
                                            ducing this important measure, and to                   that was Paycheck Protection Pro-                      ing the statute of limitations for EIDL
                                            the members of the Small Business                       gram, the EIDL program was a direct                    loans and fraud from 6 to 10 years, the
                                            Committee for unanimously approving                     loan program administered by the                       same as bank fraud. This will give offi-
                                            this important piece of legislation.                    SBA, not in partnership with private                   cials a greater window to track down




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                                              I urge all Members to support this                    lenders.                                               fraudulent activity and hold bad actors
                                            bill, and I reserve the balance of my                     The SBA’s inspector general has esti-                accountable.
                                            time.                                                   mated that there is approximately $84.4                  No one should be wrongly profiting
                                              Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speak-                         billion in potential fraudulent EIDL                   from the need to distribute aid during
                                            er, I yield myself such time as I may                   activity, over 20 percent of all EIDL                  this pandemic. The American tax-
                                            consume.                                                loans extended.                                        payers deserve better, and I applaud



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                                            H5252                                              CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE                                                        June 7, 2022
                                            the ranking member’s efforts on this. I                    The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu-                     opportunities. By ensuring that small
                                            urge all my colleagues to support this.                 ant to section 3(s) of House Resolution                businesses in disadvantaged commu-
                                              Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I                      8, the yeas and nays are ordered.                      nities participate in the Federal mar-
                                            have no further speakers, and I am pre-                    Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, fur-               ketplace, it, in turn, boosts job cre-
                                            pared to close. I reserve the balance of                ther proceedings on this motion are                    ation and economic growth.
                                            my time.                                                postponed.                                               One of the main incentives of the
                                              Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speak-                                           f                                    HUBZone program is the price evalua-
                                            er, I have no further speakers, and I am                                                                       tion preference. This tool gives a slight
                                            prepared to close. I yield myself such                  HUBZONE        PRICE       EVALUATION
                                                                                                                                                           competitive advantage to HUBZone
                                            time as I may consume.                                    PREFERENCE            CLARIFICATION
                                                                                                                                                           firms competing against large compa-
                                              Madam Speaker, fraud associated                         ACT OF 2021
                                                                                                                                                           nies. In doing so, it meets the objec-
                                            with the EIDL program is a serious                        Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I                     tives of the program because every con-
                                            matter. Due to mismanagement and                        move to suspend the rules and pass the                 tract awarded to a qualified HUBZone
                                            poor oversight capabilities, the EIDL                   bill (H.R. 5879) to amend the Small                    firm is an opportunity for developing
                                            program has been overwhelmed with                       Business Act to clarify the application                and uplifting America’s most dis-
                                            fraud.                                                  of the price evaluation preference for                 tressed communities.
                                              As I mentioned earlier, the SBA’s in-                 qualified HUBZone small business con-                    Unfortunately, this tool is not being
                                            spector general has found more than                     cerns to certain contracts, and for                    used as often as it should be due to
                                            $80 billion within the $400 billion pro-                other purposes.                                        agencies misinterpreting that it does
                                            gram that could potentially be fraudu-                    The Clerk read the title of the bill.                not apply to orders. There is nothing in
                                            lent. This represents a double-digit                      The text of the bill is as follows:                  the Small Business Act that excludes
                                            fraud rate.                                                                 H.R. 5879                          the price evaluation preference from
                                              However, recouping these dollars has                    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep-        being used at the ordering level, and it
                                            just begun and the current statute of                   resentatives of the United States of America in        is our intention that it be used at that
                                            limitations is limited. My bill, H.R.                   Congress assembled,                                    level.
                                            7334, will ensure the statute of limita-                SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
                                                                                                                                                             Given the prevalence of government-
                                            tions runway is recalibrated and ex-                     This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hubzone                wide and agency-wide vehicles, it is
                                            tended out to 10 years. By passing this                 Price Evaluation Preference Clarification
                                                                                                    Act of 2021’’.
                                                                                                                                                           now necessary to state in clear and un-
                                            bill, Congress will allow the time need-                                                                       equivocal terms that the price evalua-
                                            ed to correct all wrongdoing within the                 SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF PRICE EVALUATION
                                                                                                               PREFERENCE    FOR    QUALIFIED              tion preference does apply to orders.
                                            program.                                                           HUBZONE SMALL BUSINESS CON-                 This is precisely the goal of H.R. 5879.
                                              I urge my colleagues to support H.R.                             CERNS TO CERTAIN CONTRACTS.                 With this clarification, this legislation
                                            7334, and I yield back the balance of my                  (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 31(c)(3) of the              incentivizes the use of this important
                                            time.                                                   Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657a(c)(3)) is           tool so that one day we can finally
                                              Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I                      amended by adding at the end the following
                                                                                                    new subparagraph:
                                                                                                                                                           meet the 3 percent HUBZone con-
                                            yield myself such time as I may con-                                                                           tracting goal and, ultimately, bring
                                            sume.                                                     ‘‘(E) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN CONTRACTS.—
                                                                                                    The requirements of subparagraph (A) shall             economic development to those com-
                                              Madam Speaker, our Federal, State,                                                                           munities that need it the most.
                                                                                                    apply to an unrestricted order issued under
                                            and local law enforcement agencies are                  an unrestricted multiple award contract or               I thank Representatives NEWMAN and
                                            diligently investigating and pros-                      the unrestricted portion of a contract that is         SALAZAR for leading this effort, which
                                            ecuting pandemic loan fraud, and we                     partially set aside for competition restricted         will bolster the HUBZone program.
                                            must continue to support those efforts,                 to small business concerns.’’.
                                                                                                      (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 days
                                                                                                                                                             Madam Speaker, I urge Members to
                                            whether in the COVID EIDL program
                                                                                                    after the date of the enactment of this sec-           support this legislation, and I reserve
                                            or the Paycheck Protection Program.
                                                                                                    tion, the Administrator of the Small Busi-             the balance of my time.
                                              We all agree that anyone who took
                                                                                                    ness Administration shall revise any rule or             Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speak-
                                            advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime
                                                                                                    guidance to implement the requirements of              er, I ask unanimous consent that the
                                            crisis to commit fraud and enrich                       this section.                                          gentleman from Texas (Mr. WILLIAMS)
                                            themselves at the expense of hard-
                                                                                                      The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu-                      be allowed to manage the remainder of
                                            working Main Street businesses must
                                                                                                    ant to the rule, the gentlewoman from                  the time for the minority.
                                            be held accountable.
                                              It is unacceptable to allow anyone to                 New York (Ms. VELÁZQUEZ) and the                        The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there
                                            get off the hook for defrauding a gov-                  gentleman from Missouri (Mr. LUETKE-                   objection to the request of the gen-
                                                                                                    MEYER) each will control 20 minutes.                   tleman from Missouri?
                                            ernment relief program simply because
                                            the statute of limitations expired. We                    The Chair recognizes the gentle-                       There was no objection.
                                            cannot let this happen, and we must                     woman from New York.                                     Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam
                                            pass this bill.                                                           GENERAL LEAVE                        Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
                                              Once again, I thank our Ranking                         Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I                     may consume, and I rise in support of
                                            Member, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, for intro-                     ask unanimous consent that all Mem-                    H.R. 5879, the HUBZone Price Evalua-
                                            ducing this important measure, and I                    bers may have 5 legislative days in                    tion Preference Clarification Act of
                                            am pleased to support it.                               which to revise and extend their re-                   2021.
                                              I also thank all the members of the                   marks and include extraneous material                    The SBA’s contracting programs de-
                                            Small Business Committee for their bi-                  on the measure under consideration.                    liver for this Nation’s smallest busi-
                                            partisan work on this bill, and I urge                    The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there                    nesses and the country’s smallest con-
                                            my colleagues to vote ‘‘yes.’’                          objection to the request of the gentle-                tractors. Unfortunately, consolidation
                                              Madam Speaker, I yield back the bal-                  woman from New York?                                   with all of the Federal Government’s
                                            ance of my time.                                          There was no objection.                              contracting programs continues to be
                                              The SPEAKER pro tempore. The                            Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I                     problematic. Our committee has exam-
                                            question is on the motion offered by                    yield myself such time as I may con-                   ined many of these programs and has
                                            the gentlewoman from New York (Ms.                      sume.                                                  offered solutions that would deliver
                                            VELÁZQUEZ) that the House suspend the                    Madam Speaker, I rise today in sup-                  change.
                                            rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7334.                     port of H.R. 5879, the HUBZone Price                     H.R. 5879 takes important steps with-
                                              The question was taken.                               Evaluation Preference Clarification                    in the HUBZone program and ensures




ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with HOUSE
                                              The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the                       Act of 2021.                                           that the 10 percent price preference is
                                            opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being                    The HUBZone program is a con-                        available on all task orders within
                                            in the affirmative, the ayes have it.                   tracting assistance program based on                   large multiple award contracts.
                                              Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. Madam                         locality. It helps small businesses in                   I thank the gentlewoman from Illi-
                                            Speaker, on that I demand the yeas                      urban and rural communities gain pref-                 nois (Ms. NEWMAN) and the gentle-
                                            and nays.                                               erential access to Federal procurement                 woman from Florida (Ms. SALAZAR),



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