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H. Rept. 118–184: Bill on Returning Erroneous COVID Loans

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Congressional materials
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Crpt 118Hrpt184
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Crpt 118Hrpt184

Summary

House Report 118–184 of the 118th Congress, 1st Session, submitted by Mr. Williams of Texas from the Committee on Small Business on September 1, 2023 to accompany H.R. 4667, the RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act. The committee reports the bill favorably without amendment and recommends that it pass. The report states the bill would require the Small Business Administration to issue guidance and procedures for accepting, processing and accounting for fraudulent and unused Paycheck Protection Program loan funds, citing SBA Office of Inspector General Report 23–08. It recounts a July 13, 2023 hearing at which the Inspector General testified to an estimated $200 billion in fraudulent loans out of $1.2 trillion disbursed, and a July 18, 2023 markup. A section-by-section analysis covers return guidance, a returns handling process, definitions and CUTGO compliance.

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Full text

                                                                                118TH CONGRESS                                                                                               REPORT
                                                                                               " HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                                                            !
                                                                                   1st Session                                                                                               118–184




                                                                                   RETURNING ERRONEOUS COVID LOANS ADDRESSING
                                                                                 ILLEGAL AND MISAPPROPRIATED TAXPAYER FUNDS ACT


                                                                                SEPTEMBER 1, 2023.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State
                                                                                                   of the Union and ordered to be printed



                                                                                      Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas, from the Committee on Small Business,
                                                                                                        submitted the following


                                                                                                                                   R E P O R T
                                                                                                                               [To accompany H.R. 4667]

                                                                                   The Committee on Small Business, to whom was referred the bill
                                                                                (H.R. 4667) to require the Administrator of the Small Business Ad-
                                                                                ministration to issue guidance and rules for lenders and the Small
                                                                                Business Administration on handling amounts of Paycheck Protec-
                                                                                tion Loans returned by borrowers, and for other purposes, having
                                                                                considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment
                                                                                and recommends that the bill do pass.
                                                                                                                                          CONTENTS
                                                                                                                                                                                                               Page
                                                                                         I. Purpose and Bill Summary ........................................................................                    1
                                                                                        II. Need for Legislation ....................................................................................            2
                                                                                      III. Hearings .......................................................................................................      2
                                                                                       IV. Committee Consideration ...........................................................................                   2
                                                                                        V. Committee Votes .........................................................................................             2
                                                                                       VI. Section-by-Section of H.R. 4667 .................................................................                     5
                                                                                      VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .............................................                               5
                                                                                     VIII. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures                                                     5
                                                                                       IX. Oversight Findings and Recommendations ..............................................                                 6
                                                                                        X. Performance Goals and Objectives ............................................................                         6
                                                                                       XI. Statement of Duplication of Federal Programs ........................................                                 6
                                                                                      XII. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
                                                                                              Benefits .....................................................................................................     6
                                                                                     XIII. Federal Mandates Statement .....................................................................                      6
                                                                                     XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement ...................................................                               6
                                                                                      XV. Applicability to Legislative Branch ...........................................................                        6
                                                                                     XVI. Statement of Constitutional Authority ......................................................                           7

                                                                                                                      I. PURPOSE AND BILL SUMMARY

                                                                                  H.R. 4667 was introduced by Rep. Maria Salazar (R–FL) and




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                                                                                Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D–KY) on July 17, 2023. The purpose of
                                                                                         39–006




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                                                                                H.R. 4667, the ‘‘RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act,’’ is to require the
                                                                                Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish processes and
                                                                                procedures to accept, process, and account for fraudulent and un-
                                                                                used Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan funds.
                                                                                                                  II. NEED FOR LEGISLATION

                                                                                  H.R. 4667 enacts recommendations made by the SBA Office of
                                                                                the Inspector General (OIG) that the SBA establish processes and
                                                                                procedures to accept, process, and account for potentially fraudu-
                                                                                lent and unused PPP loan funds.
                                                                                  In fiscal year (FY) 2022, the OIG found that the SBA did not pro-
                                                                                vide comprehensive fraud guidance to lenders. In addition, the OIG
                                                                                received numerous inquiries regarding how to handle potentially
                                                                                fraudulent PPP loans that ultimately went unanswered.1 Since
                                                                                then, the OIG found that the SBA’s guidance to borrowers and
                                                                                lenders on returning PPP funds is insufficient, as it does not cover
                                                                                how funds can be returned at the time of forgiveness, nor does the
                                                                                SBA have specific guidance for financial institutions that need to
                                                                                return deposits related to PPP funds.2 This bill remedies the lack
                                                                                of official guidance for borrowers or lenders of PPP loans to return
                                                                                PPP funds to the government.3
                                                                                                                           III. HEARINGS

                                                                                  In the 118th Congress, the Committee held one hearing exam-
                                                                                ining the issues covered in H.R. 4667. On July 13, 2023, during the
                                                                                Full Committee hearing, ‘‘Stolen Taxpayer Funds: Reviewing the
                                                                                SBA and OIG Reports of Fraud in Pandemic Lending Programs,’’
                                                                                the Inspector General testified that of the $1.2 trillion in COVID–
                                                                                19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and PPP loans that
                                                                                were disbursed, it is estimated that $200 billion—or 17 percent—
                                                                                were fraudulent.
                                                                                                               IV. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

                                                                                  The Committee on Small Business met in open session, with a
                                                                                quorum being present, on July 18, 2023, and ordered H.R. 4667 re-
                                                                                ported to the House of Representatives. During the markup, no
                                                                                amendments were offered.
                                                                                                                     V. COMMITTEE VOTES

                                                                                   Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representa-
                                                                                tives requires the Committee to list the recorded votes on the mo-
                                                                                tion to report legislation and amendments thereto. The Committee
                                                                                voted to favorably report H.R. 4667 to the House of Representatives
                                                                                at 11:53 AM.




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                                                                                  1 U.S. SMALL BUS. ADMIN. OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GEN., REPORT 23–08, SERIOUS CONCERNS RE-
                                                                                GARDING THE RETURN OF PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM FUNDS (MAY 31, 2023).
                                                                                     2 Id.
                                                                                     3 Id.




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                                                                                                                                    5

                                                                                                        VI. SECTION-BY-SECTION OF H.R. 4667

                                                                                Section 1. Short title
                                                                                  This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Returning Erroneous COVID
                                                                                Loans Addressing Illegal and Misappropriated Taxpayer Funds
                                                                                Act’’ or the ‘‘RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act’’.
                                                                                Section 2. Paycheck protection loan return guidance
                                                                                  This section requires that the SBA issue guidance for borrowers
                                                                                and lenders returning any unused amounts of PPP loans. The guid-
                                                                                ance must include processes and procedures for how unused
                                                                                amounts of PPP loans should be returned from the borrower to the
                                                                                lender, and then from the lender to the SBA. This section also re-
                                                                                quires the SBA guidance to detail the responsibilities of the lenders
                                                                                and financial institutions to accept and document the return of any
                                                                                unused amounts of PPP loans, as well as a reminder that any lend-
                                                                                ers and borrowers must comply with the statutory requirement to
                                                                                report any information indicating the occurrence of fraud with the
                                                                                SBA OIG.
                                                                                Section 3. Returns handling process
                                                                                  This section requires that the SBA establish guidance on how the
                                                                                SBA will accept unused amounts of PPP loans, and mandates that
                                                                                such funds be returned to the Department of Treasury. This section
                                                                                also requires the SBA to establish guidance on a process to track
                                                                                the returned amounts of PPP loans to mitigate the risk of financial
                                                                                loss to the Federal Government.
                                                                                Section 4. Definitions
                                                                                  This section defines the terms ‘‘Administration,’’ ‘‘Administrator,’’
                                                                                and ‘‘PPP Loan.’’
                                                                                Section 5. Compliance with CUTGO
                                                                                  This section does not authorize any additional appropriations for
                                                                                this bill.
                                                                                             VII. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                                                                  Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of House rule XIII, the Committee
                                                                                adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the
                                                                                Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Con-
                                                                                gressional Budget Act of 1974. The Committee has requested but
                                                                                not received from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
                                                                                a cost estimate for the Committee’s provisions. Once available, the
                                                                                cost estimate will be published in the Congressional Record.
                                                                                      VIII. NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND
                                                                                                         TAX EXPENDITURES

                                                                                   Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
                                                                                of Representatives and section 308(a)(I) of the Congressional Budg-
                                                                                et Act of 1974, the Committee provides the following opinion and
                                                                                estimate with respect to new budget authority, entitlement author-
                                                                                ity, and tax expenditures. While the Committee has not received an




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                                                                                estimate of new budget authority contained in the cost estimate
                                                                                prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursu-
                                                                                ant to Sec. 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Com-




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                                                                                mittee does not believe that there will be any additional costs at-
                                                                                tributable to this legislation. H.R. 4667 does not direct new spend-
                                                                                ing, and instead establishes processes to track, collect, and return
                                                                                fraudulent and unused PPP loans to the Federal Government.
                                                                                                    IX. OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

                                                                                  In accordance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 2(b)(1)
                                                                                of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the over-
                                                                                sight findings and recommendations of the Committee on Small
                                                                                Business with respect to the subject matter contained in the H.R.
                                                                                4667 are incorporated into the descriptive portions of this report.
                                                                                                        X. PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

                                                                                  With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of
                                                                                the Rules of the House of Representatives, the performance goals
                                                                                and objectives of H.R. 4667 are to require the SBA to incorporate
                                                                                the recommendations provided in the Inspector General Report 23–
                                                                                08, Serious Concerns Regarding the Return of Paycheck Protection
                                                                                Program Funds, which request action by the SBA to ensure it has
                                                                                processes and procedures in place to adequately accept, process,
                                                                                and account for PPP funds returned by borrowers, lenders, and fi-
                                                                                nancial institutions.4
                                                                                             XI. STATEMENT OF DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

                                                                                  Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
                                                                                of Representatives, no provision of H.R. 4667 is known to be dupli-
                                                                                cative of another Federal program, including any program that was
                                                                                included in a report to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public
                                                                                Law 111–139 or the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic As-
                                                                                sistance.
                                                                                XII. CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED
                                                                                                       TARIFF BENEFITS

                                                                                  With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House
                                                                                of Representatives, the Committee finds that the bill does not con-
                                                                                tain any congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited
                                                                                tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI of
                                                                                the Rules of the House of Representatives.
                                                                                                           XIII. FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

                                                                                  The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal man-
                                                                                dates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
                                                                                pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
                                                                                                    XIV. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

                                                                                  No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the
                                                                                Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation.
                                                                                                       XV. APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

                                                                                  The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the




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                                                                                terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or
                                                                                     4 Id.




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                                                                                accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Con-
                                                                                gressional Accountability Act.
                                                                                                  XVI. STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY

                                                                                   Pursuant to clause 7 of Rule XII of the Rules of the House, the
                                                                                Committee finds that the authority for this legislation in Art. I, § 8,
                                                                                cl.1 of the Constitution of the United States.

                                                                                                                                    Æ




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