RED HOOK — A new measure will make it easier for small businesses impacted by Hurricane Sandy to reapply for emergency loans after many have been discouraged by the tedious process, officials announced.
Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, who represents parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, said Thursday the bill would allow local business owners to reapply to the United States Small Business Administration for financial support.
“After Hurricane Sandy, we heard from countless businesses who simply gave up on the emergency loan process because of the amount of red tape in the application process,” said Velázquez, who authored the bill.
“This bill would give these firms another chance to be made whole by reopening the application process,” she said in her statement.
The U.S. Senate passed the bill and it is awaiting approval from the House of Representatives before it is sent to President Obama.
Last year, a report found that the Small Business Administration took more than double the standard amount of time to process loan applications for Sandy-hit businesses.
Following the October 2012 deadly storm, the SBA was overwhelmed by the "large, unanticipated volume of applications early in its response to the disaster," according to the report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
The bill also includes reforms that strengthen the program and help small businesses hit by disaster, Velázquez said.
