WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Jim Risch (R-ID), senior members of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, reintroduced the Disaster Assistance for Rural Small Businesses Act. Their bipartisan legislation would allow rural communities to more easily access emergency relief in the wake of a natural disaster. U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) is also a cosponsor of the bill.

Under current law, bureaucratic roadblocks prevent small businesses and homeowners in rural communities from accessing Small Business Administration (SBA) assistance following a natural disaster. This legislation creates a waiver at no cost to taxpayers, allowing rural communities to more readily access and secure SBA disaster assistance in the case of a presidentially-declared disaster.

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