S. 1617 · 117th Congress

Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities Act

Introduced on May 13, 2021 by James E. Risch (R-ID). 4 cosponsors, 2 of them from another party. Became Public Law 117-249.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 117-249
Introduced
May 13, 2021
Cosponsors
4
2 from the other party
Policy area
Commerce
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

A bill to modify the requirements for the Administrator of the Small Business Administration relating to declaring a disaster in a rural area, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Congressional oversight
  • Disaster relief and insurance
  • Government lending and loan guarantees
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Rural conditions and development
  • Small business

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Dec 20, 2022). Public domain.

Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities Act

This bill authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to declare a disaster in rural areas where significant damage has been incurred for the purpose of providing certain assistance.

A rural area is a county or political subdivision designated as such by the Census Bureau. Significant damage means uninsured losses of not less than 40% of the fair replacement value or pre-disaster fair market value of the damaged property (whichever is less).

For a rural area where the President has declared a major disaster, the SBA may declare a disaster for the purpose of providing economic injury disaster loans if (1) the state or tribal government wherein the rural area is located requests the declaration; and (2) any home, small business, private nonprofit organization, or small agricultural cooperative has incurred significant damage.

The Government Accountability Office must report on (1) any unique challenges to communities in rural areas compared to communities in urbanized areas when seeking economic injury disaster assistance, and (2) any legislative recommendations for improving access to disaster assistance for communities in rural areas.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

James E. RischR-IDSponsor

Democrats · 2

Republicans · 2

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
    Dec 8, 2022· House· Passage· Passed 406–8

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. May 13, 2021Introduced in Senate
  2. May 13, 2021 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
  3. Feb 15, 2022 · SenateCommittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
  4. Feb 17, 2022Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Reported by Senator Cardin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
  5. Feb 17, 2022 · SenateCommittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Reported by Senator Cardin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
  6. Feb 17, 2022 · SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 278.
  7. May 3, 2022By Senator Cardin from Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship filed written report. Report No. 117-103.
  8. May 3, 2022 · SenateBy Senator Cardin from Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship filed written report. Report No. 117-103.
  9. Sep 28, 2022Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.(consideration: CR S5165; text: CR S5165)
  10. Sep 28, 2022 · SenatePassed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S5165; text: CR S5165)
  11. Sep 29, 2022 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  12. Sep 29, 2022 · HouseReceived in the House.
  13. Sep 29, 2022 · HouseHeld at the desk.
  14. Dec 5, 2022 · HouseMs. Velazquez moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  15. Dec 5, 2022 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H8741-8742)
  16. Dec 5, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 1617.
  17. Dec 5, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House resumed debate on S. 1617.
  18. Dec 5, 2022 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  19. Dec 8, 2022 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H8853-8854)
  20. Dec 8, 2022Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 406 - 8 (Roll no. 517).(text: 12/05/2022 CR H8741)House · Roll call 517
  21. Dec 8, 2022 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 406 - 8 (Roll no. 517). (text: 12/05/2022 CR H8741)House · Roll call 517
  22. Dec 8, 2022 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  23. Dec 16, 2022Presented to President.
  24. Dec 16, 2022 · HousePresented to President.
  25. Dec 20, 2022Signed by President.
  26. Dec 20, 2022Signed by President.
  27. Dec 20, 2022Became Public Law No: 117-249.
  28. Dec 20, 2022Became Public Law No: 117-249.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.