WASHINGTON – The Senate Small Business Committee has passed the Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities Act, which Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) helped introduce in May. The bill would allow rural homeowners, renters and small businesses to more easily access disaster relief in the wake of a natural disaster.

“After a year-and-a-half of hurricanes and floods, Louisiana still needs help rebuilding. They can’t afford bureaucratic hurdles that block that help. The Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities Act would help rural Louisianians more easily access federal aid to recover from storm and flood damage. The Small Business Committee just took an important step toward making this common-sense bill into law,” said Kennedy, who is a member of the Senate Small Business Committee and voted to advance the legislation.

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 that allows rural communities to more readily access and secure SBA disaster assistance in the wake of presidentially-declared disasters.

Text of the Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities Act is available here.