Legislation sent to President Obama would reopen Small Business Administration loan applications for one year,
WASHINGTON -- Legislation giving business owners and homeowners whose properties were damaged by Hurricane Sandy a new chance to get low-interest federal loans has cleared the U.S. House.
The bill reopens the application process for U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans.
"More than three years since Superstorm Sandy, there is still much work that needs to be done for struggling families and businesses to fully recover," said U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the bill's chief sponsor.
Tuesday's House vote sends the bill to President Obama. The Superstorm Sandy Relief and Disaster Loan Program Improvement Act of 2015 passed the Senate last month. The House initially approved a slightly different measure in July so a new vote was needed.
RELATED: U.S. Senate votes to give new financial help to Sandy victims
Under the legislation, the SBA would reopen the Sandy disaster assistance loan program for one year. Funds are still available from the original federal aid package.
The original deadlines expired years ago, but many Sandy victims never sought SBA loans for several reasons, including a belief that their flood insurance payments would cover their expenses, inaccurate information about the program, or a belief that the loans would be considered a duplicate benefit and affect their eligibility for other assistance.
Homeowners could receive loans of up to $200,000 while small businesses could receive loans of up to $2 million for repairs or replacement of property and equipment and for economic losses, though the agency can waive the borrowing limit for major employers.
"This bill takes an important step toward providing homeowners and small businesses devastated by Superstorm Sandy access to the much-needed capital they need to rebuild," said U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Small Business Committee that had jurisdiction over the legislation.
The measure also would require the SBA to develop procedures so the agency is able to handle a massive influx of disaster aid applications, as it was following the hurricane. The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, reported that SBA failed meet its goal of handling disaster loan applications within 21 days. Loans to repair damage to businesses averaged 45 days, more than double the goal.
In New Jersey, the SBA approved 732 of 2,217 applications in Ocean County, awarding $68 million in loans; and 370 of 1,252 applications in Monmouth County, awarding loans totaling $36 million, according to the GAO.
NJ Advance Media reporter MaryAnn Spoto contributed to this report.
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.