May 14, 2021

Wyden, Colleagues Reintroduce PREPARE Act to Reauthorize SBA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program

Wyden: “It’s critical the federal government provide small businesses with the resources they need to protect themselves against disaster-related damage”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said today he has joined Senate colleagues in reintroducing bipartisan legislation that would provide small businesses with low-interest loans to proactively protect their property from future disaster-related damage.

“With natural disasters posing greater and greater risk to our communities, it’s critical the federal government provide small businesses with the resources they need to protect themselves against disaster-related damage,” Wyden said. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy in Oregon and states across the nation. Congress must make sure they can weather any storm, especially as the climate crisis continues to worsen.”

The Providing Resources for Emergency Preparedness and Resilient Enterprises (PREPARE) Act would reauthorize the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Pilot Program to give small businesses the opportunity to take out low-interest loans for proactively implementing mitigation measures to protect their property from future disaster-related damage.

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, R-Fla. and Angus King, I-Maine, first introduced this legislation in September 2020. In addition to Wyden, Rubio and King, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Ben Cardin, D-Md., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and John Kennedy, R-La.