PA Lawmakers Question Delays In SBA Hurricane Ida Disaster Relief

It’s been six months since Hurricane Ida struck the Philadelphia region, and 71 applicants for small business loans necessary for businesses to survive have not yet been approved, four Philadelphia region lawmakers said.

The lawmakers are Chrissy Houlahan, a Chester County Democrat representing portions of Berks County; Mary Gay Scanlon, a Delaware County Democrat; Brian Fitzpatrick, a Bucks County Republican representing portions of Philadelphia and Montgomery County; and Madeleine Dean, a Montgomery County Democrat representing portions of Philadelphia.

“When Hurricane Ida devastated scores of small businesses in our community, helping them recover became a top priority of mine,” said Houlahan, a member of the House Small Business Committee.

Houlahan said she has been tracking the issue on behalf of the community. She said not a single application has been approved.

“How can that be?” Houlahan questioned

“This bipartisan effort will hopefully get the answers our hurting small business owners deserve,” she said.

The letter was sent to Isabel Guzman, SBA administrator, and Francisco Sanchez, associate administrator.

SBA has approved 87 business disaster loans for Pennsylvania in response to Hurricane Ida for a total of $10.2 million, Christopher J. Hatch, SBA spokesman said Thursday.

Hatch said those loans are for physical damages and may include economic injury.

Hatch said SBA only received a total of 77 applications out of 4,740 disaster loans for stand alone economic injury disasters.

Hatch said SBA cannot provide reason to the public why the stand-alone applications have not been approved.

The SBA extended its deadline for businesses, homeowners and renters to apply for economic injury disaster loans until June 10, 2022. Anyone living in a county that has been declared a disaster is eligible.

The legislators' letter said the loans may be critical to businesses unable to meet their obligations.

The lawmakers want to know why the loans were not approved and how Congress should act to ensure that businesses experiencing compound injuries from multiple disaster receive assistance.

“Congress has an interest in loan assistance to small businesses and has an interest in providing loan assistance to businesses in a timely manner following disasters,” the letter stated.

How to apply
To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, applicants should register online at DisasterAssistance.gov or download the FEMA mobile app. If online or mobile access is unavailable, applicants should call the FEMA toll-free helpline at 800-621-3362. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services should call 800-621-3362.