Golden Bipartisan Bill to Improve Natural Disaster Relief for Rural Small Businesses Passes House

Press Release

Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) voted to pass the Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities Act today. Golden introduced the bill alongside the late Representative Jim Hagedorn (MN-01) in May 2021. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.

The Disaster Assistance for Rural Communities Act would help ensure that small businesses in rural parts of the country, including those in Maine, can more easily access relief from the Small Business Administration (SBA) following a natural disaster. The legislation would waive burdensome restrictions that keep businesses in rural areas with low population densities from applying for federal disaster relief. 

"When a natural disaster strikes, making sure small businesses can get back up and running is essential for a community to recover," said Congressman Golden. "For the rural communities that are especially vulnerable in these times of emergency, federal assistance plays a big role in helping our friends and neighbors get back on their feet. I am pleased to see Congress move in a bipartisan way on our bill to eliminate unnecessary red tape and get disaster relief and resources into the hands of those that really need it."

Maine has had multiple federal disaster declarations in the past two decades, including declarations for floods, winter storms, and Tropical Storm Irene. The legislation would remove a potential roadblock for small businesses in rural Maine to access emergency relief the next time there is a natural disaster. 

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