SBA has no money for disaster loans. A shutdown would keep applicants in limbo.

By Thomas Frank, Andres Picon | 12/20/2024 06:17 AM EST

The Small Business Administration has not acted on $1.5 billion in disaster loan applications since it ran out of funding, an analysis shows.

A vehicle drives through a flooded street after a hurricane.

A vehicle drives through a flooded street in Siesta Key, Florida, on Oct. 10 after Hurricane Milton hit the region. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

More than 20,000 homeowners and business owners trying to recover from recent storms and wildfires have been blocked from getting federal disaster loans in the past two months, data released Thursday shows.

The Small Business Administration, which plays a crucial but little-known role in disaster recovery, stopped approving applications for its low-interest disaster loans in mid-October. The loan program ran out of money after Congress declined to approve new funding.

The halt has prevented thousands of damaged-property owners from rebuilding, which is delaying recovery in areas devastated by recent hurricanes.

“There will be businesses that do not survive this, just because of this delay,” Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) told POLITICO’S E&E News.

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