Alexandria, Va. - President Donald J. Trump today signed the "Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act" (CARES Act) into law with provisions to provide financially distressed consumers and small businesses greater access to bankruptcy relief. The legislative package, which quickly passed the House of Representatives on a voice vote earlier today and 96-0 in the Senate on Wednesday, provides a $2 trillion economic stimulus for U.S. industries and citizens faced with the challenges of the COVID-19 coronavirus. 

"ABI commends Congress and the President for their prompt action on this stimulus package to provide needed financial relief due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic," said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. "Consumers and small businesses will have greater access to the financial fresh start of bankruptcy thanks to this important legislation."

Key bankruptcy provisions within the CARES Act include:

The bankruptcy provisions of the CARES Act listed above sunset within a year.

Additionally, the law provides temporary relief for federal student loan borrowers by requiring the Secretary of Education to defer student loan payments, principal, and interest for 6 months, through September 30, 2020, without penalty to the borrower for all federally owned loans. This provides relief for over 95 percent of student loan borrowers.

"Our members will be sure to utilize these tools to help consumers and small businesses struggling with overwhelming debts due to the economic fallout of the pandemic," Quackenboss said.

ABI will be holding a free abiLIVE webinar with experts examining the bankruptcy provisions of the CARES Act on April 3 at 1 p.m. EDT. To register, please click here.

SBRA became effective on Feb. 19, adding a new section to chapter 11, subchapter V, to provide a better path for small businesses to successfully restructure, reduce liquidations, save jobs and increase recoveries to creditors. Subchapter V of the new law is based on the recommendations contained in the Final Report of ABI's Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11, a project that was funded by ABI's Anthony H.N. Schnelling Endowment Fund. The provision of the CARES Act to temporarily increase the debt limit set forth in SBRA aligns closely with the recommendation of ABI's Chapter 11 Reform Commission to permanently increase the debt eligibility limit to $10 million. For more information and resources on SBRA, please visit www.abi.org/sbra.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief, available to consumers and business debtors, involves the sale of a debtor's nonexempt assets by a chapter 7 trustee, who uses the proceeds of the sales to pay creditors in accordance with the rules outlined in the Bankruptcy Code.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy relief, available only to consumer debtors, enables individuals with regular income to develop a plan to repay all or part of their debts. Under this chapter, debtors propose a repayment plan to make installments to creditors over three to five years.

The U.S. Chamber continues to create, update, and evolve our various resources-including the  Live Blog, Small Business Guide,  Coronavirus Workplace Flyer, and more-to ensure that you have the most up to date information and impactful tools to navigate this pandemic.

While we recognize that this is a difficult time, we continue to be inspired by the stories of businesses stepping up to support families in myriad ways amid the COVID-19 pandemic. If you see any stories you'd like to share with us, please include the hashtags #AmericanBusiness and #Biz4Good in your posts, and be sure to tag the  @USChamber.