117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4900 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs and pilot 

programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SBIR and STTR Ex3 tension Act of 2022’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ADMINISTRATION; ADMINISTRATOR.—The 

7 terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Administrator’’ mean 

8 the Small Business Administration and the Adminis9 trator thereof, respectively. 

10 (2) FEDERAL AGENCY; PHASE I; PHASE II; 

11 PHASE III; SBIR; STTR.—The terms ‘‘Federal agen12 cy’’, ‘‘Phase I’’, ‘‘Phase II’’, ‘‘Phase III’’, ‘‘SBIR’’, 

13 and ‘‘STTR’’ have the meanings given those terms, 

14 respectively, in section 9(e) of the Small Business 

15 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(e)). 

16 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF SBIR AND STTR PROGRAMS 

17 AND PILOT PROGRAMS. 

18 Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) 

19 is amended by striking ‘‘2022’’ each place that term ap20 pears and inserting ‘‘2025’’. 

21 SEC. 4. FOREIGN RISK MANAGEMENT. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 9(e) of the Small Busi23 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638(e)) is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (13)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

25 the end; 
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1 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(15) the term ‘covered individual’ means an 

5 individual who— 

6 ‘‘(A) contributes in a substantive, mean7 ingful way to the scientific development or exe8 cution of a research and development project 

9 proposed to be carried out with a research and 

10 development award from a Federal research 

11 agency; and 

12 ‘‘(B) is designated as a covered individual 

13 by the Federal research agency concerned; 

14 ‘‘(16) the term ‘foreign affiliation’ means a 

15 funded or unfunded academic, professional, or insti16 tutional appointment or position with a foreign gov17 ernment or government-owned entity, whether full18 time, part-time, or voluntary (including adjunct, vis19 iting, or honorary); 

20 ‘‘(17) the term ‘foreign country of concern’ 

21 means the People’s Republic of China, the Demo22 cratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Russian Fed23 eration, the Islamic Republic of Iran, or any other 

24 country determined to be a country of concern by 

25 the Secretary of State; 
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1 ‘‘(18) the term ‘malign foreign talent recruit2 ment program’ has the meaning given such term in 

3 section 10638 of the Research and Development, 

4 Competition, and Innovation Act (division B of Pub5 lic Law 117–167); and 

6 ‘‘(19) the term ‘federally funded award’ means 

7 a Phase I, Phase II (including a Phase II award 

8 under subsection (cc)), or Phase III SBIR or STTR 

9 award made using a funding agreement.’’. 

10 (b) DUE DILIGENCE PROGRAM TO ASSESS SECURITY

11 RISKS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9 of the Small Busi13 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended by adding at 

14 the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(vv) DUE DILIGENCE PROGRAM TO ASSESS SECU16 RITY RISKS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The head of each Fed18 eral agency required to establish an SBIR or STTR 

19 program, in coordination with the Administrator, 

20 shall establish and implement a due diligence pro21 gram to assess security risks presented by small 

22 business concerns seeking a federally funded award. 

23 ‘‘(2) RISKS.—Each program established under 

24 paragraph (1) shall— 
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1 ‘‘(A) assess, using a risk-based approach 

2 as appropriate, the cybersecurity practices, pat3 ent analysis, employee analysis, and foreign 

4 ownership of a small business concern seeking 

5 an award, including the financial ties and obli6 gations (which shall include surety, equity, and 

7 debt obligations) of the small business concern 

8 and employees of the small business concern to 

9 a foreign country, foreign person, or foreign en10 tity; and 

11 ‘‘(B) assess awards and proposals or appli12 cations, as applicable, using a risk-based ap13 proach as appropriate, including through the 

14 use of open-source analysis and analytical tools, 

15 for the nondisclosures of information required 

16 under (g)(13). 

17 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the 

19 amount allocated under subsection (mm)(1), 

20 each Federal agency required to establish an 

21 SBIR program may allocate not more than 2 

22 percent of the funds allocated to the SBIR pro23 gram of the Federal agency for the cost of es24 tablishing the due diligence program required 

25 under this subsection. 
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1 ‘‘(B) REPORTING.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

3 December 31 of the year in which this sub4 paragraph is enacted, and not later than 

5 December 31 of each year thereafter, the 

6 head of a Federal agency that exercises the 

7 authority under subparagraph (A) shall 

8 submit to the Committee on Small Busi9 ness and the Committee on Science, Space, 

10 and Technology of the House of Represent11 atives, the Committee on Small Business 

12 and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, and 

13 the Administrator, for the covered year— 

14 ‘‘(I) the total funds allowed to be 

15 allocated for the cost of establishing 

16 the due diligence program required 

17 under this subsection; 

18 ‘‘(II) the total amount of funds 

19 obligated or expended under subpara20 graph (A); and 

21 ‘‘(III) the due diligence activities 

22 carried out or to be carried out using 

23 amounts allocated under subpara24 graph (A). 
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1 ‘‘(ii) ANNUAL REPORT INCLUSION.— 

2 The Administrator shall include the infor3 mation submitted by head of a Federal 

4 agency under clause (i) in the next annual 

5 report submitted under subsection (b)(7) 

6 after the Administrator receives such infor7 mation. 

8 ‘‘(iii) COVERED YEAR.—In this sub9 paragraph, the term ‘covered year’ means, 

10 with respect to the information required 

11 under clause (i), the year covered by the 

12 annual report submitted under subsection 

13 (b)(7) in which the Administrator is re14 quired to include such information by 

15 clause (ii). 

16 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION DATE.—This para17 graph shall terminate on September 30, 2025.’’. 

18 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 

20 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 the head of a Federal agency required to estab22 lish an SBIR or STTR program shall imple23 ment a due diligence program under subsection 

24 (vv) of section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 

25 U.S.C. 638), as added by paragraph (1), at the 
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1 Federal agency that, to the extent practicable, 

2 incorporates the applicable best practices dis3 seminated under paragraph (3). 

4 (B) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.—Chap5 ter 35 of title 44, United States Code (com6 monly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 

7 Act’’), shall not apply to the implementation of 

8 a due diligence program under subsection (vv) 

9 of section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 

10 U.S.C. 638), as added by paragraph (1). 

11 (C) BRIEFING.—Not later than 30 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, and on 

13 a recurring basis until implementation is com14 plete, each Federal agency required to establish 

15 a due diligence program under subsection (vv) 

16 of section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 638), as added by paragraph (1), shall 

18 brief the Committee on Small Business and En19 trepreneurship of the Senate and the Com20 mittee on Small Business and the Committee 

21 on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

22 House of Representatives on the implementa23 tion of the due diligence program. 
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1 (3) BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis3 trator shall— 

4 (A) in coordination with the Director of 

5 the Office of Science and Technology Policy and 

6 in consultation with the Committee on Foreign 

7 Investment in the United States, disseminate 

8 among Federal agencies required to establish 

9 an SBIR or STTR program best practices of 

10 those Federal agencies for due diligence pro11 grams required under subsection (vv) of section 

12 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), 

13 as added by paragraph (1); and 

14 (B) in consultation with the Committee on 

15 Foreign Investment in the United States, pro16 vide to Federal agencies described in subpara17 graph (A) guidance on the business relation18 ships required to be disclosed under paragraph 

19 (13)(G) of subsection (g) and paragraph 

20 (17)(G) of subsection (o) of section 9 of the 

21 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as added 

22 by this Act. 

23 (4) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

25 thereafter for 3 years, the Comptroller General of 
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1 the United States shall conduct a study and submit 

2 to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre3 neurship and the Committee on Armed Services of 

4 the Senate and the Committee on Small Business, 

5 the Committee on Armed Services, and the Com6 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

7 House of Representatives a report on the implemen8 tation and best practices of due diligence programs 

9 established under subsection (vv) of section 9 of the 

10 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as added by 

11 paragraph (1), across Federal agencies required to 

12 establish an SBIR or STTR program. 

13 (5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub14 section (vv) of section 9 of the Small Business Act 

15 (15 U.S.C. 638), as added by paragraph (1), shall 

16 be construed to— 

17 (A) apply to any Federal agency with a 

18 due diligence program that applies to the SBIR 

19 or STTR programs required under subsection 

20 (vv) of section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 

21 U.S.C. 638), as added by paragraph (1), in ex22 istence as of the date of enactment of this Act; 

23 or 

24 (B) restrict any Federal agency from tak25 ing due diligence measures in addition to those 
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1 required under such subsection (vv) at the Fed2 eral agency. 

3 (c) DISCLOSURES REGARDING TIES TO PEOPLE’S

4 REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND OTHER FOREIGN COUN5 TRIES.— 

6 (1) SBIR.—Section 9(g) of the Small Business 

7 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(g)) is amended— 

8 (A) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

9 at the end; 

10 (B) in paragraph (12), by striking the pe11 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(13) require each small business concern sub14 mitting a proposal or application for a federally 

15 funded award to disclose in the proposal or applica16 tion— 

17 ‘‘(A) the identity of all owners and covered 

18 individuals of the small business concern who 

19 are a party to any foreign talent recruitment 

20 program of any foreign country of concern, in21 cluding the People’s Republic of China; 

22 ‘‘(B) the existence of any joint venture or 

23 subsidiary of the small business concern that is 

24 based in, funded by, or has a foreign affiliation 
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1 with any foreign country of concern, including 

2 the People’s Republic of China; 

3 ‘‘(C) any current or pending contractual or 

4 financial obligation or other agreement specific 

5 to a business arrangement, or joint venture-like 

6 arrangement with an enterprise owned by a for7 eign state or any foreign entity; 

8 ‘‘(D) whether the small business concern is 

9 wholly owned in the People’s Republic of China 

10 or another foreign country of concern; 

11 ‘‘(E) the percentage, if any, of venture 

12 capital or institutional investment by an entity 

13 that has a general partner or individual holding 

14 a leadership role in such entity who has a for15 eign affiliation with any foreign country of con16 cern, including the People’s Republic of China; 

17 ‘‘(F) any technology licensing or intellec18 tual property sales to a foreign country of con19 cern, including the People’s Republic of China, 

20 during the 5-year period preceding submission 

21 of the proposal; and 

22 ‘‘(G) any foreign business entity, offshore 

23 entity, or entity outside the United States re24 lated to the small business concern; 
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1 ‘‘(14) after reviewing the disclosures of a small 

2 business concern under paragraph (13), and if deter3 mined appropriate by the head of such Federal 

4 agency, request such small business concern to pro5 vide true copies of any contractual or financial obli6 gation or other agreement specific to a business ar7 rangement, or joint-venture like arrangement with 

8 an enterprise owned by a foreign state or any for9 eign entity in effect during the 5-year period pre10 ceding submission of the proposal with respect to 

11 which such small business concern made such disclo12 sures;’’. 

13 (2) STTR.—Section 9(o) of the Small Business 

14 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(o)) is amended— 

15 (A) in paragraph (15), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

16 at the end; 

17 (B) in paragraph (16), by striking the pe18 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

19 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(17) require each small business concern sub21 mitting a proposal or application for a federally 

22 funded award to disclose in the proposal or applica23 tion— 

24 ‘‘(A) the identity of all owners and covered 

25 individuals of the small business concern who 
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1 are a party to any foreign talent recruitment 

2 program of any foreign country of concern, in3 cluding the People’s Republic of China; 

4 ‘‘(B) the existence of any joint venture or 

5 subsidiary of the small business concern that is 

6 based in, funded by, or has a foreign affiliation 

7 with any foreign country of concern, including 

8 the People’s Republic of China; 

9 ‘‘(C) any current or pending contractual or 

10 financial obligation or other agreement specific 

11 to a business arrangement, or joint venture-like 

12 arrangement with an enterprise owned by a for13 eign state or any foreign entity; 

14 ‘‘(D) whether the small business concern is 

15 wholly owned in the People’s Republic of China 

16 or another foreign country; 

17 ‘‘(E) the percentage, if any, of venture 

18 capital or institutional investment by an entity 

19 that has a general partner or individual holding 

20 a leadership role in such entity who has a for21 eign affiliation with any foreign country of con22 cern, including the People’s Republic of China; 

23 ‘‘(F) any technology licensing or intellec24 tual property sales to a foreign country of con25 cern, including the People’s Republic of China, 
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1 during the 5-year period preceding submission 

2 of the proposal; and 

3 ‘‘(G) any foreign business entity, offshore 

4 entity, or entity outside the United States re5 lated to the small business concern; 

6 ‘‘(18) after reviewing the disclosures of a small 

7 business concern under paragraph (17), and if deter8 mined appropriate by the head of such Federal 

9 agency, request such small business concern to pro10 vide true copies of any contractual or financial obli11 gation or other agreement specific to a business ar12 rangement, or joint-venture like arrangement with 

13 an enterprise owned by a foreign state or any for14 eign entity in effect during the 5-year period pre15 ceding submission of the proposal with respect to 

16 which such small business concern made such disclo17 sures;’’. 

18 (d) DENIAL OF AWARDS.— 

19 (1) SBIR.—Section 9(g) of the Small Business 

20 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(g)), as amended by subsection 

21 (c)(1), is further amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(15) not make an award under the SBIR pro24 gram of the Federal agency to a small business con-
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1 cern if the head of the Federal agency determines 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(A) the small business concern submitting 

4 the proposal or application— 

5 ‘‘(i) has an owner or covered indi6 vidual that is party to a malign foreign tal7 ent recruitment program; 

8 ‘‘(ii) has a business entity, parent 

9 company, or subsidiary located in the Peo10 ple’s Republic of China or another foreign 

11 country of concern; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) has an owner or covered indi13 vidual that has a foreign affiliation with a 

14 research institution located in the People’s 

15 Republic of China or another foreign coun16 try of concern; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the relationships and commitments 

18 described in clauses (i) through (iii) of subpara19 graph (A)— 

20 ‘‘(i) interfere with the capacity for ac21 tivities supported by the Federal agency to 

22 be carried out; 

23 ‘‘(ii) create duplication with activities 

24 supported by the Federal agency; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) present concerns about conflicts 

2 of interest; 

3 ‘‘(iv) were not appropriately disclosed 

4 to the Federal agency; 

5 ‘‘(v) violate Federal law or terms and 

6 conditions of the Federal agency; or 

7 ‘‘(vi) pose a risk to national secu8 rity;’’. 

9 (2) STTR.—Section 9(o) of the Small Business 

10 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(o)), as amended by subsection 

11 (c)(2), is further amended by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(19) not make an award under the STTR pro14 gram of the Federal agency to a small business con15 cern if the head of the Federal agency determines 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(A) the small business concern submitting 

18 the proposal or application— 

19 ‘‘(i) has an owner or covered indi20 vidual that is party to a malign foreign tal21 ent recruitment program; 

22 ‘‘(ii) has a business entity, parent 

23 company, or subsidiary located in the Peo24 ple’s Republic of China or another foreign 

25 country of concern; or 
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1 ‘‘(iii) has an owner or covered indi2 vidual that has a foreign affiliation with a 

3 research institution located in the People’s 

4 Republic of China or another foreign coun5 try of concern; and 

6 ‘‘(B) the relationships and commitments 

7 described in clauses (i) through (iii) of subpara8 graph (A)— 

9 ‘‘(i) interfere with the capacity for ac10 tivities supported by the Federal agency to 

11 be carried out; 

12 ‘‘(ii) create duplication with activities 

13 supported by the Federal agency; 

14 ‘‘(iii) present concerns about conflicts 

15 of interest; 

16 ‘‘(iv) were not appropriately disclosed 

17 to the Federal agency; 

18 ‘‘(v) violate Federal law or terms and 

19 conditions of the Federal agency; or 

20 ‘‘(vi) pose a risk to national secu21 rity;’’. 
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1 SEC. 5. AGENCY RECOVERY AUTHORITY AND ONGOING RE2 PORTING. 

3 (a) SBIR.—Section 9(g) of the Small Business Act 

4 (15 U.S.C. 638(g)), as amended by section 4(d)(1), is fur5 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(16) require a small business concern receiving 

7 an award under its SBIR program to repay all 

8 amounts received from the Federal agency under the 

9 award if— 

10 ‘‘(A) the small business concern makes a 

11 material misstatement that the Federal agency 

12 determines poses a risk to national security; or 

13 ‘‘(B) there is a change in ownership, 

14 change to entity structure, or other substantial 

15 change in circumstances of the small business 

16 concern that the Federal agency determines 

17 poses a risk to national security; and 

18 ‘‘(17) require a small business concern receiving 

19 an award under its SBIR program to regularly re20 port to the Federal agency and the Administration 

21 throughout the duration of the award on— 

22 ‘‘(A) any change to a disclosure required 

23 under subparagraphs (A) through (G) of para24 graph (13); 

25 ‘‘(B) any material misstatement made 

26 under paragraph (16)(A); and 
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1 ‘‘(C) any change described in paragraph 

2 (16)(B).’’. 

3 (b) STTR.—Section 9(o) of the Small Business Act 

4 (15 U.S.C. 638(o)), as amended by section 4(d)(1), is fur5 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(20) require a small business concern receiving 

7 an award under its STTR program to repay all 

8 amounts received from the Federal agency under the 

9 award if— 

10 ‘‘(A) the small business concern makes a 

11 material misstatement that the Federal agency 

12 determines poses a risk to national security; or 

13 ‘‘(B) there is a change in ownership, 

14 change to entity structure, or other substantial 

15 change in circumstances of the small business 

16 concern that the Federal agency determines 

17 poses a risk to national security; and 

18 ‘‘(21) require a small business concern receiving 

19 an award under its STTR program to regularly re20 port to the Federal agency and the Administration 

21 throughout the duration of the award on— 

22 ‘‘(A) any change to a disclosure required 

23 under subparagraphs (A) through (G) of para24 graph (17); 
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1 ‘‘(B) any material misstatement made 

2 under paragraph (20)(A); and 

3 ‘‘(C) any change described in paragraph 

4 (20)(B).’’. 

5 (c) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.—Chapter 35 of 

6 title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Pa7 perwork Reduction Act’’), shall not apply to the implemen8 tation of paragraphs (16) and (17) of subsection (g) or 

9 paragraphs (20) and (21) of subsection (o) of section 9 

10 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as added by 

11 subsections (a) and (b). 

12 SEC. 6. REPORT ON ADVERSARIAL MILITARY AND FOREIGN 

13 INFLUENCE IN THE SBIR AND STTR PRO14 GRAMS. 

15 (a) COVERED AGENCY DEFINED.—In this section, 

16 the term ‘‘covered agency’’ means— 

17 (1) the Department of Defense; 

18 (2) the Department of Energy; 

19 (3) the Department of Health and Human 

20 Services; or 

21 (4) the National Science Foundation. 

22 (b) REQUIREMENT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), not later than 180 days after the date of 

25 enactment of this Act, the head of each covered 
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1 agency shall submit a report assessing the adver2 sarial military and foreign influences in the SBIR 

3 and STTR programs at the covered agency to— 

4 (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

5 Committee on Small Business and Entrepre6 neurship, and the Committee on Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and 

8 (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

9 Committee on Small Business, and the Com10 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

11 the House of Representatives. 

12 (2) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN

13 SERVICES.—The Secretary of Health and Human 

14 Services shall submit 2 reports under paragraph 

15 (1)— 

16 (A) 1 assessing the adversarial military 

17 and foreign influences in the SBIR and STTR 

18 programs of the National Institutes of Health; 

19 and 

20 (B) 1 assessing the adversarial military 

21 and foreign influences in the SBIR and STTR 

22 programs of the Department of Health and 

23 Human Services other than those of the Na24 tional Institutes of Health. 
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1 (c) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted by a covered 

2 agency under subsection (b) shall include an analysis of— 

3 (1) the national security and research and in4 tegrity risks of the SBIR and STTR programs of 

5 the covered agency; and 

6 (2) the capability of such covered agency to 

7 identify and mitigate such risks. 

8 (d) FORM.—Each report submitted under subsection 

9 (b) shall be in unclassified form, but may include a classi10 fied annex. 

11 (e) INDEPENDENT ENTITY CONTRACTING.—The 

12 head of each covered agency, in coordination with the 

13 heads of other Federal agencies, as appropriate, may enter 

14 into a contract with an independent entity to prepare a 

15 report required under subsection (b). 

16 SEC. 7. PROGRAM ON INNOVATION OPEN TOPICS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9 of the Small Business 

18 Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as amended by this Act, is further 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (b)(7)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (G), by striking 

22 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

23 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(I) the number of applications submitted 

25 to each Federal agency participating in the 
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1 SBIR or STTR program in innovation open 

2 topics as compared to conventional topics, and 

3 how many small business concerns receive fund4 ing from open topics compared to conventional 

5 topics; 

6 ‘‘(J) the total number and dollar amount, 

7 and average size, of awards made by each Fed8 eral agency participating in the SBIR or STTR 

9 program, by phase, from— 

10 ‘‘(i) open topics; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) conventional topics;’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(ww) PROGRAM ON INNOVATION OPEN TOPICS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 

15 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

16 the Secretary of Defense shall establish innovation 

17 open topic activities using the SBIR and STTR pro18 grams of the Department of Defense in order to— 

19 ‘‘(A) increase the transition of commercial 

20 technology to the Department of Defense; 

21 ‘‘(B) expand the small business nontradi22 tional industrial base; 

23 ‘‘(C) increase commercialization derived 

24 from investments of the Department of De25 fense; and 
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1 ‘‘(D) expand the ability for qualifying 

2 small business concerns to propose technology 

3 solutions to meet the needs of the Department 

4 of Defense. 

5 ‘‘(2) FREQUENCY.—The Secretary of Defense 

6 shall conduct not less than 1 open topic announce7 ment at each component of the Department of De8 fense per fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(3) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this subsection, the Sec11 retary of Defense shall provide a briefing on the es12 tablishment of the program required under para13 graph (1) to— 

14 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Armed Services 

15 and the Committee on Small Business and En16 trepreneurship of the Senate; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Small Business, 

18 the Committee on Armed Services, and the 

19 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

20 of the House of Representatives.’’. 

21 (b) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

23 3 years, the Comptroller General of the United States 

24 shall submit to Congress and issue a publicly available re25 port comparing open topics and conventional topics under 
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1 the SBIR and STTR programs that includes, to the extent 

2 practicable— 

3 (1) an assessment of the percentage of small 

4 business concerns that progress from Phase I to 

5 Phase II awards, then to Phase III awards; 

6 (2) the number of awards under the SBIR and 

7 STTR programs made to first-time applicants and 

8 first-time awardees; 

9 (3) the number of awards under the SBIR and 

10 STTR programs made to non-traditional small busi11 ness concerns, including those owned by women, mi12 norities, and veterans; 

13 (4) a description of outreach and assistance ef14 forts by the Department of Defense to encourage 

15 and prepare new and diverse small business concerns 

16 to participate in the program established under sub17 section (ww) of section 9 of the Small Business Act 

18 (15 U.S.C. 638), as added by subsection (a); 

19 (5) the length of time to review and disburse 

20 awards under such subsection (ww), evaluated in a 

21 manner enabling normalized comparisons of such 

22 times taken by each Federal agency that is required 

23 to establish an SBIR or STTR program and offers 

24 open topics; 
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1 (6) the ratio, and an assessment, of the amount 

2 of funding allocated towards open topics as com3 pared to conventional topics at each Federal agency 

4 that is required to establish an SBIR or STTR pro5 gram and offers open topics; and 

6 (7) a comparison of the types of technology and 

7 end users funded under open topics compared to the 

8 types of technology and end users funded under con9 ventional topics. 

10 SEC. 8. INCREASED MINIMUM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS 

11 FOR EXPERIENCED FIRMS. 

12 Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), 

13 as amended by this Act, is further amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (b)(7), by adding at the end 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(K) the minimum performance standards 

17 established under subsection (qq), including any 

18 applicable modifications under paragraph (3) of 

19 such subsection, and the number of small busi20 ness concerns that did not meet those minimum 

21 performance standards, provided that the Ad22 ministrator does not publish any personally 

23 identifiable information, the identity of each 

24 such small business concern, or any otherwise 

25 sensitive information; and 
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1 ‘‘(L) the aggregate number and dollar 

2 amount of SBIR and STTR awards made pur3 suant to waivers under subsection (qq)(3)(E), 

4 provided that the Administrator does not pub5 lish any personally identifiable information, the 

6 identity of each such small business concern, or 

7 any otherwise sensitive information;’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (qq)— 

9 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

10 (4) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; 

11 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(3) INCREASED MINIMUM PERFORMANCE

14 STANDARDS FOR EXPERIENCED FIRMS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) PROGRESS TO PHASE II SUCCESS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a 

17 small business concern that received or re18 ceives more than 50 Phase I awards dur19 ing a covered period, each minimum per20 formance standard established under para21 graph (1)(A)(ii) shall be doubled for such 

22 covered period. 

23 ‘‘(ii) CONSEQUENCE OF FAILURE TO

24 MEET STANDARD.—If the head of a Fed25 eral agency determines that a small busi-
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1 ness concern that received a Phase I award 

2 from the Federal agency is not meeting an 

3 applicable increased minimum performance 

4 standard modified under clause (i), the 

5 small business concern may not receive 

6 more than 20 total Phase I awards and 

7 Phase II awards under subsection (cc) 

8 from each Federal agency during the 1- 

9 year period beginning on the date on which 

10 such determination is made. 

11 ‘‘(iii) COVERED PERIOD DEFINED.—In 

12 this subparagraph, the term ‘covered pe13 riod’ means a consecutive period of 5 fiscal 

14 years preceding the most recent fiscal year. 

15 ‘‘(B) PROGRESS TO PHASE III SUCCESS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each minimum 

17 performance standard established under 

18 paragraph (2)(A)(ii) shall— 

19 ‘‘(I) with respect to a small busi20 ness concern that received or receives 

21 more than 50 Phase II awards during 

22 a covered period, require an average 

23 of $250,000 of aggregate sales and in24 vestments per Phase II award re25 ceived during such covered period; and 
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1 ‘‘(II) with respect to a small 

2 business concern that received or re3 ceives more than 100 Phase II awards 

4 during a covered period, require an 

5 average of $450,000 of aggregate 

6 sales and investments per Phase II 

7 award received during such covered 

8 period. 

9 ‘‘(ii) CONSEQUENCE OF FAILURE TO

10 MEET STANDARD.—If the head of a Fed11 eral agency determines that a small busi12 ness concern that received a Phase I award 

13 from the agency is not meeting an applica14 ble increased minimum performance stand15 ard modified under clause (i), the small 

16 business concern may not receive more 

17 than 20 total Phase I awards and Phase II 

18 awards under subsection (cc) from each 

19 agency during the 1-year period beginning 

20 on the date on which such determination is 

21 made. 

22 ‘‘(iii) DOCUMENTATION.— 

23 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A small busi24 ness concern that is subject to an in25 creased minimum performance stand-
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1 ard described in clause (i) shall sub2 mit to the Administrator supporting 

3 documentation evidencing that all cov4 ered sales of the small business con5 cern were properly used to meet the 

6 increased minimum performance 

7 standard. 

8 ‘‘(II) COVERED SALE DE9 FINED.—In this clause, the term ‘cov10 ered sale’ means a sale by a small 

11 business concern— 

12 ‘‘(aa) that the small busi13 ness concern claims to be attrib14 utable to an SBIR or STTR 

15 award; 

16 ‘‘(bb) for which no amount 

17 of the payment was or is made 

18 using Federal funds; 

19 ‘‘(cc) which the small busi20 ness concern uses to meet an ap21 plicable increased minimum per22 formance standard under clause 

23 (i); and 

24 ‘‘(dd) that was or is received 

25 during the 5 fiscal years imme-
32 

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1 diately preceding the fiscal year 

2 in which the small business con3 cern uses the sale to meet the in4 creased minimum performance 

5 standard. 

6 ‘‘(iv) COVERED PERIOD DEFINED.—In 

7 this subparagraph, the term ‘covered pe8 riod’ means a consecutive period of 10 fis9 cal years preceding the most recent 2 fiscal 

10 years. 

11 ‘‘(C) PATENTS FOR INCREASED MINIMUM

12 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—A small business 

13 concern with respect to which an increased min14 imum performance standard under subpara15 graph (B) applies may not meet the increased 

16 minimum performance standard by obtaining 

17 patents. 

18 ‘‘(D) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subparagraphs 

19 (A) through (C) shall take effect on April 1, 

20 2023. 

21 ‘‘(E) WAIVER.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

23 may, upon the request of a senior official 

24 of a Federal agency, grant a waiver with 
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1 respect to a topic for the SBIR or STTR 

2 program of the Federal agency if— 

3 ‘‘(I) the topic is critical to the 

4 mission of the Federal agency or re5 lates to national security; and 

6 ‘‘(II) the official submits to the 

7 Administrator a request for the waiver 

8 in accordance with clause (iii). 

9 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER EFFECTS.—If the Ad10 ministration grants a waiver with respect 

11 to a topic for the SBIR or STTR program 

12 of a Federal agency, subparagraphs (A)(ii) 

13 and (B)(ii) shall not prohibit any covered 

14 small business concern from receiving an 

15 SBIR or STTR award under such topic. 

16 ‘‘(iii) AGENCY REQUEST AND CON17 GRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later 

18 than 15 days before the release of a solici19 tation including a topic for which a senior 

20 official of a Federal agency is requesting a 

21 waiver under clause (i), the senior official 

22 shall submit to the Administrator, the 

23 Committee on Small Business and the 

24 Committee on Science, Space, and Tech25 nology of the House of Representatives, 
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1 and the Committee on Small Business and 

2 Entrepreneurship of the Senate a request 

3 for the waiver. 

4 ‘‘(iv) ADMINISTRATOR DETERMINA5 TION AND CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICA6 TION.—Not later than 15 days after re7 ceiving a request for a waiver under clause 

8 (i), the Administrator shall make a deter9 mination with respect to the request and 

10 notify the senior official at the Federal 

11 agency that made the request, the Com12 mittee on Small Business and the Com13 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology 

14 of the House of Representatives, and the 

15 Committee on Small Business and Entre16 preneurship of the Senate of the deter17 mination. 

18 ‘‘(v) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara19 graph: 

20 ‘‘(I) COVERED SMALL BUSINESS

21 CONCERN.—The term ‘covered small 

22 business concern’ means a small busi23 ness concern that is subject to the 

24 consequences under subparagraph 

25 (A)(ii) or (B)(ii) pursuant to a deter-
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1 mination by the head of a Federal 

2 agency that such small business con3 cern did not meet an increased min4 imum performance standard that was 

5 applicable to such small business con6 cern. 

7 ‘‘(II) SENIOR OFFICIAL.—The 

8 term ‘senior official’ means an indi9 vidual appointed to a position in a 

10 Federal agency that is classified above 

11 GS–15 pursuant section 5108 of title 

12 5, United States Code, or any equiva13 lent position, as determined by the 

14 Administrator. 

15 ‘‘(F) REPORTING.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

17 July 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, the 

18 Administrator shall submit to Congress a 

19 list of the small business concerns that did 

20 not meet— 

21 ‘‘(I) an applicable minimum per22 formance standard established under 

23 paragraph (1)(A)(ii) or (2)(A)(ii); or 

24 ‘‘(II) an applicable increased 

25 minimum performance standard. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) WAIVERS.—Each list submitted 

2 under clause (i) shall identify each small 

3 business concern that received an SBIR or 

4 STTR award pursuant to a waiver granted 

5 under subparagraph (E) by the Adminis6 trator during the period covered by the 

7 list. 

8 ‘‘(iii) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Each list 

9 submitted under clause (i) shall be con10 fidential and exempt from disclosure under 

11 section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States 

12 Code (commonly known as the ‘Freedom of 

13 Information Act’). 

14 ‘‘(G) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 

15 April 1, 2023, the Administration shall imple16 ment the increased minimum performance 

17 standards under this paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(H) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

19 in this paragraph shall be construed— 

20 ‘‘(i) to prohibit a small business con21 cern from participating in a Phase I (or 

22 Phase II if under the authority of sub23 section (cc)) of an SBIR or STTR pro24 gram under paragraph (1)(B) or (2)(B) 

25 solely on the basis of a determination by 
37 

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1 the head of a Federal agency that the 

2 small business concern is not meeting an 

3 increased minimum performance standard; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(ii) to prevent the head of a Federal 

6 agency from implementing more restrictive 

7 limitations on the number of federally 

8 funded Phase I awards and direct to Phase 

9 II awards under subsection (cc) that may 

10 be awarded to a small business concern 

11 than the limitations described in subpara12 graphs (A)(ii) and (B)(ii). 

13 ‘‘(I) TERMINATION.—This paragraph shall 

14 terminate on September 30, 2025.’’; 

15 (C) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, 

16 by striking ‘‘paragraph (3)(A)’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘paragraph (4)(A)’’; and 

18 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(6) INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT.—Not later 

20 than 1 year after the date on which the Adminis21 trator implements the increased minimum perform22 ance standards under paragraph (3), and periodi23 cally thereafter, the Inspector General of the Admin24 istration shall— 
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1 ‘‘(A) conduct an audit on whether the 

2 small business concerns subject to increased 

3 minimum performance standards under para4 graph (3)(B) verified— 

5 ‘‘(i) the sales by and investments in 

6 the small business concerns— 

7 ‘‘(I) during the 5 fiscal years im8 mediately preceding the fiscal year in 

9 which the small business concern used 

10 such sales and investments to meet an 

11 applicable increased performance 

12 standard; and 

13 ‘‘(II) as a direct result of a 

14 Phase I award or Phase II award 

15 made under subsection (cc) during the 

16 covered period (as defined in para17 graph (3)(B)(iv)), consistent with the 

18 definition of Phase III, as applicable; 

19 ‘‘(ii) any third-party revenue the small 

20 business concerns list as investments or in21 comes to meet the increased minimum per22 formance standard— 

23 ‘‘(I) is a direct result of a Phase 

24 I award or Phase II award made 

25 under subsection (cc) during the cov-
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1 ered period (as defined in paragraph 

2 (3)(B)(iv)); and 

3 ‘‘(II) consistent with the require4 ments of the Administrator as in ef5 fect on September 30, 2022, or any 

6 successor requirements; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) any dollar amounts such small 

8 business concerns list as investments or in9 come to meet such increased minimum per10 formance standard the providence of which 

11 is unclear and that is not directly attrib12 utable to a Phase I award or Phase II 

13 award made under subsection (cc) during 

14 the covered period (as defined in para15 graph (3)(B)(iv)), consistent with the defi16 nition of Phase III, as applicable; 

17 ‘‘(B) assess the self-certification require18 ments for the minimum performance standards 

19 established under paragraph (2)(A)(ii) and the 

20 increased minimum performance standards 

21 under paragraph (3)(B); and 

22 ‘‘(C) submit to the Committee on Small 

23 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

24 and the Committee on Small Business and the 

25 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
40 

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1 of the House of Representatives a report on the 

2 audit conducted under subparagraph (A) and 

3 the assessment conducted under subparagraph 

4 (B). 

5 ‘‘(7) INCREASED MINIMUM PERFORMANCE

6 STANDARD DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term 

7 ‘increased minimum performance standard’ means a 

8 minimum performance standard established under 

9 paragraph (1)(A)(ii) or (2)(A)(ii) as modified under 

10 subparagraph (A) or (B), respectively, of paragraph 

11 (3) with respect to a small business concern.’’. 

12 SEC. 9. PROHIBITION AGAINST WRITING SOLICITATION 

13 TOPICS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9 of the Small Business 

15 Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as amended by this Act, is further 

16 amended by adding at the end the following subsection: 

17 ‘‘(xx) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO SOLIC18 ITATION TOPICS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Federal agency required 

20 to establish an SBIR or STTR program shall imple21 ment a multi-level review and approval process with22 in the Federal agency for solicitation topics to en23 sure adequate competition and that no private indi24 vidual or entity is shaping the requirements for eligi25 bility for the solicitation topic after the selection of 
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1 the solicitation topic, except that the Federal agency 

2 may amend the requirements to clarify the solicita3 tion topic. 

4 ‘‘(2) REFERRAL.—A Federal agency that does 

5 not comply with paragraph (1) shall be referred to 

6 the Inspector General of the Administration for fur7 ther investigation.’’. 

8 SEC. 10. GAO STUDY ON MULTIPLE AWARD WINNERS. 

9 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

11 shall conduct a study and submit to the Committee on 

12 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 

13 the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on 

14 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep15 resentatives a report, which shall be made publicly avail16 able, on small business concerns that are awarded not less 

17 than 50 Phase II awards under the SBIR or STTR pro18 grams during the consecutive period of 10 fiscal years pre19 ceding the most recent 2 fiscal years, including, to the ex20 tent practicable, an analysis of— 

21 (1) the impact of the small business concerns 

22 on the SBIR and STTR programs; 

23 (2) the ratio of the number of Phase II awards 

24 received by the small business concerns to the total 

25 number of Phase II awards; 
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1 (3) the ability of the small business concerns to 

2 commercialize and meet the tenets of the SBIR and 

3 STTR programs; 

4 (4) the impact on new entrants and seeding 

5 technology necessary to the Federal agency mission 

6 or commercial markets and, with respect to the De7 partment of Defense, whether the types of tech8 nology the small business concerns are pursuing are 

9 primarily hardware, software, or system components 

10 for the warfighter; 

11 (5) an evaluation and study of varying levels of 

12 award caps and lifetime program earning caps; 

13 (6) an assessment of the increased minimum 

14 performance standards under paragraph (3) of sec15 tion 9(qq) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

16 638(qq)), as added by section 8, on the behavior of 

17 those concerns and on the SBIR and STTR pro18 grams, and whether to continue such increased min19 imum performance standards; and 

20 (7) recommendations on whether alternative 

21 minimum performance standards under section 

22 9(qq) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

23 638(qq)) should be considered, and the extent to 

24 which such alternative minimum performance stand-
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1 ards preserve the competitive, merit-based founda2 tion of the SBIR and STTR programs. 

3 SEC. 11. GAO REPORT ON SUBCONTRACTING IN SBIR AND 

4 STTR PROGRAMS. 

5 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

7 shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and En8 trepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small 

9 Business and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech10 nology of the House of Representatives a report evalu11 ating, to the extent practicable, the following: 

12 (1) The extent to which SBIR awardees and 

13 STTR awardees are in compliance with the Federal 

14 Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (31 

15 U.S.C. 6101 note). 

16 (2) The extent to which SBIR awardees and 

17 STTR awardees enter into subcontracting agree18 ments with respect to an SBIR or STTR award. 

19 (3) The total number and dollar amount of sub20 contracts entered into between an SBIR awardee or 

21 an STTR awardee and a concern that is not a small 

22 business concern (including such concerns that are 

23 defense contractors) with respect to an SBIR or 

24 STTR award. 
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1 (4) A description of the type and purpose of 

2 subcontracting agreements described in paragraph 

3 (2). 

4 (5) An analysis of whether the use of sub5 contracts by an SBIR awardee or an STTR awardee 

6 is consistent with the purposes of section 9 of the 

7 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638). 

Passed the Senate September 20, 2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4900 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs and 

pilot programs, and for other purposes.