II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1961 

To amend the Small Business Act to temporarily reauthorize certain pilot 

programs under the Small Business Innovation Research Program and 

the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 16, 2017 

Mr. RISCH (for himself and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 

and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to temporarily reauthorize 

certain pilot programs under the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SBIR and STTR Over5 sight and Pilot Program Extension Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PILOT EXTENSIONS AND REPORTING COMPLIANCE; 

2 PILOT PROGRAM. 

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

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (cc), by striking ‘‘2017’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘2018’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (gg)(7), by striking ‘‘2017’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘2018’’; 

9 (3) in subsection (jj)(7), by striking ‘‘2017’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘2018’’; 

11 (4) in subsection (mm)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) in the matter preceding subpara14 graph (A), by striking ‘‘2017’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘2018’’; 

16 (ii) in subparagraph (I), by striking 

17 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

18 (iii) in subparagraph (J), by striking 

19 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

20 and’’; and 

21 (iv) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(K) funding for improvements that in24 crease commonality across data systems, reduce 

25 redundancy, and improve data oversight and ac26 curacy.’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(7) SBIR AND STTR PROGRAMS; FAST PRO3 GRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

5 term ‘covered Federal agency’ means a Federal 

6 agency that— 

7 ‘‘(i) is required to conduct an SBIR 

8 program; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) elects to use the funds allocated 

10 to the SBIR program of the Federal agen11 cy for the purposes described in paragraph 

12 (1). 

13 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—Each covered Fed14 eral agency shall transfer an amount equal to 

15 15 percent of the funds that are used for the 

16 purposes described in paragraph (1) to the Ad17 ministration— 

18 ‘‘(i) for the Regional SBIR State Col19 laborative Initiative Pilot Program estab20 lished under subsection (tt); 

21 ‘‘(ii) for the Federal and State Tech22 nology Partnership Program established 

23 under section 34; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) to support the Office of the Ad25 ministration that administers the SBIR 


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1 program and the STTR program, subject 

2 to agreement from other agencies about 

3 how the funds will be used, in carrying out 

4 those programs and the programs de5 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii). 

6 ‘‘(8) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of amounts provided 

8 to the Administration under paragraph (7), not 

9 less than $5,000,000 shall be used to provide 

10 awards under the Regional SBIR State Collabo11 rative Initiative Pilot Program established 

12 under subsection (tt) for each fiscal year in 

13 which the program is in effect. 

14 ‘‘(B) DISBURSEMENT FLEXIBILITY.—The 

15 Administration may use any unused funds 

16 made available under subparagraph (A) as of 

17 April 1 of each fiscal year for awards to carry 

18 out clauses (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (7)(B) 

19 after providing written notice to— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Small Business 

21 and Entrepreneurship and the Committee 

22 on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Small Busi24 ness and the Committee on Appropriations 

25 of the House of Representatives.’’; and 


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1 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(tt) REGIONAL SBIR STATE COLLABORATIVE INI3 TIATIVE PILOT PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

5 ‘‘(A) the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

6 ‘‘(i) a research institution; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) a small business concern; 

8 ‘‘(B) the term ‘eligible State’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) a State that the Administrator 

10 determines is in the bottom half of States, 

11 based on the average number of annual 

12 SBIR program awards made to companies 

13 in the State for the preceding 3 years for 

14 which the Administration has applicable 

15 data; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) an EPSCoR State that— 

17 ‘‘(I) is a State described in clause 

18 (i); or 

19 ‘‘(II) is— 

20 ‘‘(aa) not a State described 

21 in clause (i); and 

22 ‘‘(bb) invited to participate 

23 in a regional collaborative; 

24 ‘‘(C) the term ‘EPSCoR State’ means a 

25 State that participates in the Experimental 


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1 Program to Stimulate Competitive Research of 

2 the National Science Foundation, as established 

3 under section 113 of the National Science 

4 Foundation Authorization Act of 1988 (42 

5 U.S.C. 1862g); 

6 ‘‘(D) the term ‘FAST program’ means the 

7 Federal and State Technology Partnership Pro8 gram established under section 34; 

9 ‘‘(E) the term ‘pilot program’ means the 

10 Regional SBIR State Collaborative Initiative 

11 Pilot Program established under paragraph (2); 

12 ‘‘(F) the term ‘regional collaborative’ 

13 means a collaborative consisting of eligible enti14 ties that are located in not less than 3 eligible 

15 States; and 

16 ‘‘(G) the term ‘State’ means any State of 

17 the United States, the District of Columbia, the 

18 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any terri19 tory or possession of the United States. 

20 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator 

21 shall establish a pilot program, to be known as the 

22 Regional SBIR State Collaborative Initiative Pilot 

23 Program, under which the Administrator shall pro24 vide awards to regional collaboratives to address the 

25 needs of small business concerns in order to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) be more competitive in the proposal 

2 and selection process for awards under the 

3 SBIR program and the STTR program; and 

4 ‘‘(B) increase technology transfer and com5 mercialization. 

6 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the pilot program 

7 are— 

8 ‘‘(A) to create regional collaboratives that 

9 allow eligible entities to work cooperatively to 

10 leverage resources to address the needs of small 

11 business concerns; 

12 ‘‘(B) to grow SBIR program and STTR 

13 program cooperative research and development 

14 and commercialization through increased 

15 awards under those programs; 

16 ‘‘(C) to increase the participation of States 

17 that have historically received a lower level of 

18 awards under the SBIR program and the 

19 STTR program; 

20 ‘‘(D) to utilize the strengths and advan21 tages of regional collaboratives to better lever22 age resources, best practices, and economies of 

23 scale in a region for the purpose of increasing 

24 awards and increasing the commercialization of 

25 the SBIR program and STTR projects; 


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1 ‘‘(E) to increase the competitiveness of the 

2 SBIR program and the STTR program; 

3 ‘‘(F) to identify sources of outside funding 

4 for applicants for an award under the SBIR 

5 program or the STTR program, including ven6 ture capitalists, angel investor groups, private 

7 industry, crowd funding, and special loan pro8 grams; and 

9 ‘‘(G) to offer increased one-on-one engage10 ments with companies and entrepreneurs for 

11 SBIR program and STTR program education, 

12 assistance, and successful outcomes. 

13 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A regional collabo15 rative that desires to participate in the pilot 

16 program shall submit to the Administrator an 

17 application at such time, in such manner, and 

18 containing such information as the Adminis19 trator may require. 

20 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION OF LEAD ELIGIBLE ENTI21 TIES AND COORDINATOR.—A regional collabo22 rative shall include in an application submitted 

23 under subparagraph (A)— 

24 ‘‘(i) the name of each lead eligible en25 tity from each eligible State in the regional 


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1 collaborative, as designated under para2 graph (5)(A); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the name of the coordinator for 

4 the regional collaborative, as designated 

5 under paragraph (6). 

6 ‘‘(C) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—A re7 gional collaborative shall include in an applica8 tion submitted under subparagraph (A) an ex9 planation regarding how the activities of the re10 gional collaborative under the pilot program 

11 would differ from other State and Federal out12 reach activities in each eligible State in the re13 gional collaborative. 

14 ‘‘(5) LEAD ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible State in 

16 a regional collaborative shall designate 1 eligible 

17 entity located in the eligible State to serve as 

18 the lead eligible entity for the eligible State. 

19 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION BY GOVERNOR.— 

20 Each lead eligible entity designated under sub21 paragraph (A) shall be authorized to act as the 

22 lead eligible entity by the Governor of the appli23 cable eligible State. 

24 ‘‘(C) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each lead eligi25 ble entity designated under subparagraph (A) 


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1 shall be responsible for administering the activi2 ties and program initiatives described in para3 graph (7) in the applicable eligible State. 

4 ‘‘(6) REGIONAL COLLABORATIVE COORDI5 NATOR.—Each regional collaborative shall designate 

6 a coordinator from amongst the eligible entities lo7 cated in the eligible States in the regional collabo8 rative, who shall serve as the interface between the 

9 regional collaborative and the Administration with 

10 respect to measuring cross-State collaboration and 

11 program effectiveness and documenting best prac12 tices. 

13 ‘‘(7) USE OF FUNDS.—Each regional collabo14 rative that is provided an award under the pilot pro15 gram may, in each eligible State in which an eligible 

16 entity of the regional collaborative is located— 

17 ‘‘(A) establish an initiative under which 

18 first-time applicants for an award under the 

19 SBIR program or the STTR program are re20 viewed by experienced, national experts in the 

21 United States, as determined by the lead eligi22 ble entity designated under paragraph (5)(A); 

23 ‘‘(B) engage national mentors on a fre24 quent basis to work directly with applicants for 

25 an award under the SBIR program or the 


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1 STTR program, particularly during Phase II, 

2 to assist with the process of preparing and sub3 mitting a proposal; 

4 ‘‘(C) create and make available an online 

5 mechanism to serve as a resource for applicants 

6 for an award under the SBIR program or the 

7 STTR program to identify and connect with 

8 Federal labs, prime government contractor com9 panies, other industry partners, and regional in10 dustry cluster organizations; 

11 ‘‘(D) conduct focused and concentrated 

12 outreach efforts to increase participation in the 

13 SBIR program and the STTR program by 

14 small business concerns owned and controlled 

15 by women, small business concerns owned and 

16 controlled by veterans, small business concerns 

17 owned and controlled by socially and economi18 cally disadvantaged individuals (as defined in 

19 section 8(d)(3)(C)), and historically Black col20 leges and universities; 

21 ‘‘(E) administer a structured program of 

22 training and technical assistance— 

23 ‘‘(i) to prepare applicants for an 

24 award under the SBIR program or the 

25 STTR program— 


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1 ‘‘(I) to compete more effectively 

2 for Phase I and Phase II awards; and 

3 ‘‘(II) to develop and implement a 

4 successful commercialization plan; 

5 ‘‘(ii) to assist eligible States focusing 

6 on transition and commercialization to win 

7 Phase III awards from public and private 

8 partners; 

9 ‘‘(iii) to create more competitive pro10 posals to increase awards from all Federal 

11 sources, with a focus on awards under the 

12 SBIR program and the STTR program; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(iv) to assist first-time applicants by 

15 providing small grants for proof of concept 

16 research; and 

17 ‘‘(F) assist applicants for an award under 

18 the SBIR program or the STTR program to 

19 identify sources of outside funding, including 

20 venture capitalists, angel investor groups, pri21 vate industry, crowd funding, and special loan 

22 programs. 

23 ‘‘(8) AWARD AMOUNT.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

25 shall provide an award to each eligible State in 


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1 which an eligible entity of a regional collabo2 rative is located in an amount that is not more 

3 than $300,000 to carry out the activities de4 scribed in paragraph (7). 

5 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible State 

7 may not receive an award under both the 

8 FAST program and the pilot program for 

9 the same year. 

10 ‘‘(ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

11 Nothing in clause (i) may be construed to 

12 prevent an eligible State from applying for 

13 an award under the FAST program and 

14 the pilot program for the same year. 

15 ‘‘(9) DURATION OF AWARD.—An award pro16 vided under the pilot program— 

17 ‘‘(A) shall be for a period of not more than 

18 1 year; and 

19 ‘‘(B) may be renewed by the Administrator 

20 for 1 additional year. 

21 ‘‘(10) TERMINATION.—The pilot program shall 

22 terminate on September 30, 2018. 

23 ‘‘(11) REPORT.—Not later than March 30, 

24 2018, the Administrator shall submit to the Com25 mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 


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1 the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of 

2 the House of Representatives a report on the pilot 

3 program, which shall include— 

4 ‘‘(A) details regarding the recipient of each 

5 award provided under the pilot program, includ6 ing the amount of each award, the number of 

7 small business concerns that received assistance 

8 from the award amounts, and the manner in 

9 which the award was used to meet the goals de10 scribed in paragraph (3); 

11 ‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, an assess12 ment of the best practices of the pilot program, 

13 including an analysis of how the pilot program 

14 compares to the FAST program and a single15 State approach; and 

16 ‘‘(C) recommendations regarding whether 

17 any aspect of the pilot program should be ex18 tended or made permanent. 

19 ‘‘(uu) OUTSTANDING REPORTS AND EVALUA20 TIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 30, 

22 2018, the Administrator shall submit to the Com23 mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

24 the Senate, the Committee on Small Business of the 

25 House of Representatives, and the Committee on 


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1 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

2 Representatives— 

3 ‘‘(A) each report, evaluation, or analysis, 

4 as applicable, described in subsection (b)(7), 

5 (g)(9), (o)(10), (y)(6)(C), (gg)(6), (jj)(6), and 

6 (mm)(6); and 

7 ‘‘(B) metrics regarding, and an evaluation 

8 of, the authority provided to the National Insti9 tutes of Health, the Department of Defense, 

10 and the Department of Education under sub11 section (cc). 

12 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—Not later than 

13 December 31, 2017, the head of each agency that is 

14 responsible for carrying out a provision described in 

15 subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) shall sub16 mit to the Administrator any information that is 

17 necessary for the Administrator to carry out the re18 sponsibilities of the Administrator under that para19 graph.’’. 

Æ 


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