IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5819 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 24, 2008 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and 

Entrepreneurship 

AN ACT 

To amend the Small Business Act to improve the Small 

Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the 

Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—MODERNIZING THE SBIR AND STTR PROGRAMS 

Sec. 101. Extension of termination dates. 

Sec. 102. Increased SBIR and STTR award levels. 

Sec. 103. Establishment of SBIR advisory boards. 

Sec. 104. Increase in amount of technical assistance funds and option to purchase technical assistance directly. 

Sec. 105. Increased number of research topic solicitations annually and shortened period for final decisions on applications. 

Sec. 106. Inclusion of energy-related research topics and rare-disease-related 

research topics as deserving ‘‘special consideration’’ as SBIR 

research topics. 

Sec. 107. Agencies should fund vital R&D projects with the potential for commercialization. 

Sec. 108. Federal agency engagement with SBIR awardees that have been 

awarded multiple Phase One awards but have not been awarded Phase Two awards. 

Sec. 109. Limitation on certain awards. 

Sec. 110. Comptroller General audit of how Federal agencies calculate extramural research budgets. 

Sec. 111. Providing explanations to unsuccessful applicants. 

TITLE II—VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT STANDARDS 

Sec. 201. Ensuring that innovative small businesses with substantial investment 

from venture capital operating companies are able to participate in the SBIR program. 

TITLE III—SBIR AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 301. Reauthorization and modernization of Federal and State Technology 

Partnership Program (FAST). 

Sec. 302. Obtaining SBIR applicant’s consent to release contact information to 

economic development organizations. 

TITLE IV—ADVANCING COMMERCIALIZATION OF SBIR–FUNDED 

RESEARCH 

Sec. 401. Clarifying the definition of ‘‘Phase Three’’. 

Sec. 402. Agency research goals. 

Sec. 403. Express authority for an agency to award sequential Phase Two 

awards for SBIR-funded projects. 


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Sec. 404. Increased partnerships between SBIR awardees and prime contractors, venture capital investment companies, and larger businesses. 

Sec. 405. Express authority to ‘‘fast-track’’ Phase Two awards for promising 

Phase One research. 

Sec. 406. Commercialization programs. 

Sec. 407. Report on efforts to enhance manufacturing activities. 

TITLE V—SUPPORTING PROGRAM UTILIZATION 

Sec. 501. Agency databases to support program evaluation. 

Sec. 502. Agency databases to support technology utilization. 

Sec. 503. Interagency Policy Committee. 

Sec. 504. Nanotechnology-related research topics. 

Sec. 505. Rural preference. 

Sec. 506. Priority for areas that have lost a major source of employment. 

Sec. 507. Veterans preference. 

Sec. 508. Initiative to publicize the SBIR program to veterans. 

Sec. 509. Preference for organizations that are making significant contributions 

towards energy efficiency. 

TITLE VI—IMPLEMENTATION 

Sec. 601. Conforming amendments to the SBIR and STTR policy directives. 

Sec. 602. National Research Council SBIR Study. 

Sec. 603. SBIR awardee business operations. 

Sec. 604. Prohibition of awards to aliens unlawfully present in the United 

States. 

Sec. 605. Prohibition on awards to firms in violation of immigration laws. 

1 TITLE I—MODERNIZING THE 

2 SBIR AND STTR PROGRAMS 

3 SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF TERMINATION DATES. 

4 (a) SBIR.—Section 9(m) of the Small Business Act 

5 (15 U.S.C. 638(m)) is amended by striking ‘‘2008’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘2010’’. 

7 (b) STTR.—Section 9(n)(1)(A) of the Small Busi8 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638(n)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2010’’. 

10 SEC. 102. INCREASED SBIR AND STTR AWARD LEVELS. 

11 (a) SBIR AWARD LEVEL.—Section 9(j)(2)(D) of the 

12 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(j)(2)(D)) is amended 


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1 by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and ‘‘$750,000’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘$300,000’’ and ‘‘$2,200,000’’, respectively. 

3 (b) STTR AWARD LEVEL.—Section 9(p)(2)(B)(ix) of 

4 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(p)(2)(B)(ix)) is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and ‘‘$750,000’’ and in6 serting ‘‘$300,000’’ and ‘‘$2,200,000’’, respectively. 

7 (c) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—Section 9 of the Small 

8 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (j)(2)(D), by striking ‘‘and an 

10 adjustment of such amounts once every 5 years to 

11 reflect economic adjustments and programmatic con12 siderations’’ and inserting ‘‘and a mandatory annual 

13 adjustment of such amounts to reflect economic ad14 justments and programmatic considerations’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (p)(2)(B)(ix), by striking 

16 ‘‘greater or lesser amounts’’ and inserting ‘‘with a 

17 mandatory annual adjustment of such amounts to 

18 reflect economic adjustments and programmatic con19 siderations, and with lesser amounts’’. 

20 (d) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN AWARDS.—Section 9 of 

21 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended by 

22 adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(z) LIMITATION ON PHASE I AND II AWARDS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No Federal agency shall 

25 issue an award under the SBIR program or the 


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1 STTR program if the size of the award exceeds the 

2 amounts established under subsections (j)(2)(D) and 

3 (p)(2)(B)(ix), except as provided in paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition in para5 graph (1) does not apply to an agency for a fiscal 

6 year if the head of the agency— 

7 ‘‘(A) notifies the Administrator that the 

8 agency intends to issue awards in that fiscal 

9 year without regard to the prohibition in para10 graph (1); and 

11 ‘‘(B) reports to the Committee on Small 

12 Business and the Committee on Science and 

13 Technology of the House of Representatives 

14 and the Committee on Small Business and En15 trepreneurship of the Senate at least annually 

16 the number of instances in which the agency 

17 issued an award that exceeds the amounts re18 ferred to in paragraph (1) and the justification 

19 for each such instance.’’. 

20 SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF SBIR ADVISORY BOARDS. 

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

22 Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended by inserting after sub23 section (z) the following: 

24 ‘‘(aa) SBIR ADVISORY BOARDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ADVISORY BOARDS REQUIRED.—Each 

2 Federal agency that is required by this section to 

3 conduct an SBIR program and that administers an4 nually $50,000,000 or more in SBIR grants shall 

5 have an SBIR advisory board. 

6 ‘‘(2) MEMBERS.—For each advisory board re7 quired by paragraph (1), the members of the advi8 sory board shall include— 

9 ‘‘(A) at least two individuals who are em10 ployees of the agency; 

11 ‘‘(B) at least two representatives of private 

12 sector technology firms; 

13 ‘‘(C) at least one individual who is a vet14 eran who owns a small business concern owned 

15 and controlled by veterans; and 

16 ‘‘(D) such other individuals as the agency 

17 considers appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(3) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—Where it is ap19 propriate to the work of an advisory board required 

20 by paragraph (1) that the members and staff of the 

21 advisory board have a security clearance, the appro22 priate departments and agencies of the executive 

23 branch shall cooperate with the advisory board to ex24 peditiously provide members and staff with approVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Apr 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5819.RFS H5819

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1 priate security clearances to the extent possible 

2 under applicable procedures and requirements. 

3 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—Each advisory board required 

4 by paragraph (1) shall meet at least two times per 

5 year. 

6 ‘‘(5) DUTIES.—Each advisory board required 

7 by paragraph (1) shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) review the quarterly reports sub9 mitted under subsection (g)(8); 

10 ‘‘(B) make recommendations to the agency 

11 about potential modifications to the agency’s 

12 SBIR program that are intended to— 

13 ‘‘(i) encourage applications, particu14 larly applications from small business con15 cerns owned and controlled by women, 

16 small business concerns owned and con17 trolled by minorities, small business con18 cerns owned and controlled by service-dis19 abled veterans, and small business con20 cerns in States and regions that histori21 cally receive few SBIR awards; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) support commercialization of 

23 Federal research funded by SBIR awards; 

24 and 


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

2 Business and the Committee on Science and 

3 Technology of the House of Representatives 

4 and the Committee on Small Business and En5 trepreneurship of the Senate an annual report 

6 on the SBIR program conducted by the agency. 

7 ‘‘(6) CONTENTS OF ANNUAL REPORT.—The an8 nual report required by paragraph (5)(C) shall in9 clude a description of how that agency’s SBIR pro10 gram is functioning and any recommendations of the 

11 advisory board for strengthening that agency’s SBIR 

12 program. The annual report shall also state the 

13 number and dollar amount of awards under the 

14 agency’s SBIR program, and under the agency’s 

15 STTR program, that were made to small business 

16 concerns owned and controlled by women, small 

17 business concerns owned and controlled by minori18 ties, small business concerns owned and controlled 

19 by veterans, and small business concerns in States 

20 and regions that historically receive few SBIR 

21 awards. 

22 ‘‘(7) NON-APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Fed23 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall 

24 not apply to an advisory board required by para25 graph (1).’’. 


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1 (b) AGENCY REPORTS TO SBIR ADVISORY

2 BOARDS.—Section 9(g)(8) of the Small Business Act (15 

3 U.S.C. 638(g)(8)) is amended by inserting before the 

4 semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘and, if the agency 

5 is required by subsection (aa) to have an SBIR advisory 

6 board, submit a quarterly report on the SBIR program 

7 to that SBIR advisory board’’. 

8 SEC. 104. INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF TECHNICAL ASSIST9 ANCE FUNDS AND OPTION TO PURCHASE 

10 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE DIRECTLY. 

11 Section 9(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

12 638(q)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and in15 serting ‘‘paragraph (2)(A), or another Federal 

16 agency under paragraph (2)(B),’’; 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub18 paragraph (C); 

19 (C) by striking the period at the end of 

20 subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

22 subparagraph: 

23 ‘‘(E) implementing manufacturing proc24 esses and production strategies for utilization.’’; 


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1 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) VENDOR SELECTION.—Each agency 

5 may select a vendor to assist small business 

6 concerns to meet the goals listed in paragraph 

7 (1) for a term not to exceed 3 years. Such se8 lection shall be competitive and shall utilize 

9 merit-based criteria. 

10 ‘‘(B) INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION.—In 

11 addition, each agency may enter into a collabo12 rative agreement with the technical extension or 

13 assistance programs of other Federal agencies 

14 in order to provide the assistance described in 

15 paragraph (1).’’; and 

16 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (A) by striking 

18 ‘‘$4,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; 

19 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

20 as follows: 

21 ‘‘(B) SECOND PHASE.—Each agency re22 ferred to in paragraph (1) may provide directly, 

23 or authorize any second phase SBIR award re24 cipient to purchase with funds available from 

25 their SBIR awards, services described in paraVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Apr 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5819.RFS H5819

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1 graph (1), in an amount equal to not more than 

2 $8,000 per year, per award.’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(C) AUTHORITY TO OPT OUT.—The Ad5 ministrator shall establish guidelines under 

6 which an award recipient eligible to receive 

7 services under subparagraph (A) may decline 

8 those services and receive instead an amount 

9 equal to not more than $2,500, which shall be 

10 in addition to the amount of the recipient’s 

11 award and which shall be used to purchase 

12 services described in paragraph (1).’’. 

13 SEC. 105. INCREASED NUMBER OF RESEARCH TOPIC SO14 LICITATIONS ANNUALLY AND SHORTENED 

15 PERIOD FOR FINAL DECISIONS ON APPLICA16 TIONS. 

17 (a) INCREASED NUMBER OF RESEARCH TOPIC SO18 LICITATIONS.—Section 9(g)(2) of the Small Business Act 

19 (15 U.S.C. 638(g)(2)) is amended by inserting before the 

20 semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, but not less often 

21 than twice per year’’. 

22 (b) SHORTENED PERIOD FOR FINAL DECISIONS ON

23 APPLICATIONS.—Section 9(g)(4) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 

24 638(g)(4)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by inserting before the semicolon at the end 

2 the following: ‘‘: Provided, That if the agency is re3 quired by subsection (aa) to have an SBIR advisory 

4 board—’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(A) a final decision on each proposal shall 

7 be rendered not later than 90 days after the 

8 date on which the solicitation closes; 

9 ‘‘(B) the SBIR advisory board may, on a 

10 case by case basis, extend the 90 days to 180 

11 days; and 

12 ‘‘(C) the SBIR advisory board shall include 

13 in each annual report to Congress under sub14 section (aa) a statement identifying how many 

15 times a decision was not rendered in 90 days, 

16 how many times an extension was granted, and 

17 how many times a decision was not rendered in 

18 180 days;’’. 

19 SEC. 106. INCLUSION OF ENERGY-RELATED RESEARCH 

20 TOPICS AND RARE-DISEASE-RELATED RE21 SEARCH TOPICS AS DESERVING ‘‘SPECIAL 

22 CONSIDERATION’’ AS SBIR RESEARCH TOP23 ICS. 

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

25 638(g)(3)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

2 by inserting after ‘‘critical technologies’’ the fol3 lowing: ‘‘or pressing research priorities’’; 

4 (2) at the end of subparagraph (A) by striking 

5 ‘‘or’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(C) the National Academy of Sciences, in 

8 the final report issued by the ‘America’s Energy 

9 Future: Technology Opportunities, Risks, and 

10 Tradeoffs’ project, and in subsequent reports 

11 issued by the National Academy of Sciences on 

12 sustainability, energy, and alternative fuels; 

13 ‘‘(D) the National Institutes of Health, in 

14 the annual report on the rare diseases research 

15 activities of the National Institutes of Health 

16 for fiscal year 2005, and in subsequent reports 

17 issued by the National Institutes of Health on 

18 rare diseases research activities; 

19 ‘‘(E) the National Academy of Sciences, in 

20 the final report issued by the ‘Transit Research 

21 and Development: Federal Role in the National 

22 Program’ project and the ‘Transportation Re23 search, Development and Technology Strategic 

24 Plan (2006–2010)’ issued by the United States 

25 Department of Transportation Research and 


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1 Innovative Technology Administration, and in 

2 subsequent reports issued by the National 

3 Academy of Sciences and United States Depart4 ment of Transportation on transportation and 

5 infrastructure; or’’. 

6 SEC. 107. AGENCIES SHOULD FUND VITAL R&D PROJECTS 

7 WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR COMMERCIALIZA8 TION. 

9 Section 9(j)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

10 638(j)(2)), as amended by section 103, is further amend11 ed— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (H) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

13 the end; 

14 (2) in subparagraph (I) by striking the period 

15 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(J) procedures to ensure that the Admin18 istrator, on an annual basis, submits to the 

19 Committee on Small Business and the Com20 mittee on Science and Technology of the House 

21 of Representatives and the Committee on Small 

22 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a 

23 list identifying each small business concern 

24 that, for the period covered by the preceding 5 

25 fiscal years, received 15 or more first phase 


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1 SBIR awards and no second phase SBIR 

2 awards.’’. 

3 SEC. 108. FEDERAL AGENCY ENGAGEMENT WITH SBIR 

4 AWARDEES THAT HAVE BEEN AWARDED MUL5 TIPLE PHASE ONE AWARDS BUT HAVE NOT 

6 BEEN AWARDED PHASE TWO AWARDS. 

7 Section 9(j) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 638(j)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO FEDERAL

10 AGENCY ENGAGEMENT WITH CERTAIN FIRST PHASE

11 SBIR AWARDEES.—The Administrator shall modify 

12 the policy directives issued pursuant to this sub13 section to provide for each Federal agency required 

14 by this section to conduct an SBIR program to en15 gage with SBIR awardees that have been awarded 

16 multiple first phase SBIR awards but have not been 

17 awarded any second phase SBIR awards and to de18 velop performance metrics to measure awardee pro19 gression in the SBIR program.’’. 

20 SEC. 109. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN AWARDS. 

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

22 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(bb) SUBSEQUENT PHASES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A small business concern 

25 which received an award from a Federal agency 


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1 under this section shall be eligible to receive an 

2 award for a subsequent phase from another Federal 

3 agency, if the head of each relevant Federal agency 

4 makes a written determination that the topics of the 

5 relevant awards are the same. 

6 ‘‘(2) CROSSOVER BETWEEN PROGRAMS.—A 

7 small business concern which received an award 

8 under this section under the SBIR program or the 

9 STTR program may, at the discretion of the grant10 ing agency, receive an award under this section for 

11 a subsequent phase in either the SBIR program or 

12 the STTR program. 

13 ‘‘(3) PHASE II SBIR APPLICATIONS.—An agency 

14 may permit an applicant to apply directly for a 

15 Phase II award, as described in subsection 

16 (e)(4)(B), without first completing a Phase I award, 

17 as described in subsection (e)(4)(A), if the applicant 

18 can demonstrate that project feasibility was achieved 

19 without SBIR or other Federal funding. 

20 ‘‘(4) PHASE II STTR APPLICATIONS.—An agen21 cy may permit an applicant to submit proposals for 

22 Phase II awards, as described in subsection 

23 (e)(6)(B), without first completing a Phase I award, 

24 as described in subsection (e)(6)(A), if the applicant 

25 can demonstrate it has accomplished Phase I 


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1 through cooperative research and development 

2 achieved without STTR or other Federal funding. 

3 ‘‘(cc) WAIVER OF MINIMUM WORK REQUIREMENT.— 

4 A Federal agency making an SBIR or STTR award under 

5 this section may waive the minimum small business con6 cern or research institution work requirements under sub7 section (e)(7) if the agency determines that to provide 

8 such waiver would be consistent with the purposes of this 

9 section and consistent with achieving the objectives of the 

10 award proposal.’’. 

11 SEC. 110. COMPTROLLER GENERAL AUDIT OF HOW FED12 ERAL AGENCIES CALCULATE EXTRAMURAL 

13 RESEARCH BUDGETS. 

14 The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

15 carry out a detailed audit of how Federal agencies cal16 culate extramural research budgets for purposes of calcu17 lating the size of the agencies’ Small Business Innovation 

18 Research and Small Business Technology Transfer budg19 ets. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 

21 Committee on Small Business and the Committee on 

22 Science and Technology of the House of Representatives 

23 and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneur24 ship of the Senate a report on the results of the audit. 


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1 SEC. 111. PROVIDING EXPLANATIONS TO UNSUCCESSFUL 

2 APPLICANTS. 

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

4 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(dd) PROVIDING EXPLANATIONS TO UNSUCCESS6 FUL APPLICANTS.—Whenever an entity applies for, but 

7 does not receive, an award under an SBIR or STTR pro8 gram under this section, the Federal agency conducting 

9 the program shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) in a plain and conspicuous manner, notify 

11 that entity that it can request an explanation (which 

12 must be of a constructive nature) of the reasons why 

13 the entity did not receive the award; and 

14 ‘‘(2) provide such an explanation to that entity, 

15 if the entity so requests.’’. 

16 TITLE II—VENTURE CAPITAL 

17 INVESTMENT STANDARDS 

18 SEC. 201. ENSURING THAT INNOVATIVE SMALL BUSI19 NESSES WITH SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT 

20 FROM VENTURE CAPITAL OPERATING COM21 PANIES ARE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 

22 SBIR PROGRAM. 

23 Section 9(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

24 638(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para25 graph (8), striking the period at the end of paragraph (9) 

26 and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(10) effective only for the SBIR and STTR 

2 programs, notwithstanding any other amendment 

3 made by the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act, the 

4 following shall apply: 

5 ‘‘(A) A business concern that has more 

6 than 500 employees shall not qualify as a small 

7 business concern. 

8 ‘‘(B) In determining whether a small busi9 ness concern is independently owned and oper10 ated under section 3(a)(1) or meets the small 

11 business size standards instituted under section 

12 3(a)(2), the Administrator shall not consider a 

13 business concern to be affiliated with a venture 

14 capital operating company (or with any other 

15 business that the venture capital operating com16 pany has financed) if— 

17 ‘‘(i) the venture capital operating 

18 company does not own 50 percent or more 

19 of the business concern; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) employees of the venture capital 

21 operating company do not constitute a ma22 jority of the board of directors of the busi23 ness concern. 

24 ‘‘(C) A business concern shall be deemed 

25 to be ‘independently owned and operated’ if— 


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1 ‘‘(i) it is owned in majority part by 

2 one or more natural persons or venture 

3 capital operating companies; 

4 ‘‘(ii) there is no single venture capital 

5 operating company that owns 50 percent 

6 or more of the business concern; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) there is no single venture capital 

8 operating company the employees of which 

9 constitute a majority of the board of direc10 tors of the business concern. 

11 ‘‘(D) If a venture capital operating com12 pany controlled by a business with more than 

13 500 employees (in this subparagraph referred 

14 to as a ‘VCOC under large business control’) 

15 has an ownership interest in a small business 

16 concern that is owned in majority part by ven17 ture capital operating companies, the small 

18 business concern is eligible to receive an award 

19 under the SBIR or STTR program only if— 

20 ‘‘(i) not more than two VCOCs under 

21 large business control have an ownership 

22 interest in the small business concern; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the VCOCs under large business 

24 control do not collectively own more than 


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1 20 percent of the small business concern; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the VCOCs under large business 

4 control do not collaborate with each other 

5 to exercise more control over the small 

6 business concern than they could otherwise 

7 exercise individually. 

8 ‘‘(E) The term ‘venture capital operating 

9 company’ means a business concern— 

10 ‘‘(i) that— 

11 ‘‘(I) is a Venture Capital Oper12 ating Company, as that term is de13 fined in regulations promulgated by 

14 the Secretary of Labor; or 

15 ‘‘(II) is an entity that— 

16 ‘‘(aa) is registered under the 

17 Investment Company Act of 1940 

18 (15 U.S.C. 80a–51 et seq.); or 

19 ‘‘(bb) is an investment com20 pany, as defined in section 

21 3(c)(14) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

22 80a–3(c)(14)), which is not reg23 istered under such Act because it 

24 is beneficially owned by less than 

25 100 persons; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) that is itself organized or incor2 porated and domiciled in the United 

3 States, or is controlled by a business con4 cern that is incorporated and domiciled in 

5 the United States.’’. 

6 TITLE III—SBIR AND ECONOMIC 

7 DEVELOPMENT 

8 SEC. 301. REAUTHORIZATION AND MODERNIZATION OF 

9 FEDERAL AND STATE TECHNOLOGY PART10 NERSHIP PROGRAM (FAST). 

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

12 is amended by inserting after subsection (r) the following: 

13 ‘‘(s) OUTREACH AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the other provi15 sions of this subsection, the Administrator shall 

16 make grants on a competitive basis to organizations, 

17 to be used by the organizations to do one or both 

18 of the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) To conduct outreach efforts to in20 crease participation in the programs under this 

21 section. 

22 ‘‘(B) To provide application support and 

23 entrepreneurial and business skills support to 

24 prospective participants in the programs under 

25 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—Of the amounts 

2 made available to carry out this section for each of 

3 fiscal years 2009 through 2010, the Administrator 

4 may expend not more than $10,000,000 in each 

5 such fiscal year to carry out paragraph (1). 

6 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—For each of 

7 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), the 

8 amount of assistance provided to an organization 

9 under that subparagraph in any fiscal year— 

10 ‘‘(A) shall be equal to the total amount of 

11 matching funds from non-Federal sources pro12 vided by the organization; and 

13 ‘‘(B) shall not exceed $250,000. 

14 ‘‘(4) DIRECTION.—An organization receiving 

15 funds under paragraph (1) shall, in using those 

16 funds, direct its activities at one or both of the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(A) Small business concerns located in 

19 geographic areas that are underrepresented in 

20 the programs under this section. 

21 ‘‘(B) Small business concerns owned and 

22 controlled by women, small business concerns 

23 owned and controlled by service-disabled vet24 erans, and small business concerns owned and 

25 controlled by minorities. 


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1 ‘‘(5) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

2 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 

3 days after the date of the enactment of this 

4 subsection, the Administrator shall establish an 

5 advisory board for the activities carried out 

6 under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(B) NON-APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The 

8 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

9 App.) shall not apply to the advisory board. 

10 ‘‘(C) MEMBERS.—The members of the ad11 visory board shall include the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) The Administrator (or the Ad13 ministrator’s designee). 

14 ‘‘(ii) For each Federal agency re15 quired by this section to conduct an SBIR 

16 program, the head of the agency (or the 

17 designee of the head of the agency). 

18 ‘‘(iii) Representatives of small busi19 ness concerns that are current or former 

20 recipients of SBIR awards, or representa21 tives of organizations of such concerns. 

22 ‘‘(iv) Representatives of service pro23 viders of SBIR outreach and assistance, or 

24 representatives of organizations of such 

25 service providers. 


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1 ‘‘(D) DUTIES.—The advisory board shall 

2 have the following duties: 

3 ‘‘(i) To develop guidelines for awards 

4 under paragraph (1)(A), including guide5 lines relating to award sizes, proposal re6 quirements, metrics for monitoring award7 ee performance, and metrics for measuring 

8 overall value of the activities carried out by 

9 the awardees. 

10 ‘‘(ii) To identify opportunities for co11 ordinated outreach, technical assistance, 

12 and commercialization activities among 

13 Federal agencies, the recipients of the 

14 awards under paragraph (1)(A), and appli15 cants and recipients of SBIR awards, in16 cluding opportunities such as— 

17 ‘‘(I) podcasting or webcasting for 

18 conferences, training workshops, and 

19 other events; 

20 ‘‘(II) shared online resources to 

21 match prospective applicants with the 

22 network of paragraph (1)(A) recipi23 ents; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) venture capital conferences 

2 tied to technologies and sectors that 

3 cross agencies. 

4 ‘‘(iii) To review and recommend revi5 sions to activities under paragraph (1)(A). 

6 ‘‘(iv) To submit to the Committee on 

7 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

8 the Senate and the Committee on Small 

9 Business and the Committee on Science 

10 and Technology of the House of Represent11 atives an annual report on the activities 

12 carried out under paragraph (1)(A) and 

13 the effectiveness and impact of those ac14 tivities. 

15 ‘‘(6) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In awarding 

16 grants under this subsection, the Administrator shall 

17 use selection criteria developed by the advisory board 

18 established under paragraph (5). The criteria shall 

19 include— 

20 ‘‘(A) criteria designed to give preference to 

21 applicants who propose to carry out activities 

22 that will reach either an underperforming geo23 graphic area or an underrepresented population 

24 group (as measured by the number of SBIR ap25 plicants); 


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1 ‘‘(B) criteria designed to give preference to 

2 applicants who propose to carry out activities 

3 that complement, and are integrated into, the 

4 existing public-private innovation support sys5 tem for the targeted region or population; 

6 ‘‘(C) criteria designed to give preference to 

7 applicants who propose to measure the effec8 tiveness of the proposed activities; and 

9 ‘‘(D) criteria designed to give preference to 

10 applicants who include an SBDC program that 

11 is accredited for its technology services. 

12 ‘‘(7) PEER REVIEW.—In awarding grants under 

13 this subsection, the Administrator shall use a peer 

14 review process. Reviewers shall include— 

15 ‘‘(A) SBIR program managers for agencies 

16 required by this section to conduct SBIR pro17 grams; and 

18 ‘‘(B) private individuals and organizations 

19 that are knowledgeable about SBIR, the innova20 tion process, technology commercialization, and 

21 State and regional technology-based economic 

22 development programs. 

23 ‘‘(8) PER-STATE LIMITATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re25 ceive a grant under this subsection, the appliVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Apr 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5819.RFS H5819

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1 cant must have the written endorsement of the 

2 Governor of the State where the targeted re3 gions or populations are located (if the regions 

4 or populations are located in more than one 

5 State, the applicant must have the written en6 dorsement of the Governor of each such State). 

7 Such an endorsement must indicate that the 

8 Governor will ensure that the activities to be 

9 carried out under the grant will be integrated 

10 with the balance of the State’s portfolio of in11 vestments to help small business concerns com12 mercialize technology. 

13 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Each fiscal year, a 

14 Governor may have in effect not more than one 

15 written endorsement for a grant under para16 graph (1)(A), and not more than one written 

17 endorsement for a grant under paragraph 

18 (1)(B). 

19 ‘‘(9) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR FAST

20 AWARDS.—In making awards under paragraph 

21 (1)(A) (to be known as ‘FAST’ awards) the Admin22 istrator shall ensure the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) GOALS.—Priority shall be given ap24 plications that address one or more of the fol25 lowing goals: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Increasing the number of SBIR 

2 applications from underperforming geo3 graphic areas (as measured by the number 

4 of SBIR applicants). 

5 ‘‘(ii) Increasing the number of SBIR 

6 applications from underrepresented popu7 lation groups (as measured by the number 

8 of SBIR applicants). 

9 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—Each award shall be for 

10 a period of 2 fiscal years. The Administrator 

11 shall establish rules and performance goals for 

12 the disbursement of funds for the second fiscal 

13 year, and funds shall not be disbursed to a re14 cipient for such a fiscal year until after the ad15 visory board established under this subsection 

16 has determined that the recipient is in compli17 ance with the rules and performance goals.’’. 

18 SEC. 302. OBTAINING SBIR APPLICANT’S CONSENT TO RE19 LEASE CONTACT INFORMATION TO ECO20 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS. 

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

22 is amended in subsection (s) (as added by this title) by 

23 adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(5) CONSENT TO RELEASE CONTACT INFORMA25 TION TO ORGANIZATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ENABLING CONCERN TO GIVE CON2 SENT.—Each Federal agency required by this 

3 section to conduct an SBIR program shall en4 able a small business concern that is an SBIR 

5 applicant to indicate to the agency whether the 

6 agency has its consent to— 

7 ‘‘(i) identify the concern to appro8 priate local and State-level economic devel9 opment organizations as an SBIR appli10 cant; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) release the concern’s contact in12 formation to such organizations. 

13 ‘‘(B) RULES.—The Administrator shall es14 tablish rules to implement this paragraph. The 

15 rules shall include a requirement that the agen16 cy include in its SBIR application forms a pro17 vision through which the applicant can indicate 

18 consent for purposes of subparagraph (A).’’. 

19 TITLE IV—ADVANCING COMMER20 CIALIZATION OF SBIR–FUND21 ED RESEARCH 

22 SEC. 401. CLARIFYING THE DEFINITION OF ‘‘PHASE 

23 THREE’’. 

24 Section 9(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

25 638(e)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (4)(C)— 

2 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i) by 

3 inserting after ‘‘a third phase’’ the following: ‘‘, 

4 which shall consist of work that derives from, 

5 extends, or logically concludes efforts performed 

6 under prior SBIR funding agreements (which 

7 may be referred to as ‘Phase III’)’’; and 

8 (B) in clause (i) by inserting after ‘‘non9 SBIR Federal funding awards’’ the following: 

10 ‘‘: Provided, That for purposes of this clause, 

11 such sources of capital and such funding 

12 awards include private investment, private re13 search, development, testing, and evaluation 

14 (RDT&E) awards, private sales or licenses, gov15 ernment RDT&E contracts and awards, and 

16 government sales’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

18 end; 

19 (3) in paragraph (9) by striking the period at 

20 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(10) the term ‘commercialization’ means the 

23 process of developing marketable products or serv24 ices and producing and delivering products or servVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Apr 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5819.RFS H5819

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1 ices for sale (whether by the originating party or by 

2 others) to government or commercial markets.’’. 

3 SEC. 402. AGENCY RESEARCH GOALS. 

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

5 is amended by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(h) AGENCY RESEARCH GOALS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the require9 ments of subsection (f), each Federal agency that is 

10 required by this section to have an SBIR program 

11 and that awards annually $5,000,000,000 or more 

12 in procurement contracts shall, effective for fiscal 

13 year 2009 and each fiscal year thereafter, establish 

14 annual goals for commercialization of projects fund15 ed by SBIR awards. 

16 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC GOALS.—The goals required by 

17 paragraph (1) shall include specific goals for each of 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) The percentage of SBIR projects that 

20 receive funding for the third phase (as defined 

21 in subsection (e)(4)(C)). 

22 ‘‘(B) The percentage of SBIR projects that 

23 are successfully integrated into a program of 

24 record. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The amount of Federal dollars re2 ceived by SBIR projects through Federal con3 tracts, not including dollars received through 

4 the SBIR program. 

5 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION TO ADVISORY BOARD.—For 

6 each fiscal year for which goals are required by 

7 paragraph (1), the agency shall submit to the agen8 cy’s SBIR advisory board— 

9 ‘‘(A) not later than 60 days after the be10 ginning of the fiscal year, the goals; and 

11 ‘‘(B) not later than 90 days after the end 

12 of the fiscal year, data on the extent to which 

13 the goals were met and a description of the 

14 methodology used to collect that data.’’. 

15 SEC. 403. EXPRESS AUTHORITY FOR AN AGENCY TO AWARD 

16 SEQUENTIAL PHASE TWO AWARDS FOR SBIR17 FUNDED PROJECTS. 

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

19 638(j)) is amended by adding after paragraph (4) (as 

20 added by section 109) the following: 

21 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ADDI22 TIONAL SECOND PHASE SBIR AWARDS.—The Admin23 istrator shall modify the policy directives issued pur24 suant to this subsection to provide the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A small business concern that re2 ceives a second phase SBIR award for a project 

3 remains eligible to receive additional second 

4 phase SBIR awards. 

5 ‘‘(B) Agencies are expressly authorized to 

6 provide additional second phase SBIR awards 

7 for testing and evaluation assistance for the in8 sertion of SBIR technologies into technical or 

9 weapons systems. 

10 ‘‘(C) Each agency that is required by sub11 section (aa) to have an SBIR advisory board 

12 shall include in the quarterly reports submitted 

13 under subsection (g)(8) the number of projects 

14 that have received additional second phase 

15 SBIR awards and the total dollar amount of 

16 those additional second phase SBIR awards.’’. 

17 SEC. 404. INCREASED PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN SBIR 

18 AWARDEES AND PRIME CONTRACTORS, VEN19 TURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT COMPANIES, 

20 AND LARGER BUSINESSES. 

21 Section 9(j) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

22 638(j)) is amended by adding after paragraph (5) (as 

23 added by section 403) the following: 

24 ‘‘(6) INCREASED PARTNERSHIPS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each agency required 

2 by this section to conduct an SBIR program 

3 shall establish initiatives by which the agency 

4 encourages partnerships between SBIR award5 ees and prime contractors, venture capital in6 vestment companies, business incubators, and 

7 larger businesses, for the purpose of facilitating 

8 the progress of the SBIR awardees to the third 

9 phase. If the agency is required by subsection 

10 (aa) to have an SBIR advisory board, the advi11 sory board shall include in each report sub12 mitted under subsection (aa) a description of 

13 the initiatives established and an assessment of 

14 the effectiveness of such initiatives. 

15 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

16 term ‘business incubator’ means an entity that 

17 provides coordinated and specialized services to 

18 entrepreneurial businesses which meet selected 

19 criteria during the businesses’ startup phases, 

20 including providing services such as shared of21 fice space and office services, access to equip22 ment, access to telecommunications and tech23 nology services, flexible leases, specialized man24 agement assistance, access to financing, men25 toring and training services, or other coordiVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Apr 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5819.RFS H5819

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1 nated business or technical support services de2 signed to provide business development assist3 ance to entrepreneurial businesses during these 

4 businesses’ startup phases.’’. 

5 SEC. 405. EXPRESS AUTHORITY TO ‘‘FAST-TRACK’’ PHASE 

6 TWO AWARDS FOR PROMISING PHASE ONE 

7 RESEARCH. 

8 Section 9(j)(2)(G) of the Small Business Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 638(j)(2)(G)) is amended by inserting before the 

10 semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, and to encourage 

11 agencies to develop ‘fast-track’ programs to eliminate that 

12 delay by issuing second phase SBIR awards as soon as 

13 practicable, including in appropriate cases simultaneously 

14 with the issuance of the first phase SBIR award’’. 

15 SEC. 406. COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMS. 

16 Section 9(j) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

17 638(j)) is amended by adding after paragraph (6) (as 

18 added by section 404) the following: 

19 ‘‘(7) COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMS.—Each 

20 agency required by this section to conduct an SBIR 

21 program shall establish a commercialization program 

22 that supports the progress of SBIR awardees to the 

23 third phase. The commercialization program may in24 clude activities such as partnership databases, part25 nership conferences, multiple second phases, menVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Apr 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5819.RFS H5819

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1 toring between prime contractors and SBIR award2 ees, multiple second phases with matching private 

3 investment requirements, jumbo awards, SBIR 

4 helpdesks, and transition assistance programs. The 

5 agency shall include in its annual report an analysis 

6 of the various activities considered for inclusion in 

7 the commercialization program and a statement of 

8 the reasons why each activity considered was in9 cluded or not included, as the case may be. If the 

10 agency is required by subsection (aa) to have an 

11 SBIR advisory board, the advisory board shall in12 clude in each report under subsection (aa) a state13 ment identifying the number of SBIR awardees that 

14 successfully progressed to the third phase. 

15 ‘‘(8) FUNDING FOR COMMERCIALIZATION PRO16 GRAMS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made 

18 available to carry out this paragraph, the Ad19 ministrator may, on petition by agencies re20 quired by this section to conduct an SBIR pro21 gram, transfer funds to such agencies to sup22 port the commercialization programs of such 

23 agencies. 

24 ‘‘(B) PETITIONS.—The Administrator shall 

25 establish rules for making transfers under subVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Apr 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5819.RFS H5819

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1 paragraph (A). The initial set of rules shall be 

2 promulgated not later than 90 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA5 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

6 to the Administrator to carry out this para7 graph $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2009 and 

8 each fiscal year thereafter. 

9 ‘‘(D) MINORITY INSTITUTION PILOT PRO10 GRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—From 

12 amounts made available to carry out this 

13 subparagraph, the Administrator shall es14 tablish and carry out a pilot program to 

15 make grants to minority institutions that 

16 partner with nonprofit organizations that 

17 have experience developing relationships 

18 between industry, minority institutions, 

19 and other entities, for the purpose of in20 creasing the number of SBIR and STTR 

21 program applications by minority-owned 

22 small businesses. 

23 ‘‘(ii) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to 

24 receive a grant under the pilot program es25 tablished in clause (i), a minority instituVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Apr 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5819.RFS H5819

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1 tion shall submit an application to the Ad2 ministrator at such time, in such manner, 

3 and containing such information and as4 surances as the Administrator may re5 quire. 

6 ‘‘(iii) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As 

7 a condition of a grant under the pilot pro8 gram, the Administrator shall require that 

9 a matching amount be provided from a 

10 source other than the Federal Government 

11 that is equal to the amount of the grant. 

12 ‘‘(iv) MINORITY INSTITUTION.—In 

13 this subparagraph, the term ‘minority in14 stitution’ has the meaning given that term 

15 in section 365(3) of the Higher Education 

16 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067k(3)). 

17 ‘‘(v) FUNDING.—For each of fiscal 

18 years 2009 through 2012, of the amounts 

19 appropriated pursuant to the authorization 

20 of appropriations in subparagraph (C), up 

21 to $4,000,000 shall be available to carry 

22 out this subparagraph. 

23 ‘‘(9) FUNDING LIMITATION.—For payment of 

24 expenses incurred to administer the commercializa25 tion programs described in paragraphs (7) and (8), 


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1 the head of the agency may use not more than an 

2 amount equal to 1 percent of the funds available to 

3 the agency pursuant to the Small Business Innova4 tion Research program. Such funds— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall not be subject to the limitations 

6 on the use of funds in subsection (f)(2); and 

7 ‘‘(B) shall not be used for the purpose of 

8 funding costs associated with salaries and ex9 penses of employees of the United States Gov10 ernment.’’. 

11 SEC. 407. REPORT ON EFFORTS TO ENHANCE MANUFAC12 TURING ACTIVITIES. 

13 Section 9(j) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

14 638(j)) is amended by adding after paragraph (9) (as 

15 added by section 406) the following: 

16 ‘‘(10) EFFORTS TO ENHANCE MANUFACTURING

17 ACTIVITIES.—If an agency is required by subsection 

18 (aa) to have an SBIR advisory board, the advisory 

19 board shall include in each report under subsection 

20 (aa) a part relating to efforts to enhance manufac21 turing activities, which shall include— 

22 ‘‘(A) a comprehensive description of the 

23 actions undertaken each year by the SBIR and 

24 STTR programs of that agency in support of 

25 Executive Order No. 13329; 


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1 ‘‘(B) an assessment of the effectiveness of 

2 such actions toward enhancing the research and 

3 development of manufacturing technologies and 

4 processes; and 

5 ‘‘(C) any recommendations that the pro6 gram managers of the SBIR and STTR pro7 grams consider appropriate for additional ac8 tions to be undertaken in order to increase the 

9 effectiveness toward enhancing manufacturing 

10 activities within the defense industrial base.’’. 

11 TITLE V—SUPPORTING 

12 PROGRAM UTILIZATION 

13 SEC. 501. AGENCY DATABASES TO SUPPORT PROGRAM 

14 EVALUATION. 

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

16 638(k)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause 

19 (ii); 

20 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause 

21 (iii); and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

23 clause: 

24 ‘‘(iv) information on the ownership 

25 structure of award recipients, both at the 


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1 time of receipt of the award and upon com2 pletion of the award period;’’; 

3 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(3) UPDATING INFORMATION FOR DATA6 BASE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Federal agency 

8 shall not make a Phase I or Phase II payment 

9 to a small business concern under this section 

10 unless the small business concern has provided 

11 all information required under this subsection 

12 with respect to the award under which the pay13 ment is made, and with respect to any other 

14 award under this section previously received by 

15 the small business concern or a predecessor in 

16 interest to the small business concern. 

17 ‘‘(B) APPORTIONMENT.—In complying 

18 with this paragraph, a small business concern 

19 may apportion sales or additional investment 

20 information relating to more than one second 

21 phase award among those awards, if it notes 

22 the apportionment for each award. 

23 ‘‘(C) ANNUAL UPDATES UPON TERMI24 NATION.—A small business concern receiving an 

25 award under this section shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of a second phase 

2 award, update information in the data3 bases required under paragraphs (2) and 

4 (6) concerning that award at the termi5 nation of the award period; 

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of award recipients 

7 not described in clause (iii), be requested 

8 to voluntarily update such information an9 nually thereafter for a period of 5 years; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a small business 

12 concern applying for a subsequent first 

13 phase or second phase award, be required 

14 to update such information annually there15 after for a period of 5 years.’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(6) AGENCY PROGRAM EVALUATION DATA19 BASES.—Each Federal agency required to establish 

20 an SBIR or STTR program under this section shall 

21 develop and maintain, for the purpose of evaluating 

22 such programs, a database containing information 

23 required to be contained in the database under para24 graph (2). Each such database shall be designed to 


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1 be accessible to other agencies that are required to 

2 maintain a database under this paragraph.’’. 

3 SEC. 502. AGENCY DATABASES TO SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY 

4 UTILIZATION. 

5 Section 9(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

6 638(k)), as amended by this Act, is further amended by 

7 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(7) AGENCY DATABASES TO SUPPORT TECH9 NOLOGY UTILIZATION.—Each Federal agency with 

10 an SBIR or STTR program shall create and main11 tain a technology utilization database, which shall be 

12 available to the public and shall contain data sup13 plied by the award recipients specifically to help 

14 them attract customers for the products and services 

15 generated under the SBIR or STTR project, and to 

16 attract additional investors and business partners. 

17 Each database created under this paragraph shall 

18 include information on the other databases created 

19 under this paragraph by other Federal agencies. 

20 Participation in a database under this paragraph 

21 shall be voluntary, except that such participation is 

22 required of all award recipients who received supple23 mental payments from SBIR and STTR program 

24 funds above their initial Phase II award.’’. 


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1 SEC. 503. INTERAGENCY POLICY COMMITTEE. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

3 Science and Technology Policy shall establish an Inter4 agency SBIR/STTR Policy Committee comprised of one 

5 representative from each Federal agency with an SBIR 

6 program. 

7 (b) COCHAIRS.—The Director of the Office of Science 

8 and Technology Policy and the Director of the National 

9 Institute of Standards and Technology shall jointly chair 

10 the Interagency Policy Committee. 

11 (c) DUTIES.—The Interagency Policy Committee 

12 shall review the following issues and make policy rec13 ommendations on ways to improve program effectiveness 

14 and efficiency: 

15 (1) The public and government databases de16 scribed in section 9(k)(1) and (2) of the Small Busi17 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638(k)(1) and (2)). 

18 (2) Federal agency flexibility in establishing 

19 Phase I and II award sizes, and appropriate criteria 

20 to exercise such flexibility. 

21 (3) Commercialization assistance best practices 

22 in Federal agencies with significant potential to be 

23 employed by other agencies, and the appropriate 

24 steps to achieve that leverage, as well as proposals 

25 for new initiatives to address funding gaps business 


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1 concerns face after Phase II but before commer2 cialization. 

3 (d) REPORTS.—The Interagency Policy Committee 

4 shall transmit to the Committee on Science and Tech5 nology and the Committee on Small Business of the House 

6 of Representatives, and to the Committee on Small Busi7 ness and Entrepreneurship of the Senate— 

8 (1) a report on its review and recommendations 

9 under subsection (c)(1) not later than 1 year after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act; 

11 (2) a report on its review and recommendations 

12 under subsection (c)(2) not later than 18 months 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

14 (3) a report on its review and recommendations 

15 under subsection (c)(3) not later than 2 years after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 504. NANOTECHNOLOGY-RELATED RESEARCH TOPICS. 

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

19 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(g)(3)), as amended by section 107, 

20 is further amended by adding at the end the following new 

21 subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(F) the national nanotechnology strategic 

23 plan required under section 2(c)(4) of the 21st 

24 Century Nanotechnology Research and Develop25 ment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in subseVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Apr 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5819.RFS H5819

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1 quent reports issued by the National Science 

2 and Technology Council Committee on Tech3 nology, focusing on areas of nanotechnology 

4 identified in such plan;’’. 

5 (b) STTR.—Section 9(o)(1) of the Small Business 

6 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(o)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, giv7 ing special consideration to topics that further 1 or more 

8 critical technologies, as identified by the national 

9 nanotechnology strategic plan required under section 

10 2(c)(4) of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and 

11 Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in subse12 quent reports issued by the National Science and Tech13 nology Council Committee on Technology, focusing on 

14 areas of nanotechnology identified in such plan’’ after ‘‘its 

15 STTR program’’. 

16 SEC. 505. RURAL PREFERENCE. 

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

18 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub19 section: 

20 ‘‘(dd) RURAL PREFERENCE.—In making awards 

21 under this section, Federal agencies shall give priority to 

22 applications so as to increase the number of SBIR and 

23 STTR award recipients from rural areas.’’. 


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1 SEC. 506. PRIORITY FOR AREAS THAT HAVE LOST A MAJOR 

2 SOURCE OF EMPLOYMENT. 

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

4 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(ee) PRIORITY FOR AREAS THAT HAVE LOST A

6 MAJOR SOURCE OF EMPLOYMENT.—In making awards 

7 under this section, Federal agencies shall give priority to 

8 applications from companies located in geographic areas 

9 that, as determined by the Administrator, have lost a 

10 major source of employment. Not later than 90 days after 

11 the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Adminis12 trator shall promulgate rules for making the determina13 tion required by this subsection.’’. 

14 SEC. 507. VETERANS PREFERENCE. 

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

16 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(ff) VETERANS PREFERENCE.—In making awards 

18 under this section, Federal agencies shall give priority to 

19 applications from veterans, as defined in section 101(2) 

20 of title 38, United States Code, so as to increase the num21 ber of SBIR and STTR award recipients who are vet22 erans.’’. 

23 SEC. 508. INITIATIVE TO PUBLICIZE THE SBIR PROGRAM TO 

24 VETERANS. 

25 The Administrator of the Small Business Administra26 tion, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans AfVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Apr 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5819.RFS H5819

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1 fairs, shall develop an initiative to publicize the SBIR pro2 gram to veterans returning from service and encourage 

3 those veterans with applicable technical skills to apply for 

4 SBIR grants. 

5 SEC. 509. PREFERENCE FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE 

6 MAKING SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO7 WARDS ENERGY EFFICIENCY. 

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

9 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(ff) PREFERENCE FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE

11 MAKING SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS EN12 ERGY EFFICIENCY.—In making awards under this section, 

13 Federal agencies shall give priority to applications so as 

14 to increase the number of SBIR, STTR, and FAST award 

15 recipients from organizations that are making significant 

16 contributions towards energy efficiency, including organi17 zations that are making efforts to reduce their carbon 

18 footprint or are carbon neutral.’’. 

19 TITLE VI—IMPLEMENTATION 

20 SEC. 601. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE SBIR AND 

21 STTR POLICY DIRECTIVES. 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Ad24 ministration shall promulgate amendments to the SBIR 


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1 and the STTR Policy Directives to conform such directives 

2 to this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

3 SEC. 602. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL SBIR STUDY. 

4 Section 108(d) of the Small Business Reauthoriza5 tion Act of 2000 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘of the Senate’’ and all that fol7 lows through ‘‘not later than 3’’ and inserting ‘‘of 

8 the Senate, not later than 3’’; and 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and all that follows 

10 through ‘‘update of such report’’. 

11 SEC. 603. SBIR AWARDEE BUSINESS OPERATIONS. 

12 Section 9 of the Small Business Act is further 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(ee) SBIR AWARDEE BUSINESS OPERATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive an 

16 SBIR award, an awardee must have its primary 

17 business operations in the United States. 

18 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

19 ‘United States’ includes the District of Columbia, 

20 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other 

21 territory or possession of the United States.’’. 

22 SEC. 604. PROHIBITION OF AWARDS TO ALIENS UNLAW23 FULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 

24 Section 9 of the Small Business Act is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(ee) PROHIBITION OF AWARDS TO ALIENS UNLAW2 FULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES.—A concern is 

3 not eligible to receive an award under this section if an 

4 individual who is an alien unlawfully present in the United 

5 States— 

6 ‘‘(1) has an ownership interest in that concern; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(2) has an ownership interest in another con9 cern that itself has an ownership interest in that 

10 concern.’’. 

11 SEC. 605. PROHIBITION ON AWARDS TO FIRMS IN VIOLA12 TION OF IMMIGRATION LAWS. 

13 Any applicant found, based on a determination by the 

14 Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General 

15 to have engaged in a pattern or practice of hiring, recruit16 ing or referring for a fee, for employment in the United 

17 States an alien knowing the person is an unauthorized 

18 alien shall not be eligible for the receipt of future awards 

19 under section 9 of the Small Business Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 23, 2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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