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Union Calendar No. 368 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5819 

[Report No. 110–595, Part I] 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 16, 2008 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. GRAVES, and Mr. SESTAK) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business, 

and in addition to the Committee on Science and Technology, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

APRIL 18, 2008 

Reported from the Committee on Small Business with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

APRIL 18, 2008 

Committee on Science and Technology discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be 

printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 16, 2008] 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to improve the Small 

Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the 


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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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act’’. 

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

7 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 set-asides. 

Sec. 103. Increased SBIR and STTR award levels. 

Sec. 104. Establishment of SBIR advisory boards. 

Sec. 105. Increase in amount of technical assistance funds and option to purchase 

technical assistance directly. 

Sec. 106. Increased number of research topic solicitations annually and shortened 

period for final decisions on applications. 

Sec. 107. Inclusion of energy-related research topics and rare-disease-related research topics as deserving ‘‘special consideration’’ as SBIR research topics. 

Sec. 108. Agencies should fund vital R&D projects with the potential for commercialization. 

Sec. 109. Federal agency engagement with SBIR awardees that have been awarded multiple Phase One awards but have not been awarded Phase 

Two awards. 

Sec. 110. Limitation on certain awards. 

Sec. 111. Comptroller General audit of how Federal agencies calculate extramural 

research budgets. 

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. 


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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. 

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. 

TITLE VI—IMPLEMENTATION 

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

Sec. 602. National Research Council SBIR Study. 

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 in6 serting ‘‘2010’’. 

7 (b) STTR.—Section 9(n)(1)(A) of the Small Business 

8 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 SET-ASIDES. 

11 (a) SBIR.—Section 9(f)(1) of the Small Business Act 

12 (15 U.S.C. 638(f)(1)) is amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

14 the end; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (C) by striking ‘‘in each fis2 cal year thereafter,’’ and inserting ‘‘in each of fiscal 

3 years 1997 through 2008; and’’ and 

4 (3) by adding after subparagraph (C) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(D) not less than 3.0 percent of such budg7 et in each fiscal year thereafter,’’. 

8 (b) STTR.—Section 9(n)(1)(B) of the Small Business 

9 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(n)(1)(B)) is amended— 

10 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2004 

12 and each fiscal year thereafter.’’ and inserting ‘‘each 

13 of fiscal years 2004 through 2008; and’’; and 

14 (3) by adding after clause (ii) the following new 

15 clause: 

16 ‘‘(iii) 0.6 percent for fiscal year 2009 

17 and each fiscal year thereafter.’’. 

18 SEC. 103. INCREASED SBIR AND STTR AWARD LEVELS. 

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

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

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

22 ‘‘$300,000’’ and ‘‘$2,200,000’’, respectively. 

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

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


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1 amended by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and ‘‘$750,000’’ and in2 serting ‘‘$300,000’’ and ‘‘$2,200,000’’, respectively. 

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

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

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

6 adjustment of such amounts once every 5 years to re7 flect economic adjustments and programmatic consid8 erations’’ and inserting ‘‘and a mandatory annual 

9 adjustment of such amounts to reflect economic ad10 justments and programmatic considerations’’; and 

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

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

13 mandatory annual adjustment of such amounts to re14 flect economic adjustments and programmatic consid15 erations, and with lesser amounts’’. 

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

17 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended by add18 ing at the end the following: 

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

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

21 issue an award under the SBIR program or the 

22 STTR program if the size of the award exceeds the 

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

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


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition in paragraph 

2 (1) does not apply to an agency for a fiscal year if 

3 the head of the agency— 

4 ‘‘(A) notifies the Administrator that the 

5 agency intends to issue awards in that fiscal 

6 year without regard to the prohibition in 

7 paragaph (1); and 

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

9 Business and the Committee on Science and 

10 Technology of the House of Representatives and 

11 the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre12 neurship of the Senate at least annually the 

13 number of instances in which the agency issued 

14 an award that exceeds the amounts referred to in 

15 paragraph (1) and the justification for each such 

16 instance.’’. 

17 SEC. 104. ESTABLISHMENT OF SBIR ADVISORY BOARDS. 

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

19 (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended by inserting after subsection 

20 (z) the following: 

21 ‘‘(aa) SBIR ADVISORY BOARDS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ADVISORY BOARDS REQUIRED.—Each Fed23 eral agency that is required by this section to conduct 

24 an SBIR program and that administers annually 


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1 $50,000,000 or more in SBIR grants shall have an 

2 SBIR advisory board. 

3 ‘‘(2) MEMBERS.—For each advisory board re4 quired by paragraph (1), the members of the advisory 

5 board shall include— 

6 ‘‘(A) at least two individuals who are em7 ployees of the agency; 

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

9 sector technology firms; and 

10 ‘‘(C) such other individuals as the agency 

11 considers appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(3) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—Where it is ap13 propriate to the work of an advisory board required 

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

15 advisory board have a security clearance, the appro16 priate departments and agencies of the executive 

17 branch shall cooperate with the advisory board to ex18 peditiously provide members and staff with appro19 priate security clearances to the extent possible under 

20 applicable procedures and requirements. 

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

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

23 year. 

24 ‘‘(5) DUTIES.—Each advisory board required by 

25 paragraph (1) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) review the quarterly reports submitted 

2 under subsection (g)(8); 

3 ‘‘(B) make recommendations to the agency 

4 about potential modifications to the agency’s 

5 SBIR program that are intended to— 

6 ‘‘(i) encourage applications, particu7 larly applications from small business con8 cerns owned and controlled by women, 

9 small business concerns owned and con10 trolled by minorities, and small business 

11 concerns in States and regions that histori12 cally receive few SBIR awards; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) support commercialization of 

14 Federal research funded by SBIR awards; 

15 and 

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

17 Business and the Committee on Science and 

18 Technology of the House of Representatives and 

19 the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre20 neurship of the Senate an annual report on the 

21 SBIR program conducted by the agency. 

22 ‘‘(6) CONTENTS OF ANNUAL REPORT.—The an23 nual report required by paragraph (5)(C) shall in24 clude a description of how that agency’s SBIR pro25 gram is functioning and any recommendations of the 


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1 advisory board for strengthening that agency’s SBIR 

2 program. The annual report shall also state the num3 ber and dollar amount of awards under the agency’s 

4 SBIR program, and under the agency’s STTR pro5 gram, that were made to small business concerns 

6 owned and controlled by women, small business con7 cerns owned and controlled by minorities, small busi8 ness concerns owned and controlled by veterans, and 

9 small business concerns in States and regions that 

10 historically receive few SBIR awards. 

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

12 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

13 apply to an advisory board required by paragraph 

14 (1).’’. 

15 (b) AGENCY REPORTS TO SBIR ADVISORY BOARDS.— 

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

17 638(g)(8)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon at 

18 the end the following: ‘‘and, if the agency is required by 

19 subsection (aa) to have an SBIR advisory board, submit 

20 a quarterly report on the SBIR program to that SBIR ad21 visory board’’. 


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1 SEC. 105. INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF TECHNICAL ASSIST2 ANCE FUNDS AND OPTION TO PURCHASE 

3 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE DIRECTLY. 

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

5 638(q)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘paragraph (2)(A), or another Federal agen9 cy under paragraph (2)(B),’’; 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub11 paragraph (C); 

12 (C) by striking the period at the end of sub13 paragraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

15 subparagraph: 

16 ‘‘(E) implementing manufacturing processes 

17 and production strategies for utilization.’’; 

18 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS.— 

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

22 may select a vendor to assist small business con23 cerns to meet the goals listed in paragraph (1) 

24 for a term not to exceed 3 years. Such selection 

25 shall be competitive and shall utilize merit-based 

26 criteria. 


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1 ‘‘(B) INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION.—In 

2 addition, each agency may enter into a collabo3 rative agreement with the technical extension or 

4 assistance programs of other Federal agencies in 

5 order to provide the assistance described in para6 graph (1).’’; and 

7 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (A) by striking 

9 ‘‘$4,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; 

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

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) SECOND PHASE.—Each agency re13 ferred to in paragraph (1) may provide directly, 

14 or authorize any second phase SBIR award re15 cipient to purchase with funds available from 

16 their SBIR awards, services described in para17 graph (1), in an amount equal to not more than 

18 $8,000 per year, per award.’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(C) AUTHORITY TO OPT OUT.—The Ad21 ministrator shall establish guidelines under 

22 which an award recipient eligible to receive serv23 ices under subparagraph (A) may decline those 

24 services and receive instead an amount equal to 

25 not more than $2,500, which shall be in addition 


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1 to the amount of the recipient’s award and 

2 which shall be used to purchase services described 

3 in paragraph (1).’’. 

4 SEC. 106. INCREASED NUMBER OF RESEARCH TOPIC SO5 LICITATIONS ANNUALLY AND SHORTENED 

6 PERIOD FOR FINAL DECISIONS ON APPLICA7 TIONS. 

8 (a) INCREASED NUMBER OF RESEARCH TOPIC SOLICI9 TATIONS.—Section 9(g)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 

10 U.S.C. 638(g)(2)) is amended by inserting before the semi11 colon at the end the following: ‘‘, but not less often than 

12 twice per year’’. 

13 (b) SHORTENED PERIOD FOR FINAL DECISIONS ON

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

15 638(g)(4)) is amended— 

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

17 the following: ‘‘: Provided, That if the agency is re18 quired by subsection (aa) to have an SBIR advisory 

19 board—’’; and 

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

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

22 be rendered not later than 90 days after the date 

23 on which the solicitation closes; 


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

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

3 days; and 

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

5 in each annual report to Congress under sub6 section (aa) a statement identifying how many 

7 times a decision was not rendered in 90 days, 

8 how many times an extension was granted, and 

9 how many times a decision was not rendered in 

10 180 days;’’. 

11 SEC. 107. INCLUSION OF ENERGY-RELATED RESEARCH TOP12 ICS AND RARE-DISEASE-RELATED RESEARCH 

13 TOPICS AS DESERVING ‘‘SPECIAL CONSIDER14 ATION’’ AS SBIR RESEARCH TOPICS. 

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

16 638(g)(3)) is amended— 

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

18 inserting after ‘‘critical technologies’’ the following: 

19 ‘‘or pressing research priorities’’; 

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

21 ‘‘or’’; and 

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

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

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

25 Future: Technology Opportunities, Risks, and 


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1 Tradeoffs’ project, and in subsequent reports 

2 issued by the National Academy of Sciences on 

3 sustainability, energy, and alternative fuels; 

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

5 the annual report on the rare diseases research 

6 activities of the National Institutes of Health for 

7 fiscal year 2005, and in subsequent reports 

8 issued by the National Institutes of Health on 

9 rare diseases research activities; or’’. 

10 SEC. 108. AGENCIES SHOULD FUND VITAL R&D PROJECTS 

11 WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR COMMERCIALIZA12 TION. 

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

14 638(j)(2)), as amended by section 103, is further amend15 ed— 

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

17 the end; 

18 (2) in subparagraph (I) by striking the period at 

19 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(J) procedures to ensure that the Adminis22 trator, on an annual basis, submits to the Com23 mittee on Small Business and the Committee on 

24 Science and Technology of the House of Rep25 resentatives and the Committee on Small BusiVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:33 Apr 22, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5819.RH H5819

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1 ness and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a list 

2 identifying each small business concern that, for 

3 the period covered by the preceding 5 fiscal 

4 years, received 15 or more first phase SBIR 

5 awards and no second phase SBIR awards.’’. 

6 SEC. 109. FEDERAL AGENCY ENGAGEMENT WITH SBIR 

7 AWARDEES THAT HAVE BEEN AWARDED MUL8 TIPLE PHASE ONE AWARDS BUT HAVE NOT 

9 BEEN AWARDED PHASE TWO AWARDS. 

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

11 638(j)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO FEDERAL

13 AGENCY ENGAGEMENT WITH CERTAIN FIRST PHASE

14 SBIR AWARDEES.—The Administrator shall modify 

15 the policy directives issued pursuant to this subsection 

16 to provide for each Federal agency required by this 

17 section to conduct an SBIR program to engage with 

18 SBIR awardees that have been awarded multiple first 

19 phase SBIR awards but have not been awarded any 

20 second phase SBIR awards and to develop perform21 ance metrics to measure awardee progression in the 

22 SBIR program.’’. 

23 SEC. 110. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN AWARDS. 

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

25 is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(bb) SUBSEQUENT PHASES.— 

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

3 which received an award from a Federal agency 

4 under this section shall be eligible to receive an award 

5 for a subsequent phase from another Federal agency, 

6 if the head of each relevant Federal agency makes a 

7 written determination that the topics of the relevant 

8 awards are the same. 

9 ‘‘(2) CROSSOVER BETWEEN PROGRAMS.—A small 

10 business concern which received an award under this 

11 section under the SBIR program or the STTR pro12 gram may, at the discretion of the granting agency, 

13 receive an award under this section for a subsequent 

14 phase in either the SBIR program or the STTR pro15 gram. 

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

17 may permit an applicant to apply directly for a 

18 Phase II award, as described in subsection (e)(4)(B), 

19 without first completing a Phase I award, as de20 scribed in subsection (e)(4)(A), if the applicant can 

21 demonstrate that project feasibility was achieved 

22 without SBIR or other Federal funding. 

23 ‘‘(4) PHASE II STTR APPLICATIONS.—An agency 

24 may permit an applicant to submit proposals for 

25 Phase II awards, as described in subsection (e)(6)(B), 


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1 without first completing a Phase I award, as de2 scribed in subsection (e)(6)(A), if the applicant can 

3 demonstrate it has accomplished Phase I through co4 operative research and development achieved without 

5 STTR or other Federal funding. 

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

7 A Federal agency making an SBIR or STTR award under 

8 this section may waive the minimum small business con9 cern or research institution work requirements under sub10 section (e)(7) if the agency determines that to provide such 

11 waiver would be consistent with the purposes of this section 

12 and consistent with achieving the objectives of the award 

13 proposal.’’. 

14 SEC. 111. COMPTROLLER GENERAL AUDIT OF HOW FED15 ERAL AGENCIES CALCULATE EXTRAMURAL 

16 RESEARCH BUDGETS. 

17 The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

18 carry out a detailed audit of how Federal agencies calculate 

19 extramural research budgets for purposes of calculating the 

20 size of the agencies’ Small Business Innovation Research 

21 and Small Business Technology Transfer budgets. Not later 

22 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

23 Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on 

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


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1 on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a 

2 report on the results of the audit. 

3 TITLE II—VENTURE CAPITAL 

4 INVESTMENT STANDARDS 

5 SEC. 201. ENSURING THAT INNOVATIVE SMALL BUSINESSES 

6 WITH SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT FROM VEN7 TURE CAPITAL OPERATING COMPANIES ARE 

8 ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SBIR PRO9 GRAM. 

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

11 638(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para12 graph (8), striking the period at the end of paragraph (9) 

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

14 ‘‘(10) effective only for the SBIR and STTR pro15 grams, and notwithstanding any provision in section 

16 3 to the contrary, the following shall apply: 

17 ‘‘(A) A business concern that has more than 

18 500 employees shall not qualify as a small busi19 ness concern. 

20 ‘‘(B) In determining whether a small busi21 ness concern is independently owned and oper22 ated under section 3(a)(1) or meets the small 

23 business size standards instituted under section 

24 3(a)(2), the Administrator shall not consider a 

25 business concern to be affiliated with a venture 


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1 capital operating company (or with any other 

2 business that the venture capital operating com3 pany has financed) if— 

4 ‘‘(i) the venture capital operating com5 pany does not own 50 percent or more of 

6 the business concern; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) employees of the venture capital 

8 operating company do not constitute a ma9 jority of the board of directors of the busi10 ness concern. 

11 ‘‘(C) A business concern shall be deemed to 

12 be ‘independently owned and operated’ if— 

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

14 one or more natural persons or venture cap15 ital operating companies; 

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

17 operating company that owns 50 percent or 

18 more of the business concern; and 

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

20 operating company the employees of which 

21 constitute a majority of the board of direc22 tors of the business concern. 

23 ‘‘(D) To be eligible to receive an award 

24 under the SBIR or STTR program, a small 

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1 terest by more than one venture capital oper2 ating company controlled by a business with 

3 more than 500 employees, and that venture cap4 ital operating company may not own more than 

5 10 percent of that small business concern. 

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

7 company’ means a business concern— 

8 ‘‘(i) that— 

9 ‘‘(I) is a Venture Capital Oper10 ating Company, as that term is de11 fined in regulations promulgated by 

12 the Secretary of Labor; or 

13 ‘‘(II) is an entity that— 

14 ‘‘(aa) is registered under the 

15 Investment Company Act of 1940 

16 (15 U.S.C. 80a–51 et seq.); or 

17 ‘‘(bb) is an investment com18 pany, as defined in section 

19 3(c)(14) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

20 80a–3(c)(14)), which is not reg21 istered under such Act because it 

22 is beneficially owned by less than 

23 100 persons; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) that is itself organized or incor25 porated and domiciled in the United States, 


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1 or is controlled by a business concern that 

2 is incorporated and domiciled in the United 

3 States.’’. 

4 TITLE III—SBIR AND ECONOMIC 

5 DEVELOPMENT 

6 SEC. 301. REAUTHORIZATION AND MODERNIZATION OF 

7 FEDERAL AND STATE TECHNOLOGY PART8 NERSHIP PROGRAM (FAST). 

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

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

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

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the other provi13 sions of this subsection, the Administrator shall make 

14 grants on a competitive basis to organizations, to be 

15 used by the organizations to do one or both of the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(A) To conduct outreach efforts to increase 

18 participation in the programs under this section. 

19 ‘‘(B) To provide application support and 

20 entrepreneurial and business skills support to 

21 prospective participants in the programs under 

22 this section. 

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

24 made available to carry out this section for each of 

25 fiscal years 2009 through 2010, the Administrator 


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1 may expend not more than $10,000,000 in each such 

2 fiscal year to carry out paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—For each of sub4 paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), the 

5 amount of assistance provided to an organization 

6 under that subparagraph in any fiscal year— 

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

8 matching funds from non-Federal sources pro9 vided by the organization; and 

10 ‘‘(B) shall not exceed $250,000. 

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

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

13 funds, direct its activities at one or both of the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(A) Small business concerns located in geo16 graphic areas that are underrepresented in the 

17 programs under this section. 

18 ‘‘(B) Small business concerns owned and 

19 controlled by women, small business concerns 

20 owned and controlled by service-disabled vet21 erans, and small business concerns owned and 

22 controlled by minorities. 

23 ‘‘(5) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

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

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1 section, the Administrator shall establish an ad2 visory board for the activities carried out under 

3 this subsection. 

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

5 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

6 shall not apply to the advisory board. 

7 ‘‘(C) MEMBERS.—The members of the advi8 sory board shall include the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) The Administrator (or the Admin10 istrator’s designee). 

11 ‘‘(ii) For each Federal agency required 

12 by this section to conduct an SBIR pro13 gram, the head of the agency (or the des14 ignee of the head of the agency). 

15 ‘‘(iii) Representatives of small business 

16 concerns that are current or former recipi17 ents of SBIR awards, or representatives of 

18 organizations of such concerns. 

19 ‘‘(iv) Representatives of service pro20 viders of SBIR outreach and assistance, or 

21 representatives of organizations of such 

22 service providers. 

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

24 have the following duties: 


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1 ‘‘(i) To develop guidelines for awards 

2 under paragraph (1)(A), including guide3 lines relating to award sizes, proposal re4 quirements, metrics for monitoring awardee 

5 performance, and metrics for measuring 

6 overall value of the activities carried out by 

7 the awardees. 

8 ‘‘(ii) To identify opportunities for co9 ordinated outreach, technical assistance, 

10 and commercialization activities among 

11 Federal agencies, the recipients of the 

12 awards under paragraph (1)(A), and appli13 cants and recipients of SBIR awards, in14 cluding opportunities such as— 

15 ‘‘(I) podcasting or webcasting for 

16 conferences, training workshops, and 

17 other events; 

18 ‘‘(II) shared online resources to 

19 match prospective applicants with the 

20 network of paragraph (1)(A) recipi21 ents; and 

22 ‘‘(III) venture capital conferences 

23 tied to technologies and sectors that 

24 cross agencies. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) To review and recommend revi2 sions to activities under paragraph (1)(A). 

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

4 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

5 the Senate and the Committee on Small 

6 Business and the Committee on Science and 

7 Technology of the House of Representatives 

8 an annual report on the activities carried 

9 out under paragraph (1)(A) and the effec10 tiveness and impact of those activities. 

11 ‘‘(6) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In awarding grants 

12 under this subsection, the Administrator shall use se13 lection criteria developed by the advisory board estab14 lished under paragraph (5). The criteria shall in15 clude— 

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

17 applicants who propose to carry out activities 

18 that will reach either an underperforming geo19 graphic area or an underrepresented population 

20 group (as measured by the number of SBIR ap21 plicants); 

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

23 applicants who propose to carry out activities 

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1 isting public-private innovation support system 

2 for the targeted region or population; and 

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

4 applicants who propose to measure the effective5 ness of the proposed activities. 

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

7 this subsection, the Administrator shall use a peer re8 view process. Reviewers shall include— 

9 ‘‘(A) SBIR program managers for agencies 

10 required by this section to conduct SBIR pro11 grams; and 

12 ‘‘(B) private individuals and organizations 

13 that are knowledgeable about SBIR, the innova14 tion process, technology commercialization, and 

15 State and regional technology-based economic de16 velopment programs. 

17 ‘‘(8) PER-STATE LIMITATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive 

19 a grant under this subsection, the applicant 

20 must have the written endorsement of the Gov21 ernor of the State where the targeted regions or 

22 populations are located (if the regions or popu23 lations are located in more than one State, the 

24 applicant must have the written endorsement of 

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1 dorsement must indicate that the Governor will 

2 ensure that the activities to be carried out under 

3 the grant will be integrated with the balance of 

4 the State’s portfolio of investments to help small 

5 business concerns commercialize technology. 

6 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Each fiscal year, a Gov7 ernor may have in effect not more than one writ8 ten endorsement for a grant under paragraph 

9 (1)(A), and not more than one written endorse10 ment for a grant under paragraph (1)(B). 

11 ‘‘(9) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR FAST

12 AWARDS.—In making awards under paragraph 

13 (1)(A) (to be known as ‘FAST’ awards) the Adminis14 trator shall ensure the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) GOALS.—Priority shall be given appli16 cations that address one or more of the following 

17 goals: 

18 ‘‘(i) Increasing the number of SBIR 

19 applications from underperforming geo20 graphic areas (as measured by the number 

21 of SBIR applicants). 

22 ‘‘(ii) Increasing the number of SBIR 

23 applications from underrepresented popu24 lation groups (as measured by the number 

25 of SBIR applicants). 


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

2 a period of 2 fiscal years. The Administrator 

3 shall establish rules and performance goals for 

4 the disbursement of funds for the second fiscal 

5 year, and funds shall not be disbursed to a re6 cipient for such a fiscal year until after the advi7 sory board established under this subsection has 

8 determined that the recipient is in compliance 

9 with the rules and performance goals.’’. 

10 SEC. 302. OBTAINING SBIR APPLICANT’S CONSENT TO RE11 LEASE CONTACT INFORMATION TO ECO12 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS. 

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

14 is amended in subsection (s) (as added by this title) by add15 ing at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(5) CONSENT TO RELEASE CONTACT INFORMA17 TION TO ORGANIZATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) ENABLING CONCERN TO GIVE CON19 SENT.—Each Federal agency required by this 

20 section to conduct an SBIR program shall enable 

21 a small business concern that is an SBIR appli22 cant to indicate to the agency whether the agency 

23 has its consent to— 

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1 opment organizations as an SBIR appli2 cant; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) release the concern’s contact infor4 mation to such organizations. 

5 ‘‘(B) RULES.—The Administrator shall es6 tablish rules to implement this paragraph. The 

7 rules shall include a requirement that the agency 

8 include in its SBIR application forms a provi9 sion through which the applicant can indicate 

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

11 TITLE IV—ADVANCING COMMER12 CIALIZATION OF SBIR–FUND13 ED RESEARCH 

14 SEC. 401. CLARIFYING THE DEFINITION OF ‘‘PHASE THREE’’. 

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

16 638(e)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (4)(C)— 

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

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

20 which shall consist of work that derives from, ex21 tends, or logically concludes efforts performed 

22 under prior SBIR funding agreements (which 

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

24 (B) in clause (i) by inserting after ‘‘non25 SBIR Federal funding awards’’ the following: ‘‘: 


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1 Provided, That for purposes of this clause, such 

2 sources of capital and such funding awards in3 clude private investment, private research, devel4 opment, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) 

5 awards, private sales or licenses, government 

6 RDT&E contracts and awards, and government 

7 sales’’; 

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

9 end; 

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

11 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

14 process of developing marketable products or services 

15 and producing and delivering products or services for 

16 sale (whether by the originating party or by others) 

17 to government or commercial markets.’’. 

18 SEC. 402. AGENCY RESEARCH GOALS. 

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

20 is amended by striking subsection (h) and inserting the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(h) AGENCY RESEARCH GOALS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the require24 ments of subsection (f), each Federal agency that is 

25 required by this section to have an SBIR program 


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1 and that awards annually $5,000,000,000 or more in 

2 procurement contracts shall, effective for fiscal year 

3 2009 and each fiscal year thereafter, establish annual 

4 goals for commercialization of projects funded by 

5 SBIR awards. 

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

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

8 the following: 

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

10 receive funding for the third phase (as defined in 

11 subsection (e)(4)(C)). 

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

13 are successfully integrated into a program of 

14 record. 

15 ‘‘(C) The amount of Federal dollars received 

16 by SBIR projects through Federal contracts, not 

17 including dollars received through the SBIR pro18 gram. 

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

20 each fiscal year for which goals are required by para21 graph (1), the agency shall submit to the agency’s 

22 SBIR advisory board— 

23 ‘‘(A) not later than 60 days after the begin24 ning of the fiscal year, the goals; and 


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

2 the fiscal year, data on the extent to which the 

3 goals were met and a description of the method4 ology used to collect that data.’’. 

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

6 SEQUENTIAL PHASE TWO AWARDS FOR SBIR7 FUNDED PROJECTS. 

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

9 638(j)) is amended by adding after paragraph (4) (as added 

10 by section 109) the following: 

11 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ADDITIONAL

12 SECOND PHASE SBIR AWARDS.—The Administrator 

13 shall modify the policy directives issued pursuant to 

14 this subsection to provide the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) A small business concern that receives 

16 a second phase SBIR award for a project re17 mains eligible to receive additional second phase 

18 SBIR awards. 

19 ‘‘(B) Agencies are expressly authorized to 

20 provide additional second phase SBIR awards 

21 for testing and evaluation assistance for the in22 sertion of SBIR technologies into technical or 

23 weapons systems. 

24 ‘‘(C) Each agency that is required by sub25 section (aa) to have an SBIR advisory board 


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1 shall include in the quarterly reports submitted 

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

3 that have received additional second phase SBIR 

4 awards and the total dollar amount of those ad5 ditional second phase SBIR awards.’’. 

6 SEC. 404. INCREASED PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN SBIR 

7 AWARDEES AND PRIME CONTRACTORS, VEN8 TURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT COMPANIES, 

9 AND LARGER BUSINESSES. 

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

11 638(j)) is amended by adding after paragraph (5) (as added 

12 by section 403) the following: 

13 ‘‘(6) INCREASED PARTNERSHIPS.—Each agency 

14 required by this section to conduct an SBIR program 

15 shall establish initiatives by which the agency encour16 ages partnerships between SBIR awardees and prime 

17 contractors, venture capital investment companies, 

18 and larger businesses, for the purpose of facilitating 

19 the progress of the SBIR awardees to the third phase. 

20 If the agency is required by subsection (aa) to have 

21 an SBIR advisory board, the advisory board shall in22 clude in each report submitted under subsection (aa) 

23 a description of the initiatives established and an as24 sessment of the effectiveness of such initiatives.’’. 


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

2 TWO AWARDS FOR PROMISING PHASE ONE 

3 RESEARCH. 

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

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

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

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

8 delay by issuing second phase SBIR awards as soon as 

9 practicable, including in appropriate cases simultaneously 

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

11 SEC. 406. COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMS. 

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

13 638(j)) is amended by adding after paragraph (6) (as added 

14 by section 404) the following: 

15 ‘‘(7) COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMS.—Each 

16 agency required by this section to conduct an SBIR 

17 program shall establish a commercialization program 

18 that supports the progress of SBIR awardees to the 

19 third phase. The commercialization program may in20 clude activities such as partnership databases, part21 nership conferences, multiple second phases, men22 toring between prime contractors and SBIR award23 ees, multiple second phases with matching private in24 vestment requirements, jumbo awards, SBIR 

25 helpdesks, and transition assistance programs. The 

26 agency shall include in its annual report an analysis 


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1 of the various activities considered for inclusion in 

2 the commercialization program and a statement of 

3 the reasons why each activity considered was included 

4 or not included, as the case may be. If the agency is 

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

6 board, the advisory board shall include in each report 

7 under subsection (aa) a statement identifying the 

8 number of SBIR awardees that successfully progressed 

9 to the third phase. 

10 ‘‘(8) FUNDING FOR COMMERCIALIZATION PRO11 GRAMS.— 

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

13 available to carry out this paragraph, the Ad14 ministrator may, on petition by agencies re15 quired by this section to conduct an SBIR pro16 gram, transfer funds to such agencies to support 

17 the commercialization programs of such agencies. 

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

19 establish rules for making transfers under sub20 paragraph (A). The initial set of rules shall be 

21 promulgated not later than 90 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA24 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

25 to the Administrator to carry out this paragraph 


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1 $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2009 and each fiscal 

2 year thereafter. 

3 ‘‘(9) FUNDING LIMITATION.—For payment of ex4 penses incurred to administer the commercialization 

5 programs described in paragraphs (7) and (8), the 

6 head of the agency may use not more than an amount 

7 equal to 1 percent of the funds available to the agency 

8 pursuant to the Small Business Innovation Research 

9 program. Such funds— 

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

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

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

13 funding costs associated with salaries and ex14 penses of employees of the United States Govern15 ment.’’. 

16 SEC. 407. REPORT ON EFFORTS TO ENHANCE MANUFAC17 TURING ACTIVITIES. 

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

19 638(j)) is amended by adding after paragraph (9) (as added 

20 by section 406) the following: 

21 ‘‘(10) EFFORTS TO ENHANCE MANUFACTURING

22 ACTIVITIES.—If an agency is required by subsection 

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

24 board shall include in each report under subsection 


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1 (aa) a part relating to efforts to enhance manufac2 turing activities, which shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) a comprehensive description of the ac4 tions undertaken each year by the SBIR and 

5 STTR programs of that agency in support of 

6 Executive Order 13329; 

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

8 such actions toward enhancing the research and 

9 development of manufacturing technologies and 

10 processes; and 

11 ‘‘(C) any recommendations that the pro12 gram managers of the SBIR and STTR pro13 grams consider appropriate for additional ac14 tions to be undertaken in order to increase the 

15 effectiveness toward enhancing manufacturing 

16 activities within the defense industrial base.’’. 

17 TITLE V—SUPPORTING 

18 PROGRAM UTILIZATION 

19 SEC. 501. AGENCY DATABASES TO SUPPORT PROGRAM 

20 EVALUATION. 

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

22 638(k)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

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

25 (ii); 


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

2 (iii); and 

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

4 clause: 

5 ‘‘(iv) information on the ownership 

6 structure of award recipients, both at the 

7 time of receipt of the award and upon com8 pletion of the award period;’’; 

9 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(3) UPDATING INFORMATION FOR DATABASE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Federal agency shall 

13 not make a Phase I or Phase II payment to a 

14 small business concern under this section unless 

15 the small business concern has provided all in16 formation required under this subsection with re17 spect to the award under which the payment is 

18 made, and with respect to any other award 

19 under this section previously received by the 

20 small business concern or a predecessor in inter21 est to the small business concern. 

22 ‘‘(B) APPORTIONMENT.—In complying with 

23 this paragraph, a small business concern may 

24 apportion sales or additional investment infor25 mation relating to more than one second phase 


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1 award among those awards, if it notes the ap2 portionment for each award. 

3 ‘‘(C) ANNUAL UPDATES UPON TERMI4 NATION.—A small business concern receiving an 

5 award under this section shall— 

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

7 award, update information in the databases 

8 required under paragraphs (2) and (6) con9 cerning that award at the termination of 

10 the award period; 

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

12 not described in clause (iii), be requested to 

13 voluntarily update such information annu14 ally thereafter for a period of 5 years; and 

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

16 concern applying for a subsequent first 

17 phase or second phase award, be required to 

18 update such information annually there19 after for a period of 5 years.’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following new para21 graph: 

22 ‘‘(6) AGENCY PROGRAM EVALUATION DATA23 BASES.—Each Federal agency required to establish 

24 an SBIR or STTR program under this section shall 

25 develop and maintain, for the purpose of evaluating 


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1 such programs, a database containing information re2 quired to be contained in the database under para3 graph (2). Each such database shall be designed to be 

4 accessible to other agencies that are required to main5 tain a database under this paragraph.’’. 

6 SEC. 502. AGENCY DATABASES TO SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY 

7 UTILIZATION. 

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

9 638(k)), as amended by this Act, is further amended by add10 ing at the end the following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(7) AGENCY DATABASES TO SUPPORT TECH12 NOLOGY UTILIZATION.—Each Federal agency with an 

13 SBIR or STTR program shall create and maintain 

14 a technology utilization database, which shall be 

15 available to the public and shall contain data sup16 plied by the award recipients specifically to help them 

17 attract customers for the products and services gen18 erated under the SBIR or STTR project, and to at19 tract additional investors and business partners. 

20 Each database created under this paragraph shall in21 clude information on the other databases created 

22 under this paragraph by other Federal agencies. Par23 ticipation in a database under this paragraph shall 

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1 mental payments from SBIR and STTR program 

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

3 SEC. 503. INTERAGENCY POLICY COMMITTEE. 

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

5 Science and Technology Policy shall establish an Inter6 agency SBIR/STTR Policy Committee comprised of one 

7 representative from each Federal agency with an SBIR pro8 gram. 

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

10 and Technology Policy and the Director of the National In11 stitute of Standards and Technology shall jointly chair the 

12 Interagency Policy Committee. 

13 (c) DUTIES.—The Interagency Policy Committee shall 

14 review the following issues and make policy recommenda15 tions on ways to improve program effectiveness and effi16 ciency: 

17 (1) The public and government databases de18 scribed in section 9(k)(1) and (2) of the Small Busi19 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638(k)(1) and (2)). 

20 (2) Federal agency flexibility in establishing 

21 Phase I and II award sizes, and appropriate criteria 

22 to exercise such flexibility. 

23 (3) Commercialization assistance best practices 

24 in Federal agencies with significant potential to be 

25 employed by other agencies, and the appropriate steps 


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1 to achieve that leverage, as well as proposals for new 

2 initiatives to address funding gaps business concerns 

3 face after Phase II but before commercialization. 

4 (d) REPORTS.—The Interagency Policy Committee 

5 shall transmit to the Committee on Science and Technology 

6 and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep7 resentatives, and to the Committee on Small Business and 

8 Entrepreneurship of the Senate— 

9 (1) a report on its review and recommendations 

10 under subsection (c)(1) not later than 1 year after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act; 

12 (2) a report on its review and recommendations 

13 under subsection (c)(2) not later than 18 months after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act; and 

15 (3) a report on its review and recommendations 

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

17 the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 504. NANOTECHNOLOGY-RELATED RESEARCH TOPICS. 

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

20 (15 U.S.C. 638(g)(3)), as amended by section 107, is further 

21 amended by adding at the end the following new subpara22 graph: 

23 ‘‘(E) the national nanotechnology strategic 

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

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1 ment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in subse2 quent reports issued by the National Science and 

3 Technology Council Committee on Technology, 

4 focusing on areas of nanotechnology identified in 

5 such plan;’’. 

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

7 (15 U.S.C. 638(o)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, giving 

8 special consideration to topics that further 1 or more crit9 ical technologies, as identified by the national 

10 nanotechnology strategic plan required under section 

11 2(c)(4) of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and 

12 Development Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in subsequent 

13 reports issued by the National Science and Technology 

14 Council Committee on Technology, focusing on areas of 

15 nanotechnology identified in such plan’’ after ‘‘its STTR 

16 program’’. 

17 SEC. 505. RURAL PREFERENCE. 

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

19 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub20 section: 

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

22 under this section, Federal agencies shall give priority to 

23 applications so as to increase the number of SBIR and 

24 STTR award recipients from rural areas.’’. 


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1 TITLE VI—IMPLEMENTATION 

2 SEC. 601. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE SBIR AND 

3 STTR POLICY DIRECTIVES. 

4 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Admin6 istration shall promulgate amendments to the SBIR and 

7 the STTR Policy Directives to conform such directives to 

8 this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

9 SEC. 602. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL SBIR STUDY. 

10 Section 108(d) of the Small Business Reauthorization 

11 Act of 2000 is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘of the Senate’’ and all that fol13 lows through ‘‘not later than 3’’ and inserting ‘‘of the 

14 Senate, not later than 3’’; and 

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

16 through ‘‘update of such report’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 368 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5819 

[Report No. 110

–595, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to improve the 

fer (STTR) program, and for other purposes. gram and the Small Business Technology TransSmall Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proAPRIL 18, 2008 

Reported from the Committee on Small Business with an 

amendment 

APRIL 18, 2008 

Committee on Science and Technology discharged; comState of the Union and ordered to be printed mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the 


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