II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2965 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 9, 2009 

Received 

AN ACT 

To amend the Small Business Act with respect to the Small 

Business Innovation Research Program and the Small 

Business Technology Transfer Program, and for other 

purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act 

4 of 2009’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—PROGRAM EXTENSION AND VENTURE CAPITAL 

OPERATING COMPANY INVOLVEMENT 

Sec. 101. Extension of termination dates. 

Sec. 102. Ensuring that innovative small businesses with substantial investment 

from venture capital operating companies are able to participate in the SBIR and STTR programs. 

TITLE II—COMMERCIALIZATION ACTIVITIES AND RESEARCH 

TOPICS DESERVING SPECIAL CONSIDERATION 

Sec. 201. Focus on commercialization. 

Sec. 202. Inclusion of renewable energy-related research topics and rare disease-related research topics as deserving ‘‘special consideration’’ as SBIR research topics. 

Sec. 203. Nanotechnology-related research topics. 

Sec. 204. Clarifying the definition of ‘‘Phase Three’’. 

Sec. 205. Agency research goals. 

Sec. 206. Commercialization programs. 

TITLE III—RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND OUTREACH 

Sec. 301. Outreach and support activities. 

Sec. 302. Preferences. 

Sec. 303. Obtaining SBIR applicant’s consent to release contact information to 

economic development organizations. 

Sec. 304. Increased partnerships between SBIR awardees and prime contractors, venture capital investment companies, and larger businesses. 

TITLE IV—SBIR AND STTR ENHANCEMENT 

Sec. 401. Increased number of research topic solicitations annually and shortened period for final decisions on applications. 

Sec. 402. Agencies should fund vital R&D projects with the potential for commercialization. 

Sec. 403. Federal agency engagement with SBIR awardees that have been 

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

Sec. 404. Funding for administrative, oversight, and contract processing costs. 

Sec. 405. Comptroller general audit of how Federal agencies calculate extramural research budgets. 


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Sec. 406. Agency databases to support program evaluation. 

Sec. 407. Agency databases to support technology utilization. 

Sec. 408. Interagency Policy Committee. 

Sec. 409. National Research Council SBIR Study. 

Sec. 410. Express authority to ‘‘fast-track’’ Phase Two awards for promising 

Phase One research. 

Sec. 411. Increased SBIR and STTR award levels. 

Sec. 412. Express authority for an agency to award sequential Phase Two 

awards for SBIR-funded projects. 

Sec. 413. First phase required. 

Sec. 414. Involvement of Chief Counsel for Advocacy. 

Sec. 415. Minority institution program. 

Sec. 416. Areas that have lost a major source of employment. 

Sec. 417. Enhancing veteran participation in SBIR. 

Sec. 418. Veteran preference. 

Sec. 419. Medical technology. 

TITLE V—IMPROVING WATER USE AND TRANSMISSION 

TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 501. Improving water use and transmission technology. 

TITLE VI—GAO STUDY WITH RESPECT TO VENTURE CAPITAL 

OPERATING COMPANY INVOLVEMENT 

Sec. 601. GAO study with respect to venture capital operating company involvement. 

1 TITLE I—PROGRAM EXTENSION 

2 AND VENTURE CAPITAL OP3 ERATING COMPANY INVOLVE4 MENT 

5 SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF TERMINATION DATES. 

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

7 (15 U.S.C. 638(m)) is amended by striking ‘‘2008’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘2011’’. 

9 (b) STTR.—Section 9(n)(1)(A) of the Small Busi10 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638(n)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. ENSURING THAT INNOVATIVE SMALL BUSI2 NESSES WITH SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT 

3 FROM VENTURE CAPITAL OPERATING COM4 PANIES ARE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 

5 SBIR AND STTR PROGRAMS. 

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

7 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(aa) VENTURE CAPITAL OPERATING COMPANIES.— 

9 Effective only for the SBIR and STTR programs the fol10 lowing shall apply: 

11 ‘‘(1) A business concern that has more than 

12 500 employees shall not qualify as a small business 

13 concern. 

14 ‘‘(2) In determining whether a small business 

15 concern is independently owned and operated under 

16 section 3(a)(1) or meets the small business size 

17 standards instituted under section 3(a)(2), the Ad18 ministrator shall not consider a business concern to 

19 be affiliated with a venture capital operating com20 pany (or with any other business that the venture 

21 capital operating company has financed) if— 

22 ‘‘(A) the venture capital operating com23 pany does not own 50 percent or more of the 

24 business concern; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) employees of the venture capital oper2 ating company do not constitute a majority of 

3 the board of directors of the business concern. 

4 ‘‘(3) A business concern shall be deemed to be 

5 ‘independently owned and operated’ if— 

6 ‘‘(A) it is owned in majority part by one or 

7 more natural persons or venture capital oper8 ating companies; 

9 ‘‘(B) there is no single venture capital op10 erating company that owns 50 percent or more 

11 of the business concern; and 

12 ‘‘(C) there is no single venture capital op13 erating company the employees of which con14 stitute a majority of the board of directors of 

15 the business concern. 

16 ‘‘(4) If a venture capital operating company 

17 controlled by a business with more than 500 employ18 ees (in this paragraph referred to as a ‘VCOC under 

19 large business control’) has an ownership interest in 

20 a small business concern that is owned in majority 

21 part by venture capital operating companies, the 

22 small business concern is eligible to receive an award 

23 under the SBIR or STTR program only if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) not more than two VCOCs under 

2 large business control have an ownership inter3 est in the small business concern; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the VCOCs under large business con5 trol do not collectively own more than 20 per6 cent of the small business concern. 

7 ‘‘(5) The term ‘venture capital operating com8 pany’ means a business concern— 

9 ‘‘(A) that— 

10 ‘‘(i) is a Venture Capital Operating 

11 Company, as that term is defined in regu12 lations promulgated by the Secretary of 

13 Labor; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) is an entity that— 

15 ‘‘(I) is registered under the In16 vestment Company Act of 1940 (15 

17 U.S.C. 80a–51 et seq.); or 

18 ‘‘(II) is an investment company, 

19 as defined in subsection (a)(1) of sec20 tion 3 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 80a–3), 

21 which is not registered under such Act 

22 because of an exemption under sub23 section (c)(1) or subsection (c)(7) of 

24 such section; and 


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

3 is controlled by a business concern that is incor4 porated and domiciled in the United States.’’. 

5 TITLE II—COMMERCIALIZATION 

6 ACTIVITIES AND RESEARCH 

7 TOPICS DESERVING SPECIAL 

8 CONSIDERATION 

9 SEC. 201. FOCUS ON COMMERCIALIZATION. 

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

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

12 ‘‘It is further the policy of Congress that the programs 

13 established in this section should focus on promoting re14 search and development of projects governed by commer15 cial business plans, which have significant potential to 

16 produce products or services for the marketplace or for 

17 acquisition by Federal agencies.’’. 

18 SEC. 202. INCLUSION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY-RELATED 

19 RESEARCH TOPICS AND RARE DISEASE-RE20 LATED RESEARCH TOPICS AS DESERVING 

21 ‘‘SPECIAL CONSIDERATION’’ AS SBIR RE22 SEARCH TOPICS. 

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

24 638(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 (including re4 newable energy-related technologies)’’; 

5 (2) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

6 end; and 

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

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

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

10 Future: Technology Opportunities, Risks, and 

11 Tradeoffs’ project, and in subsequent reports 

12 issued by the National Academy of Sciences on 

13 sustainability, energy, and alternative fuels; 

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

15 the annual report on the rare diseases research 

16 activities of the National Institutes of Health 

17 for fiscal year 2005, and in subsequent reports 

18 issued by the National Institutes of Health on 

19 rare diseases research activities; or 

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

21 the final report issued by the ‘Transit Research 

22 and Development: Federal Role in the National 

23 Program’ project and the ‘Transportation Re24 search, Development and Technology Strategic 

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


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1 Department of Transportation Research and 

2 Innovative Technology Administration, and in 

3 subsequent reports issued by the National 

4 Academy of Sciences and United States Depart5 ment of Transportation on transportation and 

6 infrastructure;’’. 

7 SEC. 203. NANOTECHNOLOGY-RELATED RESEARCH TOPICS. 

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

9 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(g)(3)), as amended, is further amend10 ed— 

11 (1) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

12 end; 

13 (2) in subparagraph (E) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the 

14 end; and 

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

16 ‘‘(F) the national nanotechnology strategic 

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

18 Century Nanotechnology Research and Develop19 ment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in subse20 quent reports issued by the National Science 

21 and Technology Council Committee on Tech22 nology, focusing on areas of nanotechnology 

23 identified in such plan;’’. 

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

25 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(o)(3)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in subparagraph (B) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the 

4 end; and 

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

6 ‘‘(C) by the national nanotechnology stra7 tegic plan required under section 2(c)(4) of the 

8 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and De9 velopment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in 

10 subsequent reports issued by the National 

11 Science and Technology Council Committee on 

12 Technology, focusing on areas of nanotechnol13 ogy identified in such plan;’’. 

14 SEC. 204. CLARIFYING THE DEFINITION OF ‘‘PHASE 

15 THREE’’. 

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

17 638(e)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (4)(C) in the matter preceding 

19 clause (i) by inserting after ‘‘a third phase’’ the fol20 lowing: ‘‘, which shall consist of work that derives 

21 from, extends, or logically concludes efforts per22 formed under prior SBIR funding agreements 

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

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

25 end; 


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

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

5 process of developing marketable products or serv6 ices and producing and delivering products or serv7 ices for sale (whether by the originating party or by 

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

9 SEC. 205. AGENCY RESEARCH GOALS. 

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

11 as amended, is further amended by striking subsection (h) 

12 and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(h) AGENCY RESEARCH GOALS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the require15 ments of subsection (f), each Federal agency that is 

16 required by this section to have an SBIR program 

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

18 in procurement contracts shall, effective for fiscal 

19 year 2010 and each fiscal year thereafter, establish 

20 annual goals for commercialization of projects fund21 ed by SBIR awards. 

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

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

24 the following: 


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

2 receive funding for the third phase (as defined 

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

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

5 are successfully integrated into a program of 

6 record. 

7 ‘‘(C) The amount of Federal dollars re8 ceived by SBIR projects through Federal con9 tracts, not including dollars received through 

10 the SBIR program. 

11 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION TO COMMITTEES.—For each 

12 fiscal year for which goals are required by paragraph 

13 (1), the agency shall submit to the Committee on 

14 Small Business and the Committee on Science and 

15 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

16 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

17 of the Senate— 

18 ‘‘(A) not later than 60 days after the be19 ginning of the fiscal year, the goals; and 

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

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

22 the goals were met, a description of the meth23 odology used to collect such data, and a de24 scription of the reasons why the goals were met 

25 or not met.’’. 


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1 SEC. 206. COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMS. 

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

3 as amended, is further amended, by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(bb) COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each agency required by 

7 this section to conduct an SBIR program shall es8 tablish a commercialization program that supports 

9 the progress of SBIR awardees to the third phase. 

10 The commercialization program may include activi11 ties such as partnership databases, partnership con12 ferences, multiple second phases, mentoring between 

13 prime contractors and SBIR awardees, multiple sec14 ond phases with matching private investment re15 quirements, jumbo awards, SBIR helpdesks, and 

16 transition assistance programs. The agency shall in17 clude in its annual report an analysis of the various 

18 activities considered for inclusion in the commer19 cialization program and a statement of the reasons 

20 why each activity considered was included or not in21 cluded, as the case may be. 

22 ‘‘(2) SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM.—Each agency 

23 required to establish a commercialization program 

24 under paragraph (1) and that carries out construc25 tion, assembly, or research and development activi26 ties with respect to the space shuttle program (also 


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1 known as the space transportation system) shall in2 clude, as part of such commercialization program, 

3 activities to assist small business concerns affected 

4 by the termination of the space shuttle program to 

5 commercialize technologies through SBIR. Activities 

6 to assist such small business concerns may include 

7 activities described in paragraph (1) and other ac8 tivities to assist small business concerns making the 

9 transition from work relating to the space shuttle 

10 program to work in related or unrelated industries. 

11 ‘‘(3) FUNDING FOR COMMERCIALIZATION PRO12 GRAMS.— 

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

14 available to carry out this paragraph, the Ad15 ministrator may, on petition by agencies re16 quired by this section to conduct an SBIR pro17 gram, transfer funds to such agencies to sup18 port the commercialization programs of such 

19 agencies. 

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

21 establish rules for making transfers under sub22 paragraph (A). The initial set of rules shall be 

23 promulgated not later than 90 days after the 

24 date of the enactment of this paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA2 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

3 to the Administrator to carry out this para4 graph $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2010 and 

5 each fiscal year thereafter. 

6 ‘‘(4) FUNDING LIMITATION.—For payment of 

7 expenses incurred to administer the commercializa8 tion programs described in this subsection, the head 

9 of an agency may use not more than an amount 

10 equal to 1 percent of the funds set aside for the 

11 agency’s Small Business Innovation Research pro12 gram. Such funds— 

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

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

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

16 funding costs associated with salaries and ex17 penses of employees of the Federal Govern18 ment.’’. 

19 TITLE III—RURAL 

20 DEVELOPMENT AND OUTREACH 

21 SEC. 301. OUTREACH AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES. 

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

23 as amended, is further amended by inserting after sub24 section (r) the following: 

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


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the other provi2 sions of this subsection, the Administrator shall 

3 make grants on a competitive basis to organizations, 

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

5 of the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) To conduct outreach efforts to in7 crease participation in the programs under this 

8 section. 

9 ‘‘(B) To provide application support and 

10 entrepreneurial and business skills support to 

11 prospective participants in the programs under 

12 this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Ad15 ministrator $10,000,000 to carry out paragraph (1) 

16 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011. 

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

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

19 amount of assistance provided to an organization 

20 under that subparagraph in any fiscal year— 

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

22 matching funds from non-Federal sources pro23 vided by the organization; and 

24 ‘‘(B) shall not exceed $250,000. 


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

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

3 funds, direct its activities at one or more of the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(A) Small business concerns located in 

6 geographic areas that are underrepresented in 

7 the programs under this section. 

8 ‘‘(B) Small business concerns owned and 

9 controlled by women, small business concerns 

10 owned and controlled by service-disabled vet11 erans, and small business concerns owned and 

12 controlled by minorities. 

13 ‘‘(C) Small business concerns owned and 

14 controlled by Native Americans. 

15 ‘‘(D) Small business concerns located in 

16 geographic areas with an unemployment rate 

17 that exceeds the national unemployment rate. 

18 ‘‘(5) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

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

20 days after the date of the enactment of this 

21 subsection, the Administrator shall establish an 

22 advisory board for the activities carried out 

23 under this subsection. 


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

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

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

4 ‘‘(C) MEMBERS.—The members of the ad5 visory board shall include the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) The Administrator (or the Ad7 ministrator’s designee). 

8 ‘‘(ii) For each Federal agency re9 quired by this section to conduct an SBIR 

10 program, the head of the agency (or the 

11 designee of the head of the agency). 

12 ‘‘(iii) Representatives of small busi13 ness concerns that are current or former 

14 recipients of SBIR awards, or representa15 tives of organizations of such concerns. 

16 ‘‘(iv) Representatives of service pro17 viders of SBIR outreach and assistance, or 

18 representatives of organizations of such 

19 service providers. 

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

21 have the following duties: 

22 ‘‘(i) To develop guidelines for awards 

23 under paragraph (1), including guidelines 

24 relating to award sizes, proposal require25 ments, measures for monitoring awardee 


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1 performance, and measures for deter2 mining the overall value of the activities 

3 carried out by the awardees. 

4 ‘‘(ii) To identify opportunities for co5 ordinated outreach, technical assistance, 

6 and commercialization activities among 

7 Federal agencies, the recipients of the 

8 awards under paragraph (1), and appli9 cants and recipients of SBIR awards, in10 cluding opportunities such as— 

11 ‘‘(I) podcasting or webcasting for 

12 conferences, training workshops, and 

13 other events; 

14 ‘‘(II) shared online resources to 

15 match prospective applicants with the 

16 network of paragraph (1) recipients; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(III) venture capital conferences 

19 tied to technologies and sectors that 

20 cross agencies. 

21 ‘‘(iii) To review and recommend revi22 sions to activities under paragraph (1). 

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

24 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

25 the Senate and the Committee on Small 


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1 Business and the Committee on Science 

2 and Technology of the House of Represent3 atives an annual report on the activities 

4 carried out under paragraph (1) and the 

5 effectiveness and impact of those activities. 

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

7 grants under this subsection, the Administrator shall 

8 use selection criteria developed by the advisory board 

9 established under paragraph (5). The criteria shall 

10 include— 

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

12 applicants who propose to carry out activities 

13 that will reach either an underperforming geo14 graphic area (including geographic areas with 

15 an unemployment rate that exceeds the national 

16 unemployment rate) or an underrepresented 

17 population group (as measured by the number 

18 of SBIR applicants); 

19 ‘‘(B) criteria designed to give preference: 

20 (i) to applicants serving underrepresented 

21 States and regions; and (ii) to applicants who 

22 are women-, service-disabled veterans-, or mi23 nority-owned. 

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

25 applicants who propose to carry out activities 


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1 that complement, and are integrated into, the 

2 existing public-private innovation support sys3 tem for the targeted region or population; 

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

5 applicants who propose to measure the effec6 tiveness of the proposed activities; and 

7 ‘‘(E) criteria designed to give preference to 

8 applicants who include a Small Business Devel9 opment Center program that is accredited for 

10 its technology services. 

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

12 this subsection, the Administrator shall use a peer 

13 review process. Reviewers shall include— 

14 ‘‘(A) SBIR program managers for agencies 

15 required by this section to conduct SBIR pro16 grams; and 

17 ‘‘(B) private individuals and organizations 

18 that are knowledgeable about SBIR, the innova19 tion process, technology commercialization, and 

20 State and regional technology-based economic 

21 development programs. 

22 ‘‘(8) PER-STATE LIMITATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re24 ceive a grant under this subsection, the appli25 cant must have the written endorsement of the 


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1 Governor of the State where the targeted re2 gions or populations are located (if the regions 

3 or populations are located in more than one 

4 State, the applicant must have the written en5 dorsement of the Governor of each such State). 

6 Such an endorsement must indicate that the 

7 Governor will ensure that the activities to be 

8 carried out under the grant will be integrated 

9 with the balance of the State’s portfolio of in10 vestments to help small business concerns com11 mercialize technology. 

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

13 Governor may have in effect not more than one 

14 written endorsement for a grant under para15 graph (1)(A), and not more than one written 

16 endorsement for a grant under paragraph 

17 (1)(B). 

18 ‘‘(9) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARDS.— 

19 In making awards under paragraph (1) the Adminis20 trator shall ensure that each award shall be for a pe21 riod of 2 fiscal years. The Administrator shall estab22 lish rules and performance goals for the disburse23 ment of funds for the second fiscal year, and funds 

24 shall not be disbursed to a recipient for such a fiscal 

25 year until after the advisory board established under 


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1 this subsection has determined that the recipient is 

2 in compliance with the rules and performance 

3 goals.’’. 

4 SEC. 302. PREFERENCES. 

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

6 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(cc) PREFERENCES.—In making awards under this 

9 section, Federal agencies shall give priority to applications 

10 so as to increase the number of SBIR and STTR award 

11 recipients that are from areas with an unemployment rate 

12 that exceeds the national unemployment rate, that are 

13 from rural areas, or that are small business concerns 

14 owned and controlled by Native Americans. The Adminis15 trator shall submit an annual report to Congress setting 

16 forth how many small business concerns owned and con17 trolled by Native Americans were recipients of assistance 

18 under this section.’’. 

19 SEC. 303. OBTAINING SBIR APPLICANT’S CONSENT TO RE20 LEASE CONTACT INFORMATION TO ECO21 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS. 

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

23 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(dd) CONSENT TO RELEASE CONTACT INFORMA2 TION TO ORGANIZATIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ENABLING CONCERN TO GIVE CONSENT.— 

4 Each Federal agency required by this section to con5 duct an SBIR program shall enable a small business 

6 concern that is an SBIR applicant to indicate to the 

7 agency whether the agency has its consent to— 

8 ‘‘(A) identify the concern to appropriate 

9 local and State-level economic development or10 ganizations as an SBIR applicant; and 

11 ‘‘(B) release the concern’s contact informa12 tion to such organizations. 

13 ‘‘(2) RULES.—The Administrator shall estab14 lish rules to implement this subsection. The rules 

15 shall include a requirement that the agency include 

16 in its SBIR application forms a provision through 

17 which the applicant can indicate consent for pur18 poses of paragraph (1).’’. 

19 SEC. 304. INCREASED PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN SBIR 

20 AWARDEES AND PRIME CONTRACTORS, VEN21 TURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT COMPANIES, 

22 AND LARGER BUSINESSES. 

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

24 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(ee) INCREASED PARTNERSHIPS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each agency required by 

3 this section to conduct an SBIR program shall es4 tablish initiatives by which the agency encourages 

5 partnerships between SBIR awardees and prime 

6 contractors, venture capital investment companies, 

7 business incubators, and larger businesses, for the 

8 purpose of facilitating the progress of the SBIR 

9 awardees to the third phase. 

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

11 ‘business incubator’ means an entity that provides 

12 coordinated and specialized services to entrepre13 neurial businesses which meet selected criteria dur14 ing the businesses’ startup phases, including pro15 viding services such as shared office space and office 

16 services, access to equipment, access to telecommuni17 cations and technology services, flexible leases, spe18 cialized management assistance, access to financing, 

19 mentoring and training services, or other coordi20 nated business or technical support services designed 

21 to provide business development assistance to entre22 preneurial businesses during these businesses’ start23 up phases.’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—SBIR AND STTR 

2 ENHANCEMENT 

3 SEC. 401. INCREASED NUMBER OF RESEARCH TOPIC SO4 LICITATIONS ANNUALLY AND SHORTENED 

5 PERIOD FOR FINAL DECISIONS ON APPLICA6 TIONS. 

7 (a) INCREASED NUMBER OF RESEARCH TOPIC SO8 LICITATIONS ANNUALLY.—Section 9(g)(2) of the Small 

9 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(g)(2)) is amended by insert10 ing before the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, but 

11 not less often than twice per year’’. 

12 (b) SHORTENED PERIOD FOR FINAL DECISIONS ON

13 APPLICATIONS.—Section 9(g)(4) of the Small Business 

14 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(g)(4)) is amended by inserting before 

15 the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, but a final deci16 sion on each proposal shall be rendered not later than 90 

17 days after the date on which the solicitation closes unless 

18 the Administrator determines, on a case by case basis, 

19 that a decision may be extended from 90 days to 180 

20 days’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. AGENCIES SHOULD FUND VITAL R&D PROJECTS 

2 WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR COMMERCIALIZA3 TION. 

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

5 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(ff) MULTIPLE FIRST PHASE SBIR AWARDS RE8 PORT.—The Administrator shall, on an annual basis, sub9 mit to the Committee on Small Business and the Com10 mittee on Science and Technology of the House of Rep11 resentatives and the Committee on Small Business and 

12 Entrepreneurship of the Senate a list identifying each 

13 small business concern that, for the period covered by the 

14 preceding 5 fiscal years, received 15 or more first phase 

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

16 SEC. 403. FEDERAL AGENCY ENGAGEMENT WITH SBIR 

17 AWARDEES THAT HAVE BEEN AWARDED MUL18 TIPLE PHASE ONE AWARDS BUT HAVE NOT 

19 BEEN AWARDED PHASE TWO AWARDS. 

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

21 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(gg) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO FEDERAL

24 AGENCY ENGAGEMENT WITH CERTAIN FIRST PHASE

25 SBIR AWARDEES.—Each Federal agency required by this 

26 section to conduct an SBIR program shall engage with 


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1 SBIR awardees that have been awarded multiple first 

2 phase SBIR awards but have not been awarded any sec3 ond phase SBIR awards and shall develop performance 

4 measures with respect to awardee progression in the SBIR 

5 program.’’. 

6 SEC. 404. FUNDING FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, OVERSIGHT, 

7 AND CONTRACT PROCESSING COSTS. 

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

9 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(hh) ASSISTANCE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, OVER12 SIGHT, AND CONTRACT PROCESSING COSTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail14 able to carry out this subsection, the Administrator 

15 may, on petition by Federal agencies required by 

16 this section to conduct an SBIR program, transfer 

17 funds to such agencies to assist with the administra18 tive, oversight, and contract processing costs relating 

19 to such program. 

20 ‘‘(2) PETITIONS.—The Administrator shall es21 tablish rules for making transfers under paragraph 

22 (1). The initial set of rules shall be promulgated not 

23 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

24 of this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(3) LIMIT ON TRANSFER.—A Federal agency 

2 may not receive under this subsection in a fiscal 

3 year an amount greater than 3 percent of the SBIR 

4 budget of such agency for such fiscal year. 

5 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Ad7 ministrator to carry out this subsection $27,500,000 

8 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011.’’. 

9 SEC. 405. COMPTROLLER GENERAL AUDIT OF HOW FED10 ERAL AGENCIES CALCULATE EXTRAMURAL 

11 RESEARCH BUDGETS. 

12 The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

13 carry out a detailed audit of how Federal agencies cal14 culate extramural research budgets for purposes of calcu15 lating the size of the agencies’ Small Business Innovation 

16 Research Program and Small Business Technology Trans17 fer Program budgets. Not later than 1 year after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

19 submit to the Committee on Small Business and the Com20 mittee on Science and Technology of the House of Rep21 resentatives and the Committee on Small Business and 

22 Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report on the results 

23 of the audit. 


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1 SEC. 406. AGENCY DATABASES TO SUPPORT PROGRAM 

2 EVALUATION. 

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

4 638(k)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

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

7 (ii); 

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

9 (iii); and 

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

11 clause: 

12 ‘‘(iv) information on the ownership 

13 structure of award recipients, both at the 

14 time of receipt of the award and upon com15 pletion of the award period;’’; 

16 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(3) UPDATING INFORMATION FOR DATA19 BASE.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Federal agency 

21 shall not make a Phase I or Phase II payment 

22 to a small business concern under this section 

23 unless the small business concern has provided 

24 all information required under this subsection 

25 and available at the time with respect to the 

26 award under which the payment is made, and 


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1 with respect to any other award under this sec2 tion previously received by the small business 

3 concern or a predecessor in interest to the small 

4 business concern. 

5 ‘‘(B) APPORTIONMENT.—In complying 

6 with this paragraph, a small business concern 

7 may apportion sales or additional investment 

8 information relating to more than one second 

9 phase award among those awards, if it notes 

10 the apportionment for each award. 

11 ‘‘(C) ANNUAL UPDATES UPON TERMI12 NATION.—A small business concern receiving an 

13 award under this section shall— 

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

15 award, update information in the data16 bases required under paragraphs (2) and 

17 (6) concerning that award at the termi18 nation of the award period; 

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

20 not described in clause (iii), be requested 

21 to voluntarily update such information an22 nually thereafter for a period of 5 years; 

23 and 

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

25 concern applying for a subsequent first 


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1 phase or second phase award, be required 

2 to update such information annually there3 after for a period of 5 years.’’; and 

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

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(6) AGENCY PROGRAM EVALUATION DATA7 BASES.—Each Federal agency required to establish 

8 an SBIR or STTR program under this section shall 

9 develop and maintain, for the purpose of evaluating 

10 such programs, a database containing information 

11 required to be contained in the database under para12 graph (2). Each such database shall be designed to 

13 be accessible to other agencies that are required to 

14 maintain a database under this paragraph. Each 

15 such database shall be developed and operated in a 

16 manner to ensure that each such database is rel17 evant to and contributes to the agency’s oversight 

18 and evaluation of the SBIR and STTR programs. 

19 Paragraphs (4) and (5) apply to each database 

20 under this paragraph.’’. 

21 SEC. 407. AGENCY DATABASES TO SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY 

22 UTILIZATION. 

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

24 638(k)), as amended, is further amended by adding at the 

25 end the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(7) AGENCY DATABASES TO SUPPORT TECH2 NOLOGY UTILIZATION.—Each Federal agency with 

3 an SBIR or STTR program shall create and main4 tain a technology utilization database, which shall be 

5 available to the public and shall contain data sup6 plied by the award recipients specifically to help 

7 them attract customers for the products and services 

8 generated under the SBIR or STTR project, and to 

9 attract additional investors and business partners. 

10 Each database created under this paragraph shall 

11 include information on the other databases created 

12 under this paragraph by other Federal agencies. 

13 Participation in a database under this paragraph 

14 shall be voluntary, except that such participation is 

15 required of all award recipients who received supple16 mental payments from SBIR and STTR program 

17 funds above their initial Phase II award. Each data18 base created under this paragraph shall be developed 

19 and operated in a manner to ensure that each such 

20 database is relevant to and contributes to the agen21 cy’s oversight and evaluation of the SBIR and 

22 STTR programs.’’. 

23 SEC. 408. INTERAGENCY POLICY COMMITTEE. 

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

25 Science and Technology Policy shall establish an InterVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:38 Jul 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2965.RDS H2965

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1 agency SBIR/STTR Policy Committee comprised of one 

2 representative from each Federal agency with an SBIR 

3 program and the Office of Management and Budget. 

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

5 and Technology Policy and the Director of the National 

6 Institute of Standards and Technology shall jointly chair 

7 the Interagency SBIR/STTR Policy Committee. 

8 (c) DUTIES.—The Interagency SBIR/STTR Policy 

9 Committee shall review the following issues and make pol10 icy recommendations on ways to improve program effec11 tiveness and efficiency: 

12 (1) The public and government databases de13 scribed in section 9(k) (1) and (2) of the Small 

14 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(k) (1) and (2)). 

15 (2) Federal agency flexibility in establishing 

16 Phase I and II award sizes, and appropriate criteria 

17 to exercise such flexibility. 

18 (3) Commercialization assistance best practices 

19 in Federal agencies with significant potential to be 

20 employed by other agencies, and the appropriate 

21 steps to achieve that leverage, as well as proposals 

22 for new initiatives to address funding gaps business 

23 concerns face after Phase II but before commer24 cialization. 


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1 (4) Development and incorporation of a stand2 ard evaluation framework to enable systematic as3 sessment of SBIR and STTR, including through im4 proved tracking of awards and outcomes and devel5 opment of performance measures for individual 

6 agency programs. 

7 (d) REPORTS.—The Interagency SBIR/STTR Policy 

8 Committee shall transmit to the Committee on Science 

9 and Technology and the Committee on Small Business of 

10 the House of Representatives, and to the Committee on 

11 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate— 

12 (1) a report on its review and recommendations 

13 under subsections (c)(1) and (c)(4) not later than 1 

14 year after the date of enactment of this Act; 

15 (2) a report on its review and recommendations 

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

17 after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

18 (3) a report on its review and recommendations 

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

20 the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 409. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL SBIR STUDY. 

22 Section 108(d) of the Small Business Reauthoriza23 tion Act of 2000 (15 U.S.C. 638 note), enacted into law 

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1 propriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–554), is amend2 ed— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘of the Senate’’ and all that fol4 lows through ‘‘not later than 3’’ and inserting ‘‘of 

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

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

7 through ‘‘update of such report’’. 

8 SEC. 410. EXPRESS AUTHORITY TO ‘‘FAST-TRACK’’ PHASE 

9 TWO AWARDS FOR PROMISING PHASE ONE 

10 RESEARCH. 

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

12 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(ii) AUTHORITY TO ‘FAST-TRACK’ PHASE TWO

15 AWARDS FOR PROMISING PHASE ONE RESEARCH.—To 

16 address the delay between an award for the first phase 

17 of an SBIR program and the application for and extension 

18 of an award for the second phase of such program, each 

19 Federal agency with an SBIR program may develop ‘fast20 track’ programs to eliminate such delay by issuing second 

21 phase SBIR awards as soon as practicable, including in 

22 appropriate cases simultaneously with the issuance of the 

23 first phase SBIR award. The Administrator shall encour24 age the development of such ‘fast-track’ programs.’’. 


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1 SEC. 411. INCREASED SBIR AND STTR AWARD LEVELS. 

2 (a) SBIR AWARD LEVEL AND ANNUAL ADJUST3 MENTS.—Section 9(j) of the Small Business Act (15 

4 U.S.C. 638(j)) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(4) FURTHER ADDITIONAL MODIFICATIONS.—Not 

7 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

8 paragraph and notwithstanding paragraph (2)(D), the Ad9 ministrator shall modify the policy directives issued pursu10 ant to this subsection to provide for an increase to 

11 $250,000 in the amount of funds which an agency may 

12 award in the first phase of an SBIR program, and to 

13 $2,000,000 in the second phase of an SBIR program, and 

14 a mandatory annual adjustment of such amounts to reflect 

15 economic adjustments and programmatic considerations.’’. 

16 (b) STTR AWARD LEVEL AND ANNUAL ADJUST17 MENTS.—Section 9(p)(2)(B)(ix) of the Small Business Act 

18 (15 U.S.C. 638(p)(2)(B)(ix)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and ‘‘$750,000’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘$250,000’’ and ‘‘$2,000,000’’, re21 spectively; and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘greater or lesser amounts’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘with a mandatory annual adjustment of 

24 such amounts to reflect economic adjustments and 

25 programmatic considerations, and with lesser 

26 amounts’’. 


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1 (c) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN AWARDS.—Section 9 of 

2 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as amended, is 

3 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(jj) LIMITATION ON PHASE I AND II AWARDS.—No 

5 Federal agency shall issue an award under the SBIR pro6 gram or the STTR program if the size of the award ex7 ceeds the amounts established under subsections (j)(4) 

8 and (p)(2)(B)(ix).’’. 

9 SEC. 412. EXPRESS AUTHORITY FOR AN AGENCY TO AWARD 

10 SEQUENTIAL PHASE TWO AWARDS FOR SBIR11 FUNDED PROJECTS. 

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

13 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(kk) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ADDITIONAL

16 SECOND PHASE SBIR AWARDS.— 

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

18 that receives a second phase SBIR award for a 

19 project remains eligible to receive additional second 

20 phase SBIR awards for such project. 

21 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL OR WEAPONS SYSTEMS.— 

22 Agencies are expressly authorized to provide addi23 tional second phase SBIR awards for testing and 

24 evaluation assistance for the insertion of SBIR tech25 nologies into technical or weapons systems.’’. 


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1 SEC. 413. FIRST PHASE REQUIRED. 

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

3 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(ll) FIRST PHASE REQUIRED.—Under this section, 

6 a Federal agency shall provide to a small business concern 

7 an award for the second phase of an SBIR program with 

8 respect to a project only if such agency finds that the 

9 small business concern has been provided an award for 

10 the first phase of an SBIR program with respect to such 

11 project or has completed the determinations described in 

12 subsection (e)(4)(A) with respect to such project despite 

13 not having been provided an award for the first phase.’’. 

14 SEC. 414. INVOLVEMENT OF CHIEF COUNSEL FOR ADVO15 CACY. 

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

17 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(mm) INVOLVEMENT OF CHIEF COUNSEL FOR AD20 VOCACY.—The Chief Counsel for Advocacy, as described 

21 in section 201 of Public Law 94–305 (15 U.S.C. 634a), 

22 and any individual reporting to the Chief Counsel for Ad23 vocacy, without regard to whether such individual was 

24 hired under section 204 of Public Law 94–305 (15 U.S.C. 

25 634d), may not provide to the Administrator, to any indi26 vidual who reports directly or indirectly to the AdminisVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:38 Jul 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2965.RDS H2965

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1 trator, or to any Federal agency any advice, guidance, 

2 oversight, or review with respect to the programs author3 ized under this section.’’. 

4 SEC. 415. MINORITY INSTITUTION PROGRAM. 

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

6 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(nn) MINORITY INSTITUTION PROGRAM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—From amounts made 

10 available to carry out this subsection, the Adminis11 trator shall establish and carry out a program to 

12 make grants to minority institutions that partner 

13 with nonprofit organizations that have experience 

14 developing relationships between industry, minority 

15 institutions, and other entities, for the purpose of in16 creasing the number of SBIR and STTR program 

17 applications by minority-owned small businesses. 

18 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

19 grant under paragraph (1), a minority institution 

20 shall submit an application to the Administrator at 

21 such time, in such manner, and containing such in22 formation and assurances as the Administrator may 

23 require. 

24 ‘‘(3) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a condi25 tion of a grant under paragraph (1), the AdminisVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:38 Jul 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2965.RDS H2965

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1 trator shall require that a minority institution pro2 vide a matching amount from a source other than 

3 the Federal Government that is equal to the amount 

4 of the grant. 

5 ‘‘(4) MINORITY INSTITUTION DEFINED.—In 

6 this subsection, the term ‘minority institution’ has 

7 the meaning given that term in section 365(3) of the 

8 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 1067k(3)). 

10 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

12 this subsection $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

13 2010 and 2011.’’. 

14 SEC. 416. AREAS THAT HAVE LOST A MAJOR SOURCE OF 

15 EMPLOYMENT. 

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

17 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(oo) AREAS THAT HAVE LOST A MAJOR SOURCE

20 OF EMPLOYMENT.—In making awards under this section, 

21 Federal agencies shall give priority to applications so as 

22 to increase the number of SBIR and STTR award recipi23 ents from geographic areas determined by the Adminis24 trator to have lost a major source of employment.’’. 


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1 SEC. 417. ENHANCING VETERAN PARTICIPATION IN SBIR. 

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

3 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(pp) ENHANCING VETERAN PARTICIPATION IN

6 SBIR.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec7 tion, a small business concern owned and controlled by 

8 veterans may— 

9 ‘‘(1) receive an award in the amount of 

10 $300,000 in the first phase of an SBIR program 

11 and in the amount of $2,250,000 in the second 

12 phase of an SBIR program, with such amounts able 

13 to be exceeded if the Federal agency making the 

14 award notifies the Administrator of such excess; and 

15 ‘‘(2) receive an award for the second phase of 

16 an SBIR program with respect to a project without 

17 having received a first phase award with respect to 

18 such project.’’. 

19 SEC. 418. VETERAN PREFERENCE. 

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

21 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(qq) VETERAN PREFERENCE.—In making awards 

24 under this section, Federal agencies shall give priority to 

25 applications so as to increase the number of SBIR and 


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1 STTR award recipients that are small business concerns 

2 owned and controlled by veterans.’’. 

3 SEC. 419. MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY. 

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

5 638(g)(3)), as amended, is further amended in the matter 

6 preceding subparagraph (A) by inserting after ‘‘broad re7 search topics’’ the following: ‘‘and research topics relating 

8 to medical technology’’. 

9 TITLE V—IMPROVING WATER 

10 USE AND TRANSMISSION 

11 TECHNOLOGY 

12 SEC. 501. IMPROVING WATER USE AND TRANSMISSION 

13 TECHNOLOGY. 

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

15 of this Act, Federal agencies with an SBIR program, as 

16 appropriate, shall jointly develop and issue a small busi17 ness innovation research solicitation that requests re18 search proposals with respect to improving the efficiency 

19 of water delivery systems and usage patterns in the United 

20 States and its territories through the use of technology. 


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1 TITLE VI—GAO STUDY WITH RE2 SPECT TO VENTURE CAPITAL 

3 OPERATING COMPANY IN4 VOLVEMENT 

5 SEC. 601. GAO STUDY WITH RESPECT TO VENTURE CAPITAL 

6 OPERATING COMPANY INVOLVEMENT. 

7 The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

8 carry out a study of the impact of requirements relating 

9 to venture capital operating company involvement under 

10 section 9(aa) of the Small Business Act, as added by sec11 tion 102 of this Act. Not later than 1 year after the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

13 submit to Congress a report on the results of the study. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 8, 2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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