I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2965 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 19, 2009 

Mr. ALTMIRE (for himself, Mr. WU, Mr. GRAVES, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. 

SCHOCK, Mr. NYE, Mrs. HALVORSON, and Mr. BRIGHT) 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 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act 

6 of 2009’’. 

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

2 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 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. Rural preference. 

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. 

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. 

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

awards for SBIR-funded projects. 

Sec. 413. First phase required. 

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’’. 

12 SEC. 102. ENSURING THAT INNOVATIVE SMALL BUSI13 NESSES WITH SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT 

14 FROM VENTURE CAPITAL OPERATING COM15 PANIES ARE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 

16 SBIR AND STTR PROGRAMS. 

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

18 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

20 Effective only for the SBIR and STTR programs the fol21 lowing shall apply: 

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

23 500 employees shall not qualify as a small business 

24 concern. 

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

2 concern is independently owned and operated under 

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

4 standards instituted under section 3(a)(2), the Ad5 ministrator shall not consider a business concern to 

6 be affiliated with a venture capital operating com7 pany (or with any other business that the venture 

8 capital operating company has financed) if— 

9 ‘‘(A) the venture capital operating com10 pany does not own 50 percent or more of the 

11 business concern; and 

12 ‘‘(B) employees of the venture capital oper13 ating company do not constitute a majority of 

14 the board of directors of the business concern. 

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

16 ‘independently owned and operated’ if— 

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

18 more natural persons or venture capital oper19 ating companies; 

20 ‘‘(B) there is no single venture capital op21 erating company that owns 50 percent or more 

22 of the business concern; and 

23 ‘‘(C) there is no single venture capital op24 erating company the employees of which conmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 stitute a majority of the board of directors of 

2 the business concern. 

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

4 controlled by a business with more than 500 employ5 ees (in this paragraph referred to as a ‘VCOC under 

6 large business control’) has an ownership interest in 

7 a small business concern that is owned in majority 

8 part by venture capital operating companies, the 

9 small business concern is eligible to receive an award 

10 under the SBIR or STTR program only if— 

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

12 large business control have an ownership inter13 est in the small business concern; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the VCOCs under large business con15 trol do not collectively own more than 20 per16 cent of the small business concern. 

17 ‘‘(5) The term ‘venture capital operating com18 pany’ means a business concern— 

19 ‘‘(A) that— 

20 ‘‘(i) is a Venture Capital Operating 

21 Company, as that term is defined in regu22 lations promulgated by the Secretary of 

23 Labor; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) is an entity that— 

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1 ‘‘(I) is registered under the In2 vestment Company Act of 1940 (15 

3 U.S.C. 80a–51 et seq.); or 

4 ‘‘(II) is an investment company, 

5 as defined in section 3(c)(1) of such 

6 Act (15 U.S.C. 80a–3(c)(1)), which is 

7 not registered under such Act because 

8 it is beneficially owned by less than 

9 100 persons; and 

10 ‘‘(B) that is itself organized or incor11 porated and domiciled in the United States, or 

12 is controlled by a business concern that is incor13 porated and domiciled in the United States.’’. 

14 TITLE II—COMMERCIALIZATION 

15 ACTIVITIES AND RESEARCH 

16 TOPICS DESERVING SPECIAL 

17 CONSIDERATION 

18 SEC. 201. FOCUS ON COMMERCIALIZATION. 

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

20 638(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

22 established in this section should focus on promoting re23 search and development of projects governed by commer24 cial business plans, which have significant potential to 

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1 produce products or services for the marketplace or for 

2 acquisition by Federal agencies.’’. 

3 SEC. 202. INCLUSION OF ENERGY-RELATED RESEARCH 

4 TOPICS AND RARE DISEASE-RELATED RE5 SEARCH TOPICS AS DESERVING ‘‘SPECIAL 

6 CONSIDERATION’’ AS SBIR RESEARCH TOP7 ICS. 

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

9 638(g)(3)) is amended— 

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

11 by inserting after ‘‘critical technologies’’ the fol12 lowing: ‘‘or pressing research priorities’’; 

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

14 ‘‘or’’; and 

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

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

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

18 Future: Technology Opportunities, Risks, and 

19 Tradeoffs’ project, and in subsequent reports 

20 issued by the National Academy of Sciences on 

21 sustainability, energy, and alternative fuels; 

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

23 the annual report on the rare diseases research 

24 activities of the National Institutes of Health 

25 for fiscal year 2005, and in subsequent reports 

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1 issued by the National Institutes of Health on 

2 rare diseases research activities; or 

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

4 the final report issued by the ‘Transit Research 

5 and Development: Federal Role in the National 

6 Program’ project and the ‘Transportation Re7 search, Development and Technology Strategic 

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

9 Department of Transportation Research and 

10 Innovative Technology Administration, and in 

11 subsequent reports issued by the National 

12 Academy of Sciences and United States Depart13 ment of Transportation on transportation and 

14 infrastructure;’’. 

15 SEC. 203. NANOTECHNOLOGY-RELATED RESEARCH TOPICS. 

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

17 Act (15 U.S.C. 638(g)(3)), as amended, is further amend18 ed— 

19 (1) at the end of subparagraph (D) by striking 

20 ‘‘or’’; 

21 (2) at the end of subparagraph (E) by adding 

22 ‘‘or’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(F) the national nanotechnology strategic 

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

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1 Century Nanotechnology Research and Develop2 ment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in subse3 quent reports issued by the National Science 

4 and Technology Council Committee on Tech5 nology, focusing on areas of nanotechnology 

6 identified in such plan;’’. 

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

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

9 (1) at the end of subparagraph (A) by striking 

10 ‘‘or’’; 

11 (2) at the end of subparagraph (B) by adding 

12 ‘‘or’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(C) by the national nanotechnology stra15 tegic plan required under section 2(c)(4) of the 

16 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and De17 velopment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in 

18 subsequent reports issued by the National 

19 Science and Technology Council Committee on 

20 Technology, focusing on areas of nanotechnolo21 gy identified in such plan;’’. 

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

23 THREE’’. 

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

25 638(e)) is amended— 

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

2 clause (i) by inserting after ‘‘a third phase’’ the fol3 lowing: ‘‘, which shall consist of work that derives 

4 from, extends, or logically concludes efforts per5 formed under prior SBIR funding agreements 

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

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

8 end; 

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

10 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

13 process of developing marketable products or serv14 ices and producing and delivering products or serv15 ices for sale (whether by the originating party or by 

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

17 SEC. 205. AGENCY RESEARCH GOALS. 

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

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

20 and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(h) AGENCY RESEARCH GOALS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the require23 ments of subsection (f), each Federal agency that is 

24 required by this section to have an SBIR program 

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

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1 in procurement contracts shall, effective for fiscal 

2 year 2010 and each fiscal year thereafter, establish 

3 annual goals for commercialization of projects fund4 ed by SBIR awards. 

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

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

7 the following: 

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

9 receive funding for the third phase (as defined 

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

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

12 are successfully integrated into a program of 

13 record. 

14 ‘‘(C) The amount of Federal dollars re15 ceived by SBIR projects through Federal con16 tracts, not including dollars received through 

17 the SBIR program. 

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

19 fiscal year for which goals are required by paragraph 

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

21 Small Business and the Committee on Science and 

22 Technology of the House of Representatives and the 

23 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

24 of the Senate— 

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1 ‘‘(A) not later than 60 days after the be2 ginning of the fiscal year, the goals; and 

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

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

5 the goals were met and a description of the 

6 methodology used to collect such data.’’. 

7 SEC. 206. COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMS. 

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 ‘‘(bb) COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMS.— 

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

13 this section to conduct an SBIR program shall es14 tablish a commercialization program that supports 

15 the progress of SBIR awardees to the third phase. 

16 The commercialization program may include activi17 ties such as partnership databases, partnership con18 ferences, multiple second phases, mentoring between 

19 prime contractors and SBIR awardees, multiple sec20 ond phases with matching private investment re21 quirements, jumbo awards, SBIR helpdesks, and 

22 transition assistance programs. The agency shall in23 clude in its annual report an analysis of the various 

24 activities considered for inclusion in the commer25 cialization program and a statement of the reasons 

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1 why each activity considered was included or not in2 cluded, as the case may be. 

3 ‘‘(2) FUNDING FOR COMMERCIALIZATION PRO4 GRAMS.— 

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

6 available to carry out this paragraph, the Ad7 ministrator may, on petition by agencies re8 quired by this section to conduct an SBIR pro9 gram, transfer funds to such agencies to sup10 port the commercialization programs of such 

11 agencies. 

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

13 establish rules for making transfers under sub14 paragraph (A). The initial set of rules shall be 

15 promulgated not later than 90 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this paragraph. 

17 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA18 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

19 to the Administrator to carry out this para20 graph $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2010 and 

21 each fiscal year thereafter. 

22 ‘‘(3) FUNDING LIMITATION.—For payment of 

23 expenses incurred to administer the commercializa24 tion programs described in paragraphs (1) and (2), 

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

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

2 the agency’s Small Business Innovation Research 

3 program. Such funds— 

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

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

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

7 funding costs associated with salaries and ex8 penses of employees of the Federal Govern9 ment.’’. 

10 TITLE III—RURAL 

11 DEVELOPMENT AND OUTREACH 

12 SEC. 301. OUTREACH AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES. 

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

14 as amended, is further amended by inserting after sub15 section (r) the following: 

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

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the other provi18 sions of this subsection, the Administrator shall 

19 make grants on a competitive basis to organizations, 

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

21 of the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) To conduct outreach efforts to in23 crease participation in the programs under this 

24 section. 

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1 ‘‘(B) To provide application support and 

2 entrepreneurial and business skills support to 

3 prospective participants in the programs under 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Ad7 ministrator $10,000,000 to carry out paragraph (1) 

8 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011. 

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

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

11 amount of assistance provided to an organization 

12 under that subparagraph in any fiscal year— 

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

14 matching funds from non-Federal sources pro15 vided by the organization; and 

16 ‘‘(B) shall not exceed $250,000. 

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

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

19 funds, direct its activities at one or both of the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(A) Small business concerns located in 

22 geographic areas that are underrepresented in 

23 the programs under this section. 

24 ‘‘(B) Small business concerns owned and 

25 controlled by women, small business concerns 

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1 owned and controlled by service-disabled vet2 erans, and small business concerns owned and 

3 controlled by minorities. 

4 ‘‘(5) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

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

6 days after the date of the enactment of this 

7 subsection, the Administrator shall establish an 

8 advisory board for the activities carried out 

9 under this subsection. 

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

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

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

13 ‘‘(C) MEMBERS.—The members of the ad14 visory board shall include the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) The Administrator (or the Ad16 ministrator’s designee). 

17 ‘‘(ii) For each Federal agency re18 quired by this section to conduct an SBIR 

19 program, the head of the agency (or the 

20 designee of the head of the agency). 

21 ‘‘(iii) Representatives of small busi22 ness concerns that are current or former 

23 recipients of SBIR awards, or representa24 tives of organizations of such concerns. 

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1 ‘‘(iv) Representatives of service pro2 viders of SBIR outreach and assistance, or 

3 representatives of organizations of such 

4 service providers. 

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

6 have the following duties: 

7 ‘‘(i) To develop guidelines for awards 

8 under paragraph (1), including guidelines 

9 relating to award sizes, proposal require10 ments, measures for monitoring awardee 

11 performance, and measures for deter12 mining the overall value of the activities 

13 carried out by the awardees. 

14 ‘‘(ii) To identify opportunities for co15 ordinated outreach, technical assistance, 

16 and commercialization activities among 

17 Federal agencies, the recipients of the 

18 awards under paragraph (1), and appli19 cants and recipients of SBIR awards, in20 cluding opportunities such as— 

21 ‘‘(I) podcasting or webcasting for 

22 conferences, training workshops, and 

23 other events; 

24 ‘‘(II) shared online resources to 

25 match prospective applicants with the 

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1 network of paragraph (1) recipients; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(III) venture capital conferences 

4 tied to technologies and sectors that 

5 cross agencies. 

6 ‘‘(iii) To review and recommend revi7 sions to activities under paragraph (1). 

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

9 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

10 the Senate and the Committee on Small 

11 Business and the Committee on Science 

12 and Technology of the House of Represent13 atives an annual report on the activities 

14 carried out under paragraph (1) and the 

15 effectiveness and impact of those activities. 

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

17 grants under this subsection, the Administrator shall 

18 use selection criteria developed by the advisory board 

19 established under paragraph (5). The criteria shall 

20 include— 

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

22 applicants who propose to carry out activities 

23 that will reach either an underperforming geo24 graphic area or an underrepresented population 

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1 group (as measured by the number of SBIR ap2 plicants); 

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

4 applicants who propose to carry out activities 

5 that complement, and are integrated into, the 

6 existing public-private innovation support sys7 tem for the targeted region or population; 

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

9 applicants who propose to measure the effec10 tiveness of the proposed activities; and 

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

12 applicants who include a Small Business Devel13 opment Center program that is accredited for 

14 its technology services. 

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

16 this subsection, the Administrator shall use a peer 

17 review process. Reviewers shall include— 

18 ‘‘(A) SBIR program managers for agencies 

19 required by this section to conduct SBIR pro20 grams; and 

21 ‘‘(B) private individuals and organizations 

22 that are knowledgeable about SBIR, the innova23 tion process, technology commercialization, and 

24 State and regional technology-based economic 

25 development programs. 

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1 ‘‘(8) PER-STATE LIMITATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re3 ceive a grant under this subsection, the appli4 cant must have the written endorsement of the 

5 Governor of the State where the targeted re6 gions or populations are located (if the regions 

7 or populations are located in more than one 

8 State, the applicant must have the written en9 dorsement of the Governor of each such State). 

10 Such an endorsement must indicate that the 

11 Governor will ensure that the activities to be 

12 carried out under the grant will be integrated 

13 with the balance of the State’s portfolio of in14 vestments to help small business concerns com15 mercialize technology. 

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

17 Governor may have in effect not more than one 

18 written endorsement for a grant under para19 graph (1)(A), and not more than one written 

20 endorsement for a grant under paragraph 

21 (1)(B). 

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

23 In making awards under paragraph (1) the Adminis24 trator shall ensure that each award shall be for a pe25 riod of 2 fiscal years. The Administrator shall estabmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 lish rules and performance goals for the disburse2 ment of funds for the second fiscal year, and funds 

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

4 year until after the advisory board established under 

5 this subsection has determined that the recipient is 

6 in compliance with the rules and performance 

7 goals.’’. 

8 SEC. 302. RURAL PREFERENCE. 

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

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

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(cc) RURAL PREFERENCE.—In making awards 

13 under this section, Federal agencies shall give priority to 

14 applications so as to increase the number of SBIR and 

15 STTR award recipients from rural areas.’’. 

16 SEC. 303. OBTAINING SBIR APPLICANT’S CONSENT TO RE17 LEASE CONTACT INFORMATION TO ECO18 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS. 

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

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

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(dd) CONSENT TO RELEASE CONTACT INFORMA23 TION TO ORGANIZATIONS.— 

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

25 Each Federal agency required by this section to conmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 duct an SBIR program shall enable a small business 

2 concern that is an SBIR applicant to indicate to the 

3 agency whether the agency has its consent to— 

4 ‘‘(A) identify the concern to appropriate 

5 local and State-level economic development or6 ganizations as an SBIR applicant; and 

7 ‘‘(B) release the concern’s contact informa8 tion to such organizations. 

9 ‘‘(2) RULES.—The Administrator shall estab10 lish rules to implement this subsection. The rules 

11 shall include a requirement that the agency include 

12 in its SBIR application forms a provision through 

13 which the applicant can indicate consent for pur14 poses of paragraph (1).’’. 

15 SEC. 304. INCREASED PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN SBIR 

16 AWARDEES AND PRIME CONTRACTORS, VEN17 TURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT COMPANIES, 

18 AND LARGER BUSINESSES. 

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

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

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(ee) INCREASED PARTNERSHIPS.— 

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

24 this section to conduct an SBIR program shall es25 tablish initiatives by which the agency encourages 

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1 partnerships between SBIR awardees and prime 

2 contractors, venture capital investment companies, 

3 business incubators, and larger businesses, for the 

4 purpose of facilitating the progress of the SBIR 

5 awardees to the third phase. 

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

7 ‘business incubator’ means an entity that provides 

8 coordinated and specialized services to entrepre9 neurial businesses which meet selected criteria dur10 ing the businesses’ startup phases, including pro11 viding services such as shared office space and office 

12 services, access to equipment, access to telecommuni13 cations and technology services, flexible leases, spe14 cialized management assistance, access to financing, 

15 mentoring and training services, or other coordi16 nated business or technical support services designed 

17 to provide business development assistance to entre18 preneurial businesses during these businesses’ start19 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 Intermstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 agency SBIR/STTR Policy Committee comprised of one 

2 representative from each Federal agency with an SBIR 

3 program. 

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

2 Committee shall transmit to the Committee on Science 

3 and Technology and the Committee on Small Business of 

4 the House of Representatives, and to the Committee on 

5 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate— 

6 (1) a report on its review and recommendations 

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

8 the date of enactment of this Act; 

9 (2) a report on its review and recommendations 

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

11 after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

12 (3) a report on its review and recommendations 

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

14 the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 409. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL SBIR STUDY. 

16 Section 108(d) of the Small Business Reauthoriza17 tion Act of 2000, enacted into law by reference under sec18 tion 1(a)(9) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001 

19 (Public Law 106–554), is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘of the Senate’’ and all that fol21 lows through ‘‘not later than 3’’ and inserting ‘‘of 

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

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

24 through ‘‘update of such report’’. 

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

2 TWO AWARDS FOR PROMISING PHASE ONE 

3 RESEARCH. 

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

8 AWARDS FOR PROMISING PHASE ONE RESEARCH.—To 

9 address the delay between an award for the first phase 

10 of an SBIR program and the application for and extension 

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

12 Federal agency with an SBIR program may develop ‘fast13 track’ programs to eliminate such delay by issuing second 

14 phase SBIR awards as soon as practicable, including in 

15 appropriate cases simultaneously with the issuance of the 

16 first phase SBIR award. The Administrator shall encour17 age the development of such ‘fast-track’ programs.’’. 

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

19 (a) SBIR AWARD LEVEL AND ANNUAL ADJUST20 MENTS.—Section 9(j) of the Small Business Act (15 

21 U.S.C. 638(j)) is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

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

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

25 paragraph and notwithstanding paragraph (2)(D), the Ad26 ministrator shall modify the policy directives issued pursumstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ant to this subsection to provide for an increase to 

2 $250,000 in the amount of funds which an agency may 

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

4 $2,000,000 in the second phase of an SBIR program, and 

5 a mandatory annual adjustment of such amounts to reflect 

6 economic adjustments and programmatic considerations.’’. 

7 (b) STTR AWARD LEVEL AND ANNUAL ADJUST8 MENTS.—Section 9(p)(2)(B)(ix) of the Small Business Act 

9 (15 U.S.C. 638(p)(2)(B)(ix)) is amended— 

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

11 and inserting ‘‘$250,000’’ and ‘‘$2,000,000’’, re12 spectively; and 

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

14 inserting ‘‘with a mandatory annual adjustment of 

15 such amounts to reflect economic adjustments and 

16 programmatic considerations, and with lesser 

17 amounts’’. 

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

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

20 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

22 Federal agency shall issue an award under the SBIR pro23 gram or the STTR program if the size of the award ex24 ceeds the amounts established under subsections (j)(4) 

25 and (p)(2)(B)(ix).’’. 

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

2 SEQUENTIAL PHASE TWO AWARDS FOR SBIR3 FUNDED PROJECTS. 

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 ‘‘(kk) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ADDITIONAL

8 SECOND PHASE SBIR AWARDS.— 

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

10 that receives a second phase SBIR award for a 

11 project remains eligible to receive additional second 

12 phase SBIR awards for such project. 

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

14 Agencies are expressly authorized to provide addi15 tional second phase SBIR awards for testing and 

16 evaluation assistance for the insertion of SBIR tech17 nologies into technical or weapons systems.’’. 

18 SEC. 413. FIRST PHASE REQUIRED. 

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

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

21 following: 

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

23 a Federal agency shall provide to a small business concern 

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

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

26 small business concern has been provided an award for 

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

2 project or has completed the determinations described in 

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

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

Æ 

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