SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act 
of 2009’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
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 partici-
pate 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 dis-
ease-related research topics as deserving ‘‘special consider-
ation’’ 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 contrac-
tors, venture capital investment companies, and larger busi-
nesses. 
TITLE IV—SBIR AND STTR ENHANCEMENT 
Sec. 401. Increased number of research topic solicitations annually and short-
ened period for final decisions on applications. 
Sec. 402. Agencies should fund vital R&D projects with the potential for com-
mercialization. 
Sec. 403. Federal agency engagement with SBIR awardees that have been 
awarded multiple Phase One awards but have not been award-
ed Phase Two awards. 
Sec. 404. Funding for administrative, oversight, and contract processing costs. 
Sec. 405. Comptroller general audit of how Federal agencies calculate extra-
mural 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. 
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 involve-
ment. 
TITLE I—PROGRAM EXTENSION 
AND VENTURE CAPITAL OP-
ERATING COMPANY INVOLVE-
MENT 
SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF TERMINATION DATES. 
(a) SBIR.—Section 9(m) of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 638(m)) is amended by striking ‘‘2008’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2011’’. 
(b) STTR.—Section 9(n)(1)(A) of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638(n)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 
‘‘2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2011’’.
SEC. 102. ENSURING THAT INNOVATIVE SMALL BUSI-
NESSES WITH SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT 
FROM VENTURE CAPITAL OPERATING COM-
PANIES ARE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 
SBIR AND STTR PROGRAMS. 
Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(aa) VENTURE CAPITAL OPERATING COMPANIES.— 
Effective only for the SBIR and STTR programs the fol-
lowing shall apply: 
‘‘(1) A business concern that has more than 
500 employees shall not qualify as a small business 
concern. 
‘‘(2) In determining whether a small business 
concern is independently owned and operated under 
section 3(a)(1) or meets the small business size 
standards instituted under section 3(a)(2), the Ad-
ministrator shall not consider a business concern to 
be affiliated with a venture capital operating com-
pany (or with any other business that the venture 
capital operating company has financed) if— 
‘‘(A) the venture capital operating com-
pany does not own 50 percent or more of the 
business concern; and
‘‘(B) employees of the venture capital oper-
ating company do not constitute a majority of 
the board of directors of the business concern. 
‘‘(3) A business concern shall be deemed to be 
‘independently owned and operated’ if— 
‘‘(A) it is owned in majority part by one or 
more natural persons or venture capital oper-
ating companies; 
‘‘(B) there is no single venture capital op-
erating company that owns 50 percent or more 
of the business concern; and 
‘‘(C) there is no single venture capital op-
erating company the employees of which con-
stitute a majority of the board of directors of 
the business concern. 
‘‘(4) If a venture capital operating company 
controlled by a business with more than 500 employ-
ees (in this paragraph referred to as a ‘VCOC under 
large business control’) has an ownership interest in 
a small business concern that is owned in majority 
part by venture capital operating companies, the 
small business concern is eligible to receive an award 
under the SBIR or STTR program only if—
‘‘(A) not more than two VCOCs under 
large business control have an ownership inter-
est in the small business concern; and 
‘‘(B) the VCOCs under large business con-
trol do not collectively own more than 20 per-
cent of the small business concern. 
‘‘(5) The term ‘venture capital operating com-
pany’ means a business concern— 
‘‘(A) that— 
‘‘(i) is a Venture Capital Operating 
Company, as that term is defined in regu-
lations promulgated by the Secretary of 
Labor; or 
‘‘(ii) is an entity that— 
‘‘(I) is registered under the In-
vestment Company Act of 1940 (15 
U.S.C. 80a–51 et seq.); or 
‘‘(II) is an investment company, 
as defined in subsection (a)(1) of sec-
tion 3 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 80a–3), 
which is not registered under such Act 
because of an exemption under sub-
section (c)(1) or subsection (c)(7) of 
such section; and
‘‘(B) that is itself organized or incor-
porated and domiciled in the United States, or 
is controlled by a business concern that is incor-
porated and domiciled in the United States.’’. 
TITLE II—COMMERCIALIZATION 
ACTIVITIES AND RESEARCH 
TOPICS DESERVING SPECIAL 
CONSIDERATION 
SEC. 201. FOCUS ON COMMERCIALIZATION. 
Section 9(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
638(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘It is further the policy of Congress that the programs 
established in this section should focus on promoting re-
search and development of projects governed by commer-
cial business plans, which have significant potential to 
produce products or services for the marketplace or for 
acquisition by Federal agencies.’’. 
SEC. 202. INCLUSION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY-RELATED 
RESEARCH TOPICS AND RARE DISEASE-RE-
LATED RESEARCH TOPICS AS DESERVING 
‘‘SPECIAL 
CONSIDERATION’’ 
AS 
SBIR 
RE-
SEARCH TOPICS. 
Section 9(g)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
638(g)(3)) is amended—
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 
by inserting after ‘‘critical technologies’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘or pressing research priorities (including re-
newable energy-related technologies)’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 
end; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) the National Academy of Sciences, in 
the final report issued by the ‘America’s Energy 
Future: Technology Opportunities, Risks, and 
Tradeoffs’ project, and in subsequent reports 
issued by the National Academy of Sciences on 
sustainability, energy, and alternative fuels; 
‘‘(D) the National Institutes of Health, in 
the annual report on the rare diseases research 
activities of the National Institutes of Health 
for fiscal year 2005, and in subsequent reports 
issued by the National Institutes of Health on 
rare diseases research activities; or 
‘‘(E) the National Academy of Sciences, in 
the final report issued by the ‘Transit Research 
and Development: Federal Role in the National 
Program’ project and the ‘Transportation Re-
search, Development and Technology Strategic 
Plan (2006–2010)’ issued by the United States
Department of Transportation Research and 
Innovative Technology Administration, and in 
subsequent reports issued by the National 
Academy of Sciences and United States Depart-
ment of Transportation on transportation and 
infrastructure;’’. 
SEC. 203. NANOTECHNOLOGY-RELATED RESEARCH TOPICS. 
(a) SBIR.—Section 9(g)(3) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 638(g)(3)), as amended, is further amend-
ed— 
(1) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in subparagraph (E) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the 
end; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(F) the national nanotechnology strategic 
plan required under section 2(c)(4) of the 21st 
Century Nanotechnology Research and Develop-
ment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in subse-
quent reports issued by the National Science 
and Technology Council Committee on Tech-
nology, focusing on areas of nanotechnology 
identified in such plan;’’. 
(b) STTR.—Section 9(o)(3) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 638(o)(3)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in subparagraph (B) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the 
end; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) by the national nanotechnology stra-
tegic plan required under section 2(c)(4) of the 
21st Century Nanotechnology Research and De-
velopment Act (15 U.S.C. 7501(c)(4)) and in 
subsequent reports issued by the National 
Science and Technology Council Committee on 
Technology, focusing on areas of nanotechnol-
ogy identified in such plan;’’. 
SEC. 
204. 
CLARIFYING 
THE 
DEFINITION 
OF 
‘‘PHASE 
THREE’’. 
Section 9(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
638(e)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4)(C) in the matter preceding 
clause (i) by inserting after ‘‘a third phase’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘, which shall consist of work that derives 
from, extends, or logically concludes efforts per-
formed under prior SBIR funding agreements 
(which may be referred to as ‘Phase III’)’’; 
(2) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end;
(3) in paragraph (9) by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(10) the term ‘commercialization’ means the 
process of developing marketable products or serv-
ices and producing and delivering products or serv-
ices for sale (whether by the originating party or by 
others) to government or commercial markets.’’. 
SEC. 205. AGENCY RESEARCH GOALS. 
Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), 
as amended, is further amended by striking subsection (h) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(h) AGENCY RESEARCH GOALS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the require-
ments of subsection (f), each Federal agency that is 
required by this section to have an SBIR program 
and that awards annually $5,000,000,000 or more 
in procurement contracts shall, effective for fiscal 
year 2010 and each fiscal year thereafter, establish 
annual goals for commercialization of projects fund-
ed by SBIR awards. 
‘‘(2) SPECIFIC GOALS.—The goals required by 
paragraph (1) shall include specific goals for each of 
the following:
‘‘(A) The percentage of SBIR projects that 
receive funding for the third phase (as defined 
in subsection (e)(4)(C)). 
‘‘(B) The percentage of SBIR projects that 
are successfully integrated into a program of 
record. 
‘‘(C) The amount of Federal dollars re-
ceived by SBIR projects through Federal con-
tracts, not including dollars received through 
the SBIR program. 
‘‘(3) SUBMISSION TO COMMITTEES.—For each 
fiscal year for which goals are required by paragraph 
(1), the agency shall submit to the Committee on 
Small Business and the Committee on Science and 
Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 
of the Senate— 
‘‘(A) not later than 60 days after the be-
ginning of the fiscal year, the goals; and 
‘‘(B) not later than 90 days after the end 
of the fiscal year, data on the extent to which 
the goals were met, a description of the meth-
odology used to collect such data, and a de-
scription of the reasons why the goals were met 
or not met.’’.
SEC. 206. COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMS. 
Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) 
as amended, is further amended, by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(bb) COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each agency required by 
this section to conduct an SBIR program shall es-
tablish a commercialization program that supports 
the progress of SBIR awardees to the third phase. 
The commercialization program may include activi-
ties such as partnership databases, partnership con-
ferences, multiple second phases, mentoring between 
prime contractors and SBIR awardees, multiple sec-
ond phases with matching private investment re-
quirements, jumbo awards, SBIR helpdesks, and 
transition assistance programs. The agency shall in-
clude in its annual report an analysis of the various 
activities considered for inclusion in the commer-
cialization program and a statement of the reasons 
why each activity considered was included or not in-
cluded, as the case may be. 
‘‘(2) SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM.—Each agency 
required to establish a commercialization program 
under paragraph (1) and that carries out construc-
tion, assembly, or research and development activi-
ties with respect to the space shuttle program (also
‘‘(C) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 
to the Administrator to carry out this para-
graph $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2010 and 
each fiscal year thereafter. 
‘‘(4) FUNDING LIMITATION.—For payment of 
expenses incurred to administer the commercializa-
tion programs described in this subsection, the head 
of an agency may use not more than an amount 
equal to 1 percent of the funds set aside for the 
agency’s Small Business Innovation Research pro-
gram. Such funds— 
‘‘(A) shall not be subject to the limitations 
on the use of funds in subsection (f)(2); and 
‘‘(B) shall not be used for the purpose of 
funding costs associated with salaries and ex-
penses of employees of the Federal Govern-
ment.’’. 
TITLE III—RURAL 
DEVELOPMENT AND OUTREACH 
SEC. 301. OUTREACH AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES. 
Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), 
as amended, is further amended by inserting after sub-
section (r) the following: 
‘‘(s) OUTREACH AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the other provi-
sions of this subsection, the Administrator shall 
make grants on a competitive basis to organizations, 
to be used by the organizations to do one or both 
of the following: 
‘‘(A) To conduct outreach efforts to in-
crease participation in the programs under this 
section. 
‘‘(B) To provide application support and 
entrepreneurial and business skills support to 
prospective participants in the programs under 
this section. 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Ad-
ministrator $10,000,000 to carry out paragraph (1) 
for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011. 
‘‘(3) AMOUNT
OF
ASSISTANCE.—For each of 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), the 
amount of assistance provided to an organization 
under that subparagraph in any fiscal year— 
‘‘(A) shall be equal to the total amount of 
matching funds from non-Federal sources pro-
vided by the organization; and 
‘‘(B) shall not exceed $250,000.
‘‘(4) DIRECTION.—An organization receiving 
funds under paragraph (1) shall, in using those 
funds, direct its activities at one or more of the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) Small business concerns located in 
geographic areas that are underrepresented in 
the programs under this section. 
‘‘(B) Small business concerns owned and 
controlled by women, small business concerns 
owned and controlled by service-disabled vet-
erans, and small business concerns owned and 
controlled by minorities. 
‘‘(C) Small business concerns owned and 
controlled by Native Americans. 
‘‘(D) Small business concerns located in 
geographic areas with an unemployment rate 
that exceeds the national unemployment rate. 
‘‘(5) ADVISORY BOARD.— 
‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this 
subsection, the Administrator shall establish an 
advisory board for the activities carried out 
under this subsection.
‘‘(B) NON-APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 
App.) shall not apply to the advisory board. 
‘‘(C) MEMBERS.—The members of the ad-
visory board shall include the following: 
‘‘(i) The Administrator (or the Ad-
ministrator’s designee). 
‘‘(ii) For each Federal agency re-
quired by this section to conduct an SBIR 
program, the head of the agency (or the 
designee of the head of the agency). 
‘‘(iii) Representatives of small busi-
ness concerns that are current or former 
recipients of SBIR awards, or representa-
tives of organizations of such concerns. 
‘‘(iv) Representatives of service pro-
viders of SBIR outreach and assistance, or 
representatives of organizations of such 
service providers. 
‘‘(D) DUTIES.—The advisory board shall 
have the following duties: 
‘‘(i) To develop guidelines for awards 
under paragraph (1), including guidelines 
relating to award sizes, proposal require-
ments, measures for monitoring awardee
performance, and measures for deter-
mining the overall value of the activities 
carried out by the awardees. 
‘‘(ii) To identify opportunities for co-
ordinated outreach, technical assistance, 
and commercialization activities among 
Federal agencies, the recipients of the 
awards under paragraph (1), and appli-
cants and recipients of SBIR awards, in-
cluding opportunities such as— 
‘‘(I) podcasting or webcasting for 
conferences, training workshops, and 
other events; 
‘‘(II) shared online resources to 
match prospective applicants with the 
network of paragraph (1) recipients; 
and 
‘‘(III) venture capital conferences 
tied to technologies and sectors that 
cross agencies. 
‘‘(iii) To review and recommend revi-
sions to activities under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(iv) To submit to the Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 
the Senate and the Committee on Small
Business and the Committee on Science 
and Technology of the House of Represent-
atives an annual report on the activities 
carried out under paragraph (1) and the 
effectiveness and impact of those activities. 
‘‘(6) 
SELECTION
CRITERIA.—In 
awarding 
grants under this subsection, the Administrator shall 
use selection criteria developed by the advisory board 
established under paragraph (5). The criteria shall 
include— 
‘‘(A) criteria designed to give preference to 
applicants who propose to carry out activities 
that will reach either an underperforming geo-
graphic area (including geographic areas with 
an unemployment rate that exceeds the national 
unemployment rate) or an underrepresented 
population group (as measured by the number 
of SBIR applicants); 
‘‘(B) criteria designed to give preference: 
(i) to applicants serving underrepresented 
States and regions; and (ii) to applicants who 
are women-, service-disabled veterans-, or mi-
nority-owned. 
‘‘(C) criteria designed to give preference to 
applicants who propose to carry out activities