(C) in paragraph (21), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(22) with respect to peer review carried out 
under the STTR program, to the extent practicable, 
include in the peer review— 
‘‘(A) the likelhood of commercialization in 
addition to scientific and technical merit and 
feasibility; and 
‘‘(B) not less than 1 reviewer with com-
mercialization expertise who is capable of as-
sessing the likelihood of commercialization.’’; 
(3) in subsection (cc)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘During fiscal years 2012 
through 2025, the National Institutes of 
Health, the Department of Defense, and the 
Department of Education’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During fiscal years 2024 
through 2029, each Federal agency with an SBIR or 
STTR program’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The total value of awards 
provided by a Federal agency under this subsection 
in a fiscal year shall be— 
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‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), not more than 10 percent of the total 
funds allocated to the SBIR and STTR pro-
grams of the Federal agency during that fiscal 
year; and 
‘‘(B) with respect to the National Insti-
tutes of Health, not more than 15 percent of 
the total funds allocated to the SBIR and 
STTR programs of the National Institutes of 
Health during that fiscal year. 
‘‘(3) EXTENSION.—During fiscal years 2028 
and 2029, each Federal agency with an SBIR or 
STTR program may continue phase flexibility as de-
scribed in this subsection only if the reports required 
under subsection (tt)(1) have been submitted to the 
appropriate committees.’’; 
(4) in subsection (hh)(2)(A)(i), by inserting 
‘‘application process and requirements’’ after ‘‘sim-
plified and standardized’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(yy) TECHNOLOGY
COMMERCIALIZATION
OFFI-
CIAL.—Each Federal agency participating in the SBIR or 
STTR program shall designate a Technology Commer-
cialization Official in the Federal agency, who shall— 
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‘‘(1) have sufficient commercialization experi-
ence; 
‘‘(2) provide assistance to SBIR and STTR 
program 
awardees 
in 
commercializing 
and 
transitioning technologies; 
‘‘(3) identify SBIR and STTR program tech-
nologies with sufficient technology and commer-
cialization readiness to advance to Phase III awards 
or other non-SBIR or STTR program contracts; 
‘‘(4) coordinate with the Technology Commer-
cialization Officials of other Federal agencies to 
identify additional markets and commercialization 
pathways for promising SBIR and STTR program 
technologies; 
‘‘(5) submit to the Administration an annual 
report on the number of technologies from the SBIR 
or STTR program that have advanced commer-
cialization activities, including information required 
in the commercialization impact assessment under 
subsection (aaa); 
‘‘(6) submit to the Administration an annual 
report on actions taken by the Federal agency, and 
the results of those actions, to simplify, standardize, 
and expedite the application process and require-
ments, procedures, and contracts as required under 
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subsection 
(hh) 
and 
described 
in 
subsection 
(aaa)(1)(E); and 
‘‘(7) carry out such other duties as the Federal 
agency determines necessary.’’. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small 
Business Administration shall submit to the Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 
the Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep-
resentatives summarizing the metrics relating to and an 
evaluation of the authority provided under section 9(cc) 
of the Small Business Act, as amended by subsection (a), 
which shall include the size and location of the small busi-
ness concerns receiving awards under the SBIR or STTR 
program. 
SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS AS-
SISTANCE; COMMERCIALIZATION IMPACT AS-
SESSMENT; PATENT ASSISTANCE. 
Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), 
as amended by section 2, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (q)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre-
ceding subparagraph (A)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘may enter into an 
agreement with 1 or more vendors selected 
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under paragraph (2)(A)’’ and inserting 
‘‘shall authorize recipients of awards under 
the SBIR or STTR program to select, if 
desired, commercialization activities pro-
vided under subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) 
of paragraph (2)’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘, cybersecurity as-
sistance’’ after ‘‘intellectual property pro-
tections’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(C) STAFF.—A small business concern 
may, by contract or otherwise, use funding pro-
vided under this section to hire new staff, aug-
ment staff, or direct staff to conduct or partici-
pate in training activities consistent with the 
goals listed in paragraph (1).’’; 
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking subpara-
graphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(A) PHASE
I.—A Federal agency de-
scribed in paragraph (1) shall authorize a re-
cipient of a Phase I SBIR or STTR award to 
utilize not more than $6,500 per project, in-
cluded as part of the award of the recipient or 
in addition to the amount of the award of the 
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recipient as determined appropriate by the head 
of the Federal agency, for the services described 
in paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(i) provided through a vendor se-
lected under paragraph (2)(A); 
‘‘(ii) provided through a vendor other 
than a vendor selected under paragraph 
(2)(A); 
‘‘(iii) achieved through the activities 
described in paragraph (2)(C); or 
‘‘(iv) provided or achieved through 
any combination of clauses (i), (ii), and 
(iii). 
‘‘(B) PHASE
II.—A Federal agency de-
scribed in paragraph (1) shall authorize a re-
cipient of a Phase II SBIR or STTR award to 
utilize not more than $50,000 per project, in-
cluded as part of the award of the recipient or 
in addition to the amount of the award of the 
recipient as determined appropriate by the head 
of the Federal agency, for the services described 
in paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(i) provided through a vendor se-
lected under paragraph (2)(A); 
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‘‘(ii) provided through a vendor other 
than a vendor selected under paragraph 
(2)(A); 
‘‘(iii) achieved through the activities 
described in paragraph (2)(C); or 
‘‘(iv) provided or achieved through 
any combination of clauses (i), (ii), and 
(iii).’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) TARGETED
REVIEW.—A Federal agency 
may perform targeted reviews of technical and busi-
ness assistance funding as described in subsection 
(mm)(1)(F).’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(zz) I-CORPS PARTICIPATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal agency that 
is required to conduct an SBIR or STTR program 
with an Innovation Corps (commonly known as ‘I- 
Corps’) program shall— 
‘‘(A) provide an option for participation in 
an I-Corps teams course by recipients of an 
award under the SBIR or STTR program; and 
‘‘(B) authorize the recipients described in 
subparagraph (A) to use an award provided 
under subsection (q) to provide additional tech-
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nical assistance for participation in the I-Corps 
teams course. 
‘‘(2) COST
OF
PARTICIPATION.—The cost of 
participation by a recipient described in paragraph 
(1)(A) in an I-Corps course may be provided by— 
‘‘(A) an I-Corps team grant; 
‘‘(B) funds awarded to the recipient under 
subsection (q); 
‘‘(C) the participating teams or other 
sources as appropriate; or 
‘‘(D) any combination of sources described 
in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C). 
‘‘(aaa) 
COMMERCIALIZATION
IMPACT
ASSESS-
MENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall co-
ordinate with each Federal agency with an SBIR or 
STTR program to develop an annual commercializa-
tion impact assessment report of the Federal agency, 
which shall measure, for the 5-year period preceding 
the report— 
‘‘(A) for Phase II contracts— 
‘‘(i) the total amount of sales of new 
products and services to the Federal Gov-
ernment or other commercial markets; 
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‘‘(ii) the total outside investment from 
partnerships, joint ventures, or other pri-
vate sector funding sources; 
‘‘(iii) the total number of technologies 
licensed to other companies; 
‘‘(iv) the total number of acquisitions 
of small business concerns participating in 
the SBIR program or the STTR program 
that are acquired by other entities; 
‘‘(v) the total number of new spin-out 
companies; 
‘‘(vi) the total outside investment 
from venture capital or angel investments; 
‘‘(vii) the total number of patent ap-
plications; 
‘‘(viii) the total number of patents ac-
quired; 
‘‘(ix) the year of first Phase I award 
and the total number of employees at time 
of first Phase I award; 
‘‘(x) the total number of employees 
from the preceding completed year; and 
‘‘(xi) the percent of revenue, as of the 
date of the report, generated through 
SBIR or STTR program funding; 
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‘‘(B) the total number and value of subse-
quent Phase II awards, as described in sub-
section (bb), awarded for each particular 
project or technology; 
‘‘(C) the total number and value of Phase 
III awards awarded subsequent to a Phase II 
award; 
‘‘(D) the total number and value of non- 
SBIR and STTR program Federal awards and 
contracts; and 
‘‘(E) actions taken by the Federal agency, 
and the results of those actions, relating to de-
veloping a simplified and standardized applica-
tion process and requirements, procedures, and 
model contracts throughout the Federal agency 
for Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III SBIR pro-
gram awards in subsection (hh). 
‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—A commercialization im-
pact assessment report described in paragraph (1) of 
a Federal agency shall be— 
‘‘(A) included in the annual report of the 
Federal agency required under this section; and 
‘‘(B) published on the website of the Ad-
ministration. 
‘‘(bbb) PATENT ASSISTANCE.— 
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‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘Director’ means the Under 
Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property 
and Director of the USPTO; and 
‘‘(B) the term ‘USPTO’ means the United 
States Patent and Trademark Office. 
‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator 
shall enter into an interagency agreement with 
the Director under which the Director shall as-
sist recipients of an award under the SBIR or 
STTR program (in this paragraph referred to 
as ‘SBIR and STTR recipients’) relating to in-
tellectual property protection by establishing a 
prioritized patent examination program for 
SBIR and STTR recipients. 
‘‘(B) PROGRAM
DETAILS.—The program 
established by the Director under subparagraph 
(A) shall have the following characteristics: 
‘‘(i) The program shall incorporate all 
existing (as of the date on which the Direc-
tor establishes the program) benefits under 
the procedures for prioritized examination 
described in section 11(h) of the Leahy- 
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Smith America Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 41 
note). 
‘‘(ii) Under the program, with respect 
to prioritized examination, an SBIR or 
STTR recipient shall not be required to 
pay any prioritized examination fee or 
processing fee otherwise required under 
section 11(h) of the Leahy-Smith America 
Invents Act (35 U.S.C. 41 note). 
‘‘(iii) Under the program, the Director 
shall ensure that, of the total number of 
requests for prioritized examination accept-
ed by the USPTO in a fiscal year, the 
greater of the following shall be reserved 
for prioritized examinations for SBIR and 
STTR recipients: 
‘‘(I) 5 percent of the total num-
ber of such requests that may be ac-
cepted during that fiscal year. 
‘‘(II) 500 requests for prioritized 
examination. 
‘‘(iv) Under the program, the Director 
may not grant more than 2 prioritized ex-
amination requests to any individual recipi-
ent. 
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‘‘(v) Under the program, the Director 
may increase the number of requests for 
prioritized examination that may be ac-
cepted in any fiscal year (as described in 
section 1.102(e) of title 37, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations, or any successor regula-
tion) by the number determined under 
clause (iii) for that fiscal year. 
‘‘(C) RULES.—The Director shall issue 
rules to carry out the prioritized patent exam-
ination program established under this para-
graph. 
‘‘(3) OUTREACH.—The Administrator shall co-
ordinate with the Director to provide outreach re-
garding the Pro Se Assistance Program of, and 
scam prevention services provided by, the USPTO.’’. 
Æ 
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