I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3839 
To improve commercialization activities in the SBIR and STTR programs, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 18, 2019 
Ms. HOULAHAN (for herself and Mr. BALDERSON) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business, and in addi-
tion to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and the Judi-
ciary, 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 improve commercialization activities in the SBIR and 
STTR programs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Research Advancing 
to Market Production for Innovators Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO COMMERCIALIZATION SELEC-
TION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9 of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (g)— 
(A) in paragraph (4)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘1 
year’’ and inserting ‘‘180 days’’; 
(B) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(C) in paragraph (12), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(13) with respect to peer review carried out 
under the SBIR program, to the extent practicable, 
include in the peer review— 
‘‘(A) the likelihood 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.’’; 
(2) in subsection (o)— 
(A) in paragraph (4)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘1 
year’’ and inserting ‘‘180 days’’; 
(B) in paragraph (15), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
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(C) in paragraph (16), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(17) with respect to peer review carried out 
under the STTR program, to the extent practicable, 
include in the peer review— 
‘‘(A) the likelihood 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 2022, the National Institutes of 
Health, the Department of Defense, and the 
Department of Education’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During fiscal years 2019 
through 2024, 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 2023 
and 2024, 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)(B) 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: 
‘‘(vv) 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 (xx); 
‘‘(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 (xx)(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 Administrator 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: 
‘‘(ww) 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). 
‘‘(xx) COMMERCIALIZATION IMPACT ASSESSMENT.— 
‘‘(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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