SEC. 3. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON DIVER-
SIFICATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than three years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the 
House of Representatives a report on the effectiveness of 
the SBIR and STTR programs with respect to diversifica-
tion of participants and commercialization. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include, to the ex-
tent practicable, an assessment of— 
(1) the demographics of small business concerns 
receiving SBIR or STTR awards, including new en-
trants and underrepresented groups; 
(2) the efforts of participating agencies to 
broaden representation and participation of new en-
trants and underrepresented groups in the SBIR 
and STTR programs; 
(3) how participating agencies develop solicita-
tion topics and attract applicants; 
(4) the efforts of participating agencies to sup-
port technology commercialization; 
(5) the extent to which the SBIR and STTR 
awards made by each participating agency align with 
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the research priorities and technology needs of that 
participating agency; and 
(6) such other matters as the Comptroller Gen-
eral, in consultation with the Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 
the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
Representatives, determines appropriate. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) FEDERAL AGENCY; SBIR; STTR.—The terms 
‘‘Federal agency’’, ‘‘SBIR’’, and ‘‘STTR’’ have the 
meanings given such terms in section 9(e) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(e)). 
(2) NEW ENTRANT.—The term ‘‘new entrant’’ 
means a small business concern that has not pre-
viously received an SBIR or STTR award. 
(3) UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS.—The term 
‘‘underrepresented groups’’ means small business 
concerns located in States with respect to which a 
low level of SBIR and STTR awards have histori-
cally been awarded, small business concerns owned 
and controlled by women, and small business con-
cerns owned and controlled by socially and economi-
cally disadvantaged individuals. 
(4) PARTICIPATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘par-
ticipating agency’’ means a Federal agency carrying 
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out an SBIR or STTR program under section 9 of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638). 
(5) SMALL
BUSINESS
CONCERN.—The term 
‘‘small business concern’’ has the meaning given 
such term under section 3 of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 632). 
(6) SMALL
BUSINESS
CONCERN
OWNED
AND 
CONTROLLED BY SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DIS-
ADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS; SMALL BUSINESS CON-
CERN OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY WOMEN.—The 
terms ‘‘small business concern owned and controlled 
by socially and economically disadvantaged individ-
uals’’ and ‘‘small business concern owned and con-
trolled by women’’ have the meanings given such 
terms in section 8(d) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 637(d)). 
SEC. 4. EXTEND THE REPORT ON AWARD TIMELINESS. 
Section 9(ii)(2)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 638(ii)(2)(A)) is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by strik-
ing ‘‘3 years’’ and inserting ‘‘11 years’’; 
(2) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(3) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); 
and 
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(4) by inserting after clause (i) the following 
new clause: 
‘‘(ii) provides the average and median 
amount of time that each Federal agency 
with an SBIR or STTR program takes to 
review and make a final decision on pro-
posals submitted under the program; and’’. 
SEC. 5. PILOT PROGRAM TO ACCELERATE NATIONAL INSTI-
TUTES OF HEALTH EVALUATION PROCESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(hh) of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638(hh)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) PILOT PROGRAM TO ACCELERATE THE NA-
TIONAL
INSTITUTES
OF
HEALTH
SBIR
AND
STTR 
AWARDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this para-
graph, the Director of the National Institutes of 
Health shall establish a pilot program to reduce 
the time for awards under the SBIR and STTR 
programs of the National Institutes of Health. 
‘‘(B) AWARD
PROCEDURES.—In carrying 
out the pilot program under subparagraph (A), 
the Director shall develop simplified and stand-
ardized procedures across all relevant awarding 
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offices at the National Institutes of Health and 
reduce the amount of time between the provi-
sion of notice of such awards and the subse-
quent release of funding with respect to the 
awards to be as close to 90 days as possible. 
‘‘(C) MERIT REVIEW.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Under the pilot 
program under subparagraph (A), the Di-
rector of the National Institutes of Health 
may, with respect to awards under the 
SBIR and STTR programs of the National 
Institute of Health, use such peer review 
procedures (including consultation with ap-
propriate scientific experts) as the Director 
determines to be appropriate to obtain as-
sessments of scientific and technical merit 
and potential for commercialization. 
‘‘(ii) DEEMED.—The use of peer re-
view procedures under clause (i) shall be 
deemed to fulfill any requirements applica-
ble to the award under the SBIR or STTR 
program of the National Institute of 
Health under sections 406(a)(3)(A) and 
492 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 284a(a)(3)(A); 289a). 
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‘‘(D) TERMINATION.—The pilot program 
under subparagraph (A) shall terminate on 
September 30, 2030.’’. 
(b) EVALUATION REPORT.—Not later than three 
years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 
of the National Institutes of Health shall submit to the 
Committees on Small Business and Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
Senate an evaluation of the pilot program established 
under paragraph (3) of section 9(hh) of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638(hh)), as added by subsection (a), 
including an analysis of the peer review procedures used 
under subparagraph (C) of such paragraph and the effects 
on award times. 
Æ 
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