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SEC. 854. AMENDMENTS TO SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH
PROGRAM AND SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAM.
(a) Extension Of Pilot Programs.—Section 9 of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended—
(1) in subsection (cc), by striking “2017” and inserting “2022”;
(2) in subsection (gg)(7), by striking “2017” and inserting
“2022”;
(3) in subsection (jj)—
(A) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking “3” and inserting “4”; and
(B) in paragraph (7), by striking “2017” and inserting “2022”;
(4) in subsection (mm)—
(A) in paragraph (1)—
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “2017”
and inserting “2022”;
(ii) in subparagraph (I), by striking “and” at the end;
(iii) in subparagraph (J), by striking the period at the end and
inserting “; and”; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following:
“(K) funding for improvements that increase commonality across
data systems, reduce redundancy, and improve data oversight and
accuracy.”; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
“(tt) Outstanding Reports And Evaluations.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 30, 2019, the
Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, the Committee on Small
Business of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives—
“(A) each report, evaluation, or analysis, as applicable,
described in subsection (b)(7), (g)(9), (o)(10), (y)(6)(C), (gg)(6),
(jj)(6), and (mm)(6); and
“(B) metrics regarding, and an evaluation of, the authority
provided to the National Institutes of Health, the Department of
Defense, and the Department of Education under subsection (cc).
“(2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—Not later than December 31, 2018, the
head of each agency that is responsible for carrying out a
provision described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1)
shall submit to the Administrator any information that is
necessary for the Administrator to carry out the
responsibilities of the Administrator under that paragraph.”.
(b) Accelerating SBIR And STTR Awards.—Section 9 of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended—
(1) in subsection (hh)—
(A) by striking “Federal agencies” and inserting the following:
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Federal agencies”;
(B) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by striking “attempt
to”; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
“(2) PILOT PROGRAM TO ACCELERATE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SBIR AND
STTR AWARDS.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this paragraph, the Under Secretary of Defense for
Research and Engineering, acting through the Director of Defense
Procurement and Acquisition Policy of the Department of Defense,
shall establish a pilot program to reduce the time for awards
under the SBIR and STTR programs of the Department of Defense,
under which the Department of Defense shall—
“(i) develop simplified and standardized procedures and model
contracts throughout the Department of Defense for Phase I,
Phase II, and Phase III SBIR awards;
“(ii) for Phase I SBIR and STTR awards, reduce the amount of
time between solicitation closure and award;
“(iii) for Phase II SBIR and STTR awards, reduce the amount of
time between the end of a Phase I award and the start of the
Phase II award;
“(iv) for Phase II SBIR and STTR awards that skip Phase I,
reduce the amount of time between solicitation closure and
award;
“(v) for sequential Phase II SBIR and STTR awards, reduce the
amount of time between Phase II awards; and
“(vi) reduce the award times described in clauses (ii), (iii),
(iv), and (v) to be as close to 90 days as possible.
“(B) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the pilot program under
subparagraph (A), the Director of Defense Procurement and
Acquisition Policy of the Department of Defense shall consult
with the Director of the Office of Small Business Programs of
the Department of Defense.
“(C) TERMINATION.—The pilot program under subparagraph (A) shall
terminate on September 30, 2022.”; and
(2) in subsection (ii)—
(A) by striking “Federal agencies” and inserting the following:
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Federal agencies”; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
“(2) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS.—The Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to the Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, the Committee on Armed
Services of the Senate, the Committee on Small Business of the
House of Representatives, and the Committee on Armed Services of
the House of Representatives—
“(A) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
paragraph, and every year thereafter for 3 years, a report that—
“(i) provides the average and median amount of time that each
component of the Department of Defense with an SBIR or STTR
program takes to review and make a final decision on proposals
submitted under the program; and
“(ii) compares that average and median amount of time with that
of other Federal agencies participating in the SBIR or STTR
program; and
“(B) not later than December 5, 2021, a report that—
“(i) includes the information described in subparagraph (A);
“(ii) assesses where each Federal agency participating in the
SBIR or STTR program needs improvement with respect to the
proposal review and award times under the program;
“(iii) identifies best practices for shortening the proposal
review and award times under the SBIR and STTR programs,
including the pros and cons of using contracts compared to
grants; and
“(iv) analyzes the efficacy of the pilot program established
under subsection (hh)(2).”.
(c) Improvements To Technical And Business Assistance.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
638(q)) is amended—
(A) in the subsection heading, by inserting “And Business” after
“Technical”;
(B) in paragraph (1)—
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)—
(I) by striking “a vendor selected under paragraph (2)” and
inserting “1 or more vendors selected under paragraph (2)(A)”;
(II) by inserting “and business” before “assistance services”;
and
(III) by inserting “assistance with product sales, intellectual
property protections, market research, market validation, and
development of regulatory plans and manufacturing plans,” after
“technologies,”; and
(ii) in subparagraph (D), by inserting “, including intellectual
property protections” before the period at the end;
(C) in paragraph (2)—
(i) in the first sentence, by striking “Each agency may select a
vendor to assist small business concerns to meet” and inserting
the following:
“(A) IN GENERAL.—Each agency may select 1 or more vendors from
which small business concerns may obtain assistance in meeting”;
and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
“(B) SELECTION BY SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—A small business
concern may, by contract or otherwise, select 1 or more vendors
to assist the small business concern in meeting the goals listed
in paragraph (1).”; and
(D) in paragraph (3)—
(i) by inserting “(A)” after “paragraph (2)” each place that
term appears;
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking “$5,000 per year” each
place that term appears and inserting “$6,500 per year”;
(iii) in subparagraph (B)—
(I) by striking “$5,000 per year” each place that term appears
and inserting “$50,000 per project”; and
(II) in clause (ii), by striking “which shall be in addition to
the amount of the recipient's award” and inserting “which may,
as determined appropriate by the head of the Federal agency, be
included as part of the recipient’s award or be in addition to
the amount of the recipient’s award”;
(iv) in subparagraph (C)—
(I) by inserting “or business” after “technical”;
(II) by striking “the vendor” and inserting “a vendor”; and
(III) by adding at the end the following: “Business-related
services aimed at improving the commercialization success of a
small business concern may be obtained from an entity, such as a
public or private organization or an agency of or other entity
established or funded by a State that facilitates or accelerates
the commercialization of technologies or assists in the creation
and growth of private enterprises that are commercializing
technology.”;
(v) in subparagraph (D)—
(I) by inserting “or business” after “technical” each place that
term appears; and
(II) in clause (i), by striking “the vendor” and inserting “1 or
more vendors”; and
(vi) by adding at the end the following:
“(E) MULTIPLE AWARD RECIPIENTS.—The Administrator shall
establish a limit on the amount of technical and business
assistance services that may be received or purchased under
subparagraph (B) by a small business concern that has received
multiple Phase II SBIR or STTR awards for a fiscal year.”; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
“(4) ANNUAL REPORTING.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—A small business concern that receives
technical or business assistance from a vendor under this
subsection during a fiscal year shall submit to the Federal
agency contracting with the vendor a description of the
technical or business assistance provided and the benefits and
results of the technical or business assistance provided.
“(B) USE OF EXISTING REPORTING MECHANISM.—The information
required under subparagraph (A) shall be collected by a Federal
agency as part of a report required to be submitted by small
business concerns engaged in SBIR or STTR projects of the
Federal agency for which the requirement was in effect on the
date of enactment of this paragraph.”.
(2) REVIEW.—Not later than the end of fiscal year 2019, the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall—
(A) conduct a survey of vendors providing technical or business
assistance under section 9(q) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 638(q)), as amended by paragraph (1), and small business
concerns receiving the technical or business assistance; and
(B) submit to the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small
Business of the House of Representatives a report reviewing the
efficacy of the provision of the technical or business
assistance.
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Amendments to Small Business Innovation Research Program and
Small Business Technology Transfer Program (sec. 854)
The House bill contained a provision (sec. 854) that would
authorize the use of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program funding for
administrative costs and expand phase flexibility during fiscal
years 2018 through 2022.
The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.
The Senate recedes with an amendment that would expand
phase flexibility during fiscal years 2018 through 2022, require
the submission of outstanding reports and evaluations, create a
pilot program to accelerate Department of Defense SBIR and STTR
awards, direct the Comptroller General of the United States to
conduct a review of the average and median amount of times that
each component of the Department of Defense with an SBIR or STTR
program takes to review and make a final decision on proposals
submitted under the program, and make modifications to technical
and business assistance under the Small Business Act. |
