[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1660 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1660
To improve commercialization activities in the SBIR and STTR programs,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 7, 2025
Mr. Coons (for himself and Mr. Curtis) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship
_______________________________________________________________________
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 Representatives 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''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO COMMERCIALIZATION SELECTION.
(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 (16), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(C) in paragraph (17), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(18) 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
commercialization expertise who is capable of assessing
the likelihood of commercialization.''; and
(2) in subsection (o)--
(A) in paragraph (4)(B)(i), by striking ``1 year''
and inserting ``180 days'';
(B) in paragraph (20), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(C) in paragraph (21), by striking the period 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 likelihood of commercialization in
addition to scientific and technical merit and
feasibility; and
``(B) not less than 1 reviewer with
commercialization expertise who is capable of assessing
the likelihood of commercialization.''.
SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO PHASE FLEXIBILITY.
(a) In General.--Section 9(cc) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
638(cc)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``During fiscal years 2012 through 2025,
the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense,
and the Department of Education may each'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--During fiscal years 2025, 2026, and
2027, each Federal agency with an SBIR or STTR program may'';
and
(2) 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--
``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), not
more than 10 percent of the total funds allocated to
the SBIR and STTR programs of the Federal agency during
that fiscal year; and
``(B) with respect to the National Institutes 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.''.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall
provide a briefing to the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of
the House of Representatives regarding the authority provided under
section 9(cc) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(cc)), as amended
by paragraph (1).
SEC. 4. TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION OFFICIAL.
Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(aaa) Technology Commercialization Official.--Each Federal agency
participating in the SBIR or STTR program shall--
``(1) designate an existing official within the Federal
agency as the Technology Commercialization Official of the
Federal agency, who shall--
``(A) have sufficient commercialization experience;
``(B) provide guidance to SBIR and STTR program
awardees in commercializing and transitioning
technologies;
``(C) identify and advocate for SBIR and STTR
program technologies with sufficient technology and
commercialization readiness to advance to Phase III
awards or other non-SBIR or STTR program contracts;
``(D) coordinate with the Administration and
Technology Commercialization Officials of other Federal
agencies to identify additional markets and
commercialization pathways for promising SBIR and STTR
program technologies;
``(E) submit to the Administration an annual report
on the number of technologies from the SBIR or STTR
program that have advanced commercialization
activities, including information required in the
commercialization impact assessment under subsection
(ccc);
``(F) 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 requirements,
procedures, and contracts as required under subsection
(hh); and
``(G) carry out such other duties as the Federal
agency determines necessary; or
``(2) identify an official carrying out substantially
similar responsibilities as those described in paragraph
(1).''.
SEC. 5. IMPROVEMENTS TO TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS ASSISTANCE.
Section 9(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(q)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A)--
(A) by striking ``may enter into an agreement with
1 or more vendors selected under paragraph (2)(A) to
provide small business concerns engaged in SBIR or STTR
projects with technical and business assistance
services'' and inserting ``shall authorize recipients
of awards under the SBIR or STTR program to select, if
desired, technical and business assistance provided
under subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (2)
with respect to SBIR or STTR projects'';
(B) by inserting ``cybersecurity assistance,''
after ``intellectual property protections,''; and
(C) by striking ``such concerns'' and inserting
``such recipients'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Staff.--A small business concern may, by
contract or otherwise, use funding provided under this
section to hire new staff, augment staff, or direct
staff to conduct or participate in training activities
consistent with the goals listed in paragraph (1).'';
(3) in paragraph (3), by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B)
and inserting the following:
``(A) Phase i.--A Federal agency described in
paragraph (1) shall authorize a recipient of a Phase I
SBIR or STTR award to utilize not more than $6,500 per
project, included 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 selected
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 described in
paragraph (1) shall authorize a recipient of a Phase II
SBIR or STTR award to utilize not more than $50,000 per
project, included 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 selected
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).'';
and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Targeted review.--A Federal agency may perform
targeted reviews of technical and business assistance funding
as described in subsection (mm)(1)(F).''.
SEC. 6. I-CORPS PARTICIPATION.
Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as amended by
section 4, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(bbb) 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 technical
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).''.
SEC. 7. COMMERCIALIZATION IMPACT ASSESSMENT.
Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as amended by
sections 4 and 6, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(ccc) Commercialization Impact Assessment.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall coordinate with
each Federal agency with an SBIR or STTR program to develop an
annual commercialization impact assessment report, which shall
measure, for each small business concern that has received not
less than 50 Phase II awards on or after October 1 of the ninth
fiscal year before the fiscal year in which the report is
submitted--
``(A) total dollar value of Federal awards,
contracts, and subcontracts, other than SBIR or STTR
awards, received by the small business concern over the
preceding 9 fiscal years;
``(B) the total dollar value of all SBIR and STTR
Phase I and Phase II awards received by the small
business concern over the preceding 9 fiscal years;
``(C) the average annual gross revenue of the small
business concern over the preceding 9 fiscal years;
``(D) total revenue from the sale or licensing of
new products and services resulting from the research
conducted under the awards received in the preceding 9
fiscal years;
``(E) additional investment from any source other
than Phase I or Phase II SBIR or STTR awards, to
further the research and development conducted under
the awards received in the preceding 9 fiscal years;
``(F) mergers and acquisitions of award recipients
during or after the completion of a Phase II award;
``(G) new, unique spin-out companies resulting from
research conducted under the awards received in the
preceding 9 fiscal years;
``(H) patents acquired as a result of research
conducted under the awards received in the preceding 9
fiscal years;
``(I) the year of first Phase II award and the
total number of employees at the time of first Phase II
award;
``(J) the number of employees, as of the end of the
most recent fiscal year; and
``(K) the total number and value of Phase III
awards received.
``(2) Publication.--The commercialization impact assessment
report described in paragraph (1) shall be--
``(A) included in the annual report submitted under
subsection (b)(7); and
``(B) submitted to--
``(i) the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
``(ii) the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology and the Committee on Small Business
of the House of Representatives.''.
SEC. 8. PATENT ASSISTANCE.
Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638), as amended by
sections 4, 6, and 7, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(ddd) Patent Assistance.--
``(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.--The Administrator shall enter into an
interagency agreement with the Director under which the
Director shall assist recipients of an award under the SBIR or
STTR program (in this paragraph referred to as `SBIR and STTR
recipients') relating to intellectual property protection by
establishing a prioritized patent examination program for SBIR
and STTR recipients.
``(3) Outreach.--The Administrator shall coordinate with
the Director to provide outreach regarding the Pro Se
Assistance Program of, and scam prevention services provided
by, the USPTO.''.
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