[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1961 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1961

  To amend the Small Business Act to temporarily reauthorize certain 
pilot programs under the Small Business Innovation Research Program and 
the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 16, 2017

Mr. Risch (for himself and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 
                          and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Small Business Act to temporarily reauthorize certain 
pilot programs under the Small Business Innovation Research Program and 
the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, 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 ``SBIR and STTR Oversight and Pilot 
Program Extension Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. PILOT EXTENSIONS AND REPORTING COMPLIANCE; PILOT PROGRAM.

    Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (cc), by striking ``2017'' and inserting 
        ``2018'';
            (2) in subsection (gg)(7), by striking ``2017'' and 
        inserting ``2018'';
            (3) in subsection (jj)(7), by striking ``2017'' and 
        inserting ``2018'';
            (4) in subsection (mm)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by striking ``2017'' and inserting 
                        ``2018'';
                            (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
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) SBIR and sttr programs; fast program.--
                    ``(A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term 
                `covered Federal agency' means a Federal agency that--
                            ``(i) is required to conduct an SBIR 
                        program; and
                            ``(ii) elects to use the funds allocated to 
                        the SBIR program of the Federal agency for the 
                        purposes described in paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Requirement.--Each covered Federal agency 
                shall transfer an amount equal to 15 percent of the 
                funds that are used for the purposes described in 
                paragraph (1) to the Administration--
                            ``(i) for the Regional SBIR State 
                        Collaborative Initiative Pilot Program 
                        established under subsection (tt);
                            ``(ii) for the Federal and State Technology 
                        Partnership Program established under section 
                        34; and
                            ``(iii) to support the Office of the 
                        Administration that administers the SBIR 
                        program and the STTR program, subject to 
                        agreement from other agencies about how the 
                        funds will be used, in carrying out those 
                        programs and the programs described in clauses 
                        (i) and (ii).
            ``(8) Pilot program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Of amounts provided to the 
                Administration under paragraph (7), not less than 
                $5,000,000 shall be used to provide awards under the 
                Regional SBIR State Collaborative Initiative Pilot 
                Program established under subsection (tt) for each 
                fiscal year in which the program is in effect.
                    ``(B) Disbursement flexibility.--The Administration 
                may use any unused funds made available under 
                subparagraph (A) as of April 1 of each fiscal year for 
                awards to carry out clauses (ii) and (iii) of paragraph 
                (7)(B) after providing written notice to--
                            ``(i) the Committee on Small Business and 
                        Entrepreneurship and the Committee on 
                        Appropriations of the Senate; and
                            ``(ii) the Committee on Small Business and 
                        the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                        Representatives.''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(tt) Regional SBIR State Collaborative Initiative Pilot 
Program.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `eligible entity' means--
                            ``(i) a research institution; and
                            ``(ii) a small business concern;
                    ``(B) the term `eligible State' means--
                            ``(i) a State that the Administrator 
                        determines is in the bottom half of States, 
                        based on the average number of annual SBIR 
                        program awards made to companies in the State 
                        for the preceding 3 years for which the 
                        Administration has applicable data; and
                            ``(ii) an EPSCoR State that--
                                    ``(I) is a State described in 
                                clause (i); or
                                    ``(II) is--
                                            ``(aa) not a State 
                                        described in clause (i); and
                                            ``(bb) invited to 
                                        participate in a regional 
                                        collaborative;
                    ``(C) the term `EPSCoR State' means a State that 
                participates in the Experimental Program to Stimulate 
                Competitive Research of the National Science 
                Foundation, as established under section 113 of the 
                National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1988 
                (42 U.S.C. 1862g);
                    ``(D) the term `FAST program' means the Federal and 
                State Technology Partnership Program established under 
                section 34;
                    ``(E) the term `pilot program' means the Regional 
                SBIR State Collaborative Initiative Pilot Program 
                established under paragraph (2);
                    ``(F) the term `regional collaborative' means a 
                collaborative consisting of eligible entities that are 
                located in not less than 3 eligible States; and
                    ``(G) the term `State' means any State of the 
                United States, the District of Columbia, the 
                Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or 
                possession of the United States.
            ``(2) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish a 
        pilot program, to be known as the Regional SBIR State 
        Collaborative Initiative Pilot Program, under which the 
        Administrator shall provide awards to regional collaboratives 
        to address the needs of small business concerns in order to--
                    ``(A) be more competitive in the proposal and 
                selection process for awards under the SBIR program and 
                the STTR program; and
                    ``(B) increase technology transfer and 
                commercialization.
            ``(3) Goals.--The goals of the pilot program are--
                    ``(A) to create regional collaboratives that allow 
                eligible entities to work cooperatively to leverage 
                resources to address the needs of small business 
                concerns;
                    ``(B) to grow SBIR program and STTR program 
                cooperative research and development and 
                commercialization through increased awards under those 
                programs;
                    ``(C) to increase the participation of States that 
                have historically received a lower level of awards 
                under the SBIR program and the STTR program;
                    ``(D) to utilize the strengths and advantages of 
                regional collaboratives to better leverage resources, 
                best practices, and economies of scale in a region for 
                the purpose of increasing awards and increasing the 
                commercialization of the SBIR program and STTR 
                projects;
                    ``(E) to increase the competitiveness of the SBIR 
                program and the STTR program;
                    ``(F) to identify sources of outside funding for 
                applicants for an award under the SBIR program or the 
                STTR program, including venture capitalists, angel 
                investor groups, private industry, crowd funding, and 
                special loan programs; and
                    ``(G) to offer increased one-on-one engagements 
                with companies and entrepreneurs for SBIR program and 
                STTR program education, assistance, and successful 
                outcomes.
            ``(4) Application.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A regional collaborative that 
                desires to participate in the pilot program shall 
                submit to the Administrator an application at such 
                time, in such manner, and containing such information 
                as the Administrator may require.
                    ``(B) Inclusion of lead eligible entities and 
                coordinator.--A regional collaborative shall include in 
                an application submitted under subparagraph (A)--
                            ``(i) the name of each lead eligible entity 
                        from each eligible State in the regional 
                        collaborative, as designated under paragraph 
                        (5)(A); and
                            ``(ii) the name of the coordinator for the 
                        regional collaborative, as designated under 
                        paragraph (6).
                    ``(C) Avoidance of duplication.--A regional 
                collaborative shall include in an application submitted 
                under subparagraph (A) an explanation regarding how the 
                activities of the regional collaborative under the 
                pilot program would differ from other State and Federal 
                outreach activities in each eligible State in the 
                regional collaborative.
            ``(5) Lead eligible entity.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Each eligible State in a 
                regional collaborative shall designate 1 eligible 
                entity located in the eligible State to serve as the 
                lead eligible entity for the eligible State.
                    ``(B) Authorization by governor.--Each lead 
                eligible entity designated under subparagraph (A) shall 
                be authorized to act as the lead eligible entity by the 
                Governor of the applicable eligible State.
                    ``(C) Responsibilities.--Each lead eligible entity 
                designated under subparagraph (A) shall be responsible 
                for administering the activities and program 
                initiatives described in paragraph (7) in the 
                applicable eligible State.
            ``(6) Regional collaborative coordinator.--Each regional 
        collaborative shall designate a coordinator from amongst the 
        eligible entities located in the eligible States in the 
        regional collaborative, who shall serve as the interface 
        between the regional collaborative and the Administration with 
        respect to measuring cross-State collaboration and program 
        effectiveness and documenting best practices.
            ``(7) Use of funds.--Each regional collaborative that is 
        provided an award under the pilot program may, in each eligible 
        State in which an eligible entity of the regional collaborative 
        is located--
                    ``(A) establish an initiative under which first-
                time applicants for an award under the SBIR program or 
                the STTR program are reviewed by experienced, national 
                experts in the United States, as determined by the lead 
                eligible entity designated under paragraph (5)(A);
                    ``(B) engage national mentors on a frequent basis 
                to work directly with applicants for an award under the 
                SBIR program or the STTR program, particularly during 
                Phase II, to assist with the process of preparing and 
                submitting a proposal;
                    ``(C) create and make available an online mechanism 
                to serve as a resource for applicants for an award 
                under the SBIR program or the STTR program to identify 
                and connect with Federal labs, prime government 
                contractor companies, other industry partners, and 
                regional industry cluster organizations;
                    ``(D) conduct focused and concentrated outreach 
                efforts to increase participation in the SBIR program 
                and the STTR program by small business concerns owned 
                and controlled by women, small business concerns owned 
                and controlled by veterans, small business concerns 
                owned and controlled by socially and economically 
                disadvantaged individuals (as defined in section 
                8(d)(3)(C)), and historically Black colleges and 
                universities;
                    ``(E) administer a structured program of training 
                and technical assistance--
                            ``(i) to prepare applicants for an award 
                        under the SBIR program or the STTR program--
                                    ``(I) to compete more effectively 
                                for Phase I and Phase II awards; and
                                    ``(II) to develop and implement a 
                                successful commercialization plan;
                            ``(ii) to assist eligible States focusing 
                        on transition and commercialization to win 
                        Phase III awards from public and private 
                        partners;
                            ``(iii) to create more competitive 
                        proposals to increase awards from all Federal 
                        sources, with a focus on awards under the SBIR 
                        program and the STTR program; and
                            ``(iv) to assist first-time applicants by 
                        providing small grants for proof of concept 
                        research; and
                    ``(F) assist applicants for an award under the SBIR 
                program or the STTR program to identify sources of 
                outside funding, including venture capitalists, angel 
                investor groups, private industry, crowd funding, and 
                special loan programs.
            ``(8) Award amount.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall provide 
                an award to each eligible State in which an eligible 
                entity of a regional collaborative is located in an 
                amount that is not more than $300,000 to carry out the 
                activities described in paragraph (7).
                    ``(B) Limitation.--
                            ``(i) In general.--An eligible State may 
                        not receive an award under both the FAST 
                        program and the pilot program for the same 
                        year.
                            ``(ii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in 
                        clause (i) may be construed to prevent an 
                        eligible State from applying for an award under 
                        the FAST program and the pilot program for the 
                        same year.
            ``(9) Duration of award.--An award provided under the pilot 
        program--
                    ``(A) shall be for a period of not more than 1 
                year; and
                    ``(B) may be renewed by the Administrator for 1 
                additional year.
            ``(10) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on 
        September 30, 2018.
            ``(11) Report.--Not later than March 30, 2018, the 
        Administrator shall 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 on the pilot 
        program, which shall include--
                    ``(A) details regarding the recipient of each award 
                provided under the pilot program, including the amount 
                of each award, the number of small business concerns 
                that received assistance from the award amounts, and 
                the manner in which the award was used to meet the 
                goals described in paragraph (3);
                    ``(B) to the extent practicable, an assessment of 
                the best practices of the pilot program, including an 
                analysis of how the pilot program compares to the FAST 
                program and a single-State approach; and
                    ``(C) recommendations regarding whether any aspect 
                of the pilot program should be extended or made 
                permanent.
    ``(uu) Outstanding Reports and Evaluations.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than March 30, 2018, 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, 
        2017, 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.''.
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