[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 127 (Wednesday, September 26, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S9856]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAM

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
immediate consideration of H.R. 1860, which is at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 1860) to reauthorize the Small Business 
     Technology Transfer Program, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today I rise to urge passage of H.R. 1860, 
the Small Business Technology Transfer Program Reauthorization Act of 
2001. H.R. 1860 passed the House of Representatives on September 24, 
2001. This bill is a companion to my bill, cosponsored by Ranking 
Member Kit Bond, S. 856 which passed the Senate unanimously on 
September 13, 2001. This legislation reauthorizes the Small Business 
Administration's highly successful Small Business Technology Transfer 
Program for an additional eight years and doubles its size. Absent 
legislative action to reauthorize the Small Business Technology 
Transfer program, it will expire on September 30, 2001.
  The STTR program funds research and development, R&D, projects 
performed jointly by small companies and research institutions as an 
incentive to advance the government's research and development goals. 
It complements the Small Business Innovation Research, SBIR, program, 
which was reauthorized last year. The SBIR program funds R&D projects 
at small companies. STTR funds R&D projects between a small company and 
a research institution, such as a university or a Federally funded R&D 
lab. STTR projects help participating agencies achieve their goals in 
the research and development arena. It also helps convert the billions 
of dollars invested in research and development at our nation's 
universities, Federal laboratories and non-profit research institutions 
into new commercial technologies.
  The STTR program was started in 1992. The program was reauthorized in 
1997 for four years. The program is funded out of the extramural R&D 
budgets of Federal agencies or departments with extramural R&D budgets 
of $1 billion or more. Such agencies must award at least .15 percent of 
that money for STTR projects. This bill increases program funding to .3 
percent of that money for STTR programs in FY 2004 and thereafter. Five 
agencies currently participate in the STTR program: the Department of 
Defense, DoD, the National Institutes of Health, NIH, the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, the National Science 
Foundation, NSF, and the Department of Energy, DoE.
  There are three phases of the STTR program. Phase I is a one-year 
award for $100,000, and its purpose is to determine the scientific and 
commercial merits of an idea. Phase II is a two-year grant for 
$500,000, and its purpose is to further develop the idea. In FY 2004 
and thereafter this bill increases Phase II awards to $750,000. Phase 
III is used to pursue commercial applications of the idea and cannot be 
funded with STTR funds.
  I thank my friend from Missouri, Senator Bond and his staff and all 
of the Members of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship 
Committee for working with me and my staff on this important 
legislation. I would also like to recognize the cooperation and support 
from the House Small Business Committee, Chairman Don Manzullo, Ranking 
Member Nydia Velazquez, Subcommittee Chairman Roscoe Bartlett and their 
staffs as well as Chairman Boehlert and Ranking Minority Member Hall 
and their staffs on the House Science Committee for their work on this 
legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask the Senate to pass H.R. 1860.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise to urge my colleagues in the Senate 
to support H.R. 1860, the Small Business Technology Transfer Program 
Reauthorization Act of 2001. This bill is identical to S. 856, which 
passed the Senate unanimously on September 13, 2001. Subsequently, the 
House of Representatives amended its version of this important 
legislation with the entire text of the Senate-passed bill, and it 
passed the House of Representatives yesterday on its Suspension 
Calendar. Our approval of this bill today will clear the measure for 
the President to sign it into law.
  The STTR Program was created in 1992 to stimulate technology transfer 
from research institutions to small firms while, at the same time, 
accomplishing the Federal government's research and development goals. 
The program is designed to convert the billions of dollars invested in 
research and development at our nation's universities, federal 
laboratories and nonprofit research institutions into new commercial 
technologies. The STTR Program does this by coupling the ideas and 
resources of research institutions with the commercialization 
experience of small companies.
  To receive an award under the STTR Program, a research institution 
and small firm jointly submit a proposal to conduct research on a topic 
that reflects an agency's mission and research and development needs. 
The proposals are then peer-reviewed and judged on their scientific, 
technical and commercial merit.
  The STTR Program continues to provide high-quality research to the 
Federal government. The General Accounting Office (GAO) reported in the 
past that Federal agencies give high ratings to the technical quality 
of STTR research proposals. The Department of Energy, for example, 
rated the quality of the proposed research in the top ten percent of 
all research funded by the Department
  Report after report demonstrates that small businesses innovate at a 
greater and faster rate then large firms. However, small businesses 
receive less than four percent of all Federal research and development 
dollars. This percentage has remained essentially unchanged for the 
past 22 years. Increasing funds for the STTR Programs sends a strong 
message that the Federal government acknowledges the contributions that 
small businesses have and will continue making to government research 
and development efforts and to our nation's economy.
  Mr. President, Senator Kerry and I have worked together to produce a 
sound, bi-partisan bill. This legislation is good for the small 
business high-technology community and will ensure that our Federal 
research and development needs are well met in the next decade. I trust 
that the bill will receive overwhelming support of my colleagues.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third 
time, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with 
no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 1860) was deemed read the third time and passed.

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