[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 99 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3616-S3617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 632. Mr. KENNEDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2020 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. REGIONAL SBIR STATE COLLABORATIVE INITIATIVE PILOT
PROGRAM.
(a) Pilot Program.--Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 638) is amended--
(1) in subsection (mm), by adding at the end the following:
``(7) SBIR and sttr programs.--
``(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
provide 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 (vv); and
``(ii) 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 program
described in clause (i).
``(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 (vv) 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 paragraph
(7)(B)(ii)) after providing written notice to--
[[Page S3617]]
``(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
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(vv) 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 Established 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 `pilot program' means the Regional SBIR
State Collaborative Initiative Pilot Program established
under paragraph (2);
``(E) the term `regional collaborative' means a
collaborative consisting of eligible entities that are
located in not less than 3 eligible States; and
``(F) 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
be more competitive in the proposal and selection process for
awards under the SBIR program and the STTR program and to
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 as to 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.--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).
``(9) Duration of award.--An award provided under the pilot
program shall be for a period of not more than 1 year, and
may be renewed by the Administrator for 1 additional year.
``(10) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on
September 30, 2022.
``(11) Report.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than September 30, 2023, 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--
``(i) an assessment of the pilot program and the
effectiveness of the pilot program in meeting the goals
described in paragraph (3);
``(ii) an assessment of the best practices, including an
analysis of how the pilot program compares to a single State
approach; and
``(iii) recommendations as to whether any aspect of the
pilot program should be extended or made permanent.
``(B) Information required.--Not later than March 30, 2023,
the head of each Federal agency that participates in the
pilot program shall submit to the Administrator any
information that is necessary for the Administrator to carry
out the duties of the Administrator under subparagraph
(A).''.
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