[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 117 (Thursday, June 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3355-S3356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1819. Mr. RISCH (for himself, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Kennedy, Ms.
Rosen, Mrs. Capito, and Mr. Crapo) submitted an amendment intended to
be proposed by him to the bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2021 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 in subtitle E of title VIII,
insert the following:
SEC. __. FEDERAL AND STATE TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.
Section 34 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657d) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
``(11) Underperforming state.--The term `underperforming
State' means a State participating in the SBIR or STTR
program that has been calculated by the Administrator to be
one of 18 States receiving the fewest SBIR and STTR Phase I
awards.'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (E)--
(I) in clause (iii), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(II) in clause (iv), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(III) by adding at the end the following:
``(v) to prioritize applicants located in an
underperforming State.'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (B)(vi), by amending subclause (III) to
read as follows:
[[Page S3356]]
``(III) located in an underperforming State;'';
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) shall give first priority and special consideration
to an applicant that is located in an underperforming
State.'';
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``Not more than one
proposal'' and inserting ``There is no limit on the number of
proposals that''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Additional assistance for underperforming states.--
Upon application by a recipient that is located in an
underperforming State, the Administrator may--
``(A) provide additional assistance to the recipient; and
``(B) waive the matching requirements under subsection
(e)(2).'';
(3) in subsection (e)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by inserting ``and STTR'' before ``first phase'' each
place that term appears;
(II) in clause (i), by striking ``50'' and inserting
``25'';
(III) in clause (ii), by striking ``1 dollar'' and
inserting ``75 cents''; and
(IV) in clause (iii), by striking ``75'' and inserting
``50''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``, beginning with
fiscal year 2001'' and inserting ``and make publicly
available on the website of the Administration, beginning
with fiscal year 2021''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Amount of award.--In carrying out the FAST program
under this section--
``(A) the Administrator shall make and enter into not less
than 12 awards or cooperative agreements;
``(B) each award or cooperative agreement described in
subparagraph (A) shall be for not more than $500,000, which
shall be provided over 2 fiscal years; and
``(C) any amounts left unused in the third quarter of the
second fiscal year may be retained by the Administrator for
future FAST program awards.
``(5) Reporting.--Not later than 6 months after receiving
an award or entering into a cooperative agreement under this
section, a recipient shall report to the Administrator--
``(A) the number of awards made under the SBIR or STTR
program;
``(B) the number of applications submitted for the SBIR or
STTR program;
``(C) the number of consulting hours spent;
``(D) the number of training events conducted; and
``(E) any issues encountered in the management and
application of the FAST program.'';
(4) in subsection (f)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--
(I) by striking ``Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of the Small Business Innovation Research
Program Reauthorization Act of 2000'' and inserting
``December 31, 2020''; and
(II) by inserting ``and Entrepreneurship'' before ``of the
Senate'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) a description of the process used to ensure that
underperforming States are given priority application status
under the FAST program.''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``Annual'' and
inserting ``Biennial'';
(ii) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``annual'' and inserting ``biennial'';
(iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(iv) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(v) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) the proportion of awards provided to and cooperative
agreements entered into with underperforming States; and
``(E) a list of the States that were determined by the
Administrator to be underperforming States, and a description
of any changes in the list compared to previously submitted
reports.'';
(5) in subsection (g)(2)--
(A) by striking ``2004'' and inserting ``2021''; and
(B) by inserting ``and Entrepreneurship'' before ``of the
Senate''; and
(6) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ``$10,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2001 through 2005'' and inserting
``$20,000,000 for every 2 fiscal years between fiscal years
2021 through 2025, to be obligated before the end of the
second fiscal year''.
______