S. 3971
Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act
Sponsor: Joni Ernst
1 cosponsor
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act
This act reauthorizes through FY2031 and modifies the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, and related pilot programs. (The SBIR and STTR programs are administered by various federal agencies and provide competitive awards for domestic small businesses to conduct research and development projects that have the potential for commercialization.)
Specifically, the act expands the requirements for federal agencies administering these programs to evaluate the security risks of the small businesses that apply for awards under the programs. If an agency denies an application for security reasons, the agency must provide the small business with the basis for such determination.
Further, each agency must set a maximum number of proposals per fiscal year that a small business concern may submit in response to Phase I and Phase II solicitations.
The act expands the training requirements for agencies' contracting officers and acquisition workforce with respect to Phase III (commercialization of technologies) awards under the SBIR and STTR programs.
The act also establishes strategic breakthrough allocations for critical technology areas. These are additional Phase II SBIR and STTR awards to small businesses that demonstrate an effective technology and receive matching funds.
Text of the bill
Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(aaa) Reducing administrative burden
(1) In general. With respect to fiscal year 2027 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Director of the SBIR or STTR program office of each Federal agency shall, pursuant to authority that may not be delegated, set equally for all small business concerns a limit on the maximum number of proposals that a small business concern may submit in response to Phase I solicitations and Phase II solicitations under subsection (cc), published by that Federal agency, including all components of that Federal agency, in a single fiscal year. In establishing such a limitation, the Director of the SBIR or STTR program office of each Federal agency shall use 1 of the following methods:
(A) A limit for any small business concern on a fiscal year basis.
(B) A limit for any small business concern on a solicitation basis.
(C) A limit for any small business concern on a topic basis.
(2) Waiver
(A) In general. On a topic by topic basis, the Director of the SBIR or STTR program office of each Federal agency may grant a waiver of the proposal limit under paragraph (1) at the time of a solicitation announcement for a specific topic for the SBIR or STTR program of the Federal agency if the topic is time-sensitive and urgent to the mission of the Federal agency.
(B) Written justification. For each topic for which a waiver is sought under subparagraph (A), the Director of the SBIR or STTR program office of the Federal agency shall provide a written justification to the Administrator, and to the Undersecretary described in subparagraph (C), for why the use of the waiver authority is imperative for the agency’s mission and the nature of the immediate and critical need that the Director reasonably believes cannot be met by small business concerns that have not reached the proposal limit under paragraph (1).
(C) Timing. The Undersecretary overseeing the SBIR or STTR program at a Federal agency and the Administrator are required to approve or disapprove a waiver and written justification not later than 15 days after the date on which the Undersecretary receives from the Director the waiver request described in subparagraph (A) and the written justification described in subparagraph (B).
(D) Nondelegation. The authority to grant or approve a waiver under subparagraph (A) or (C), respectively, may not be delegated.
(E) Waiver effects. If the Federal agency grants a waiver under subparagraph (A) with respect to a topic for the SBIR or STTR program of a Federal agency, paragraph (1) shall not prohibit any small business concern from submitting an SBIR or STTR proposal to that Federal agency under such topic.
(F) Record requirement. Participating agencies shall maintain information on topics to which waivers of the proposal limit under this paragraph are granted, including the written justifications for those waivers.
(G) Limitation. A Federal agency may not grant a waiver under this paragraph with respect to more than 5 percent of the topics of the SBIR and STTR programs of the Federal agency in any fiscal year.
(3) Reporting
(A) In general. Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Director of the SBIR or STTR program office of a Federal agency sets or changes a limit under paragraph (1), the head of that Federal agency shall provide to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives the methodology for setting or changing that limit, the considerations made in setting or changing that limit, and how many small business concerns are impacted by that limit based on historical data.
(B) Written notification. Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Director of the SBIR or STTR program office of a Federal agency grants a waiver under paragraph (2), the Director shall provide to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a written notification regarding the granting of that waiver, which shall include the information described in paragraph (2)(F) with respect to that waiver.
(4) Timing. The Director shall establish the proposal limit under paragraph (1) not later than 90 days before the start of fiscal year 2027 and each fiscal year thereafter.