To amend section 9 of the Small Business Act to extend and expand the phase flexibility authority, and for other purposes.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill creates extends Direct to Phase II authority from 2025 to 2030, expands it from three agencies (NIH, DOD, DOE) to all federal agencies with SBIR programs, sets funding caps (10% for most agencies, 15% for NIH), creates extends the commercialization readiness program for civilian agencies from 2025 to 2030, renames it from 'pilot program' to 'covered program', and changes the heading to 'Civilian agencies commercialization, and creates extends certain SBIR and STTR pilot programs under sections 9(jj)(7) and 9(uu)(3) from September 30, 2025 to September 30, 2030. It relies on grants and reporting requirements. The main policy areas are Science & Space, Small Business, Technology, and Trade.
Who Benefits and How
Small businesses with proven R&D track records eligible for Direct to Phase II awards could gain revenue opportunities, Technology startups bypassing Phase I to access larger Phase II grants could gain revenue opportunities, and Small businesses partnering with research institutions through STTR pilot programs could gain revenue opportunities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal agency heads administering SBIR programs (new reporting requirements) would take on compliance duties.
Key Provisions
- Creates extends Direct to Phase II authority from 2025 to 2030, expands it from three agencies (NIH, DOD, DOE) to all federal agencies with SBIR programs, sets funding caps (10% for most agencies, 15% for NIH)...
- Creates extends the commercialization readiness program for civilian agencies from 2025 to 2030, renames it from 'pilot program' to 'covered program', and changes the heading to 'Civilian agencies commercialization...
- Creates extends certain SBIR and STTR pilot programs under sections 9(jj)(7) and 9(uu)(3) from September 30, 2025 to September 30, 2030.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill creates extends Direct to Phase II authority from 2025 to 2030, expands it from three agencies (NIH, DOD, DOE) to all federal agencies with SBIR programs, sets funding caps (10% for most agencies, 15% for NIH), creates extends the commercialization readiness program for civilian agencies from 2025 to 2030, renames it from 'pilot program' to 'covered program', and changes the heading to 'Civilian agencies commercialization, and creates extends certain SBIR and STTR pilot programs under sections 9(jj)(7) and 9(uu)(3) from September 30, 2025 to September 30, 2030.
Key Policy Areas
Science & Space, Small Business, Technology, Trade
Primary Purpose
The bill creates extends Direct to Phase II authority from 2025 to 2030, expands it from three agencies (NIH, DOD, DOE) to all federal agencies with SBIR programs, sets funding caps (10% for most agencies, 15% for NIH), creates extends the commercialization readiness program for civilian agencies from 2025 to 2030, renames it from 'pilot program' to 'covered program', and changes the heading to 'Civilian agencies commercialization, and creates extends certain SBIR and STTR pilot programs under sections 9(jj)(7) and 9(uu)(3) from September 30, 2025 to September 30, 2030.
Policy Domains
Entire Bill - SBIR/STTR Programs
Identified Gains
- Small businesses with proven R&D track records eligible for Direct to Phase II awards
- Technology startups bypassing Phase I to access larger Phase II grants
- Small businesses partnering with research institutions through STTR pilot programs
- Small businesses participating in SBIR pilot programs under section 9(jj)
- Biotech and medical device companies eligible for NIH Direct to Phase II (up to 15%)
Identified Costs
- Federal agency heads administering SBIR programs (new reporting requirements)
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Olszewski introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Small businesses participating in SBIR pilot programs under section 9(jj), Small businesses partnering with research institutions through STTR pilot programs, Small businesses with proven R&D track records eligible for Direct to Phase II awards
Technology startups bypassing Phase I to access larger Phase II grants, Technology startups seeking bridge funding from Phase II to market
Biotech and medical device companies eligible for NIH Direct to Phase II (up to 15%)
Federal agency heads administering SBIR programs (new reporting requirements)
Universities and research institutions collaborating with small businesses via STTR
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "nih"
- → National Institutes of Health (has special 15% limit vs standard 10%)
- "the_head"
- → Head of each federal agency administering SBIR/STTR programs
- "federal_agencies"
- → All federal agencies required to carry out SBIR programs (previously limited to NIH, DOD, and DOE for some provisions)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Small Business Innovation Research program - federal program requiring agencies with R&D budgets over $100M to set aside funding for small business grants
Small Business Technology Transfer program - federal program promoting cooperative R&D between small businesses and research institutions
Authority allowing federal agencies to award Phase II SBIR grants without requiring Phase I completion first, subject to funding caps (10% for most agencies, 15% for NIH)
Program for civilian agencies (renamed from 'pilot program') to support commercialization of SBIR/STTR research
Various pilot initiatives under Section 9(jj) of the Small Business Act
Various pilot initiatives under Section 9(uu) of the Small Business Act
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology