Senate Bills - 112th Congress

S. 493—The SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011

On March 4, 2011, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) introduced S. 493, the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011. Similar to the compromise bill (S. 4053/S. 1233) passed by the Senate at the close of the 111th Congress, S. 493 would reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (STTR) for 8 years; increase the SBIR set aside to 3.5 percent over 10 years and increase the STTR set aside to 0.6 percent over six years; and allow small business concerns majority-owned and controlled by venture capital firms to be eligible for up to 25 percent of the SBIR funds. In addition, the bill would increase SBIR/STTR awards to $150,000 for Phase I and $1 million for Phase II awards; limit award increases to 50 percent according to the guidelines for Phase I and Phase II awards; and require that federal agencies shorten the time span for final decisions to not more than 90 days after the date a solicitation closes. The bill was referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

COMMITTEE ACTION

March 9, 2011 — The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship marked up and reported out an amended version