SBIR/STTR Oversight Act

This bill updates oversight of federal small business research grants (SBIR/STTR). It adds new reporting, asks for a study on who gets awards and how well ideas become products—paying special attention to new entrants and underrepresented groups—and updates the annual reports to Congress.

It also extends how long agencies must report on their award speeds, changing the window from 3 years to 11 years and requiring average and median decision times by agency. The National Institutes of Health must start a pilot within one year to speed up SBIR/STTR awards, standardize steps across its offices, and try to release funding about 90 days after notice; the pilot can use flexible peer review, ends on September 30, 2030, and NIH must report on results within three years.

• Who is affected: Small businesses applying for SBIR/STTR (including new entrants and underrepresented groups), NIH, and other federal agencies that run these programs .
• What changes: Stronger reporting and a GAO study on diversity and commercialization; longer tracking of award decision times; an NIH pilot to speed awards and standardize procedures .
• When: GAO report due within three years; NIH pilot launched within one year, ends 9/30/2030; NIH evaluation due within three years of enactment; award-timeliness reporting extended to 11 years .