Sponsor
Johnny Olszewski
Representative · D-MD
Representative · D-MD
The bill preserves and extends SBIR/STTR funding and commercialization supports through 2030—helping small businesses and researchers access larger follow-on awards and pilot assistance—while increasing the risk that expanded direct-to-Phase-II authority will concentrate funds among established firms, reduce entry opportunities for new or diverse applicants, and impose modest additional costs and uncertainty for taxpayers and program participants.
Small businesses, startups, and researchers retain access to SBIR/STTR funding and contract opportunities through FY2030, preventing program sunsets and avoiding disruptions to innovation pipelines.
Small businesses and researchers can enter Phase II directly at more agencies through 2030 (with NIH allowed up to 15% of SBIR funds direct-to-Phase-II), increasing access to larger follow-on awards and potentially accelerating biomedical commercialization.
Researchers and entrepreneurs gain up to five more years of Phase 0 proof-of-concept partnerships and extended commercialization assistance pilots, improving tech transfer and market readiness for early-stage innovations.
Small and early-stage firms — especially first-time and diverse applicants — risk losing opportunities because expanded direct-to-Phase-II authority can concentrate SBIR/STTR funding in fewer, established companies and bypass Phase I's entry point.
Extending program and pilot authorities through FY2030 increases federal spending and ongoing administrative costs, imposing marginal costs on taxpayers and requiring continued SBA resources.
Repeated short-term extensions of pilot authority delay comprehensive evaluation or permanent authorization, creating long-term planning uncertainty for recipients and program managers.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Extends and broadens SBIR/STTR pilot authorities and direct-to-Phase II through 2030, adds per-agency caps (10%, 15% for NIH) and reporting requirements.
Official title: To amend section 9 of the Small Business Act to extend and expand the phase flexibility authority, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 9, 2025 by Johnny Olszewski · Last progress June 9, 2025
Extends and broadens several SBIR/STTR pilot authorities and the direct-to-Phase II option for federal agencies that run SBIR programs through 2030. It allows every federal SBIR agency (not just NIH, DoD, and Education) to use direct-to-Phase II, caps the annual value of those awards at 10% of an agency’s SBIR funds (15% for NIH), and requires reporting on use of the authority. It also pushes multiple pilot program expiration dates from 2025 to September 30, 2030. The bill is largely procedural and programmatic: it lengthens existing authorization windows, clarifies terminology, sets per-agency caps for a procurement pathway, and adds a reporting requirement tied to current SBIR/STTR reporting rules. No new appropriations or tax changes are included in the text provided.