Sponsors (4)
The bill strengthens and extends SBIR/STTR commercialization, outreach, and procurement support—expanding opportunities for small firms, students, and underserved communities—while shifting more federal R&D dollars to set‑asides, increasing administrative burdens, and creating eligibility and funding tradeoffs that may reduce awards and competition in some areas.
Small businesses, university tech-transfer offices, and researchers keep access to SBIR/STTR funding and related pilot programs through 2030, preserving a federal commercialization pipeline and continuity for R&D projects and jobs.
SBIR/STTR award opportunities increase over time (rising mandatory set‑asides and broader direct‑to‑Phase II authority), giving more small firms and researchers larger, faster paths to commercialization.
Improved commercialization supports: dedicated technical/business assistance funding, technology commercialization officials, and workforce programs (fellowships/internships) that raise the odds of Phase II/III success and build agency-relevant talent pipelines.
Higher mandatory SBIR/STTR set‑asides and new required transfers divert agency R&D dollars and can shrink the pool for other agency programs and in‑house research, potentially delaying or cutting non‑SBIR projects.
New reporting, outreach, lookback, and data requirements increase compliance costs and administrative burdens for awardees, agencies, and SBA staff, which may slow award processing and raise overhead.
Raising the SBA admin fee (and mandatory transfers to SBA) reduces the dollar pool available for direct awards and contracts to small businesses, meaning fewer or smaller awards for some applicants.
Based on analysis of 13 sections of legislative text.
Reauthorizes and strengthens SBIR/STTR: extends program dates, raises phased set‑asides (SBIR to 7%, STTR to 1%), increases admin support, adds commercialization/workforce provisions, and expands reporting.
Official title: To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize and modify the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Research programs, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 1, 2025 by Nydia M. Velázquez · Last progress May 1, 2025
Extends and strengthens the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs by removing an existing sunset, extending related program authorizations to 2030, raising mandatory SBIR/STTR set‑aside percentages over a phased schedule, and increasing administrative funding and interagency transfers. It also adds commercialization, workforce-training, Phase III procurement reforms, fellowship/internship authority, expanded reporting and evaluation requirements, and a GAO effectiveness review. The bill affects participating federal agencies, small businesses and research teams that compete for SBIR/STTR awards, agency acquisition personnel, and students/postdocs by creating fellowship authority and requiring outreach to underrepresented groups and historically low-award states. It is primarily an authorization and program‑design package rather than an appropriations measure.