S.Amdt. 1505

SA 1505. Mr. RUBIO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1407 proposed by Ms. Murkowski to the bill S. 2657, to
support innovation in advanced geothermal research and development, and
for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. SBIR AND STTR PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.

(a) Accelerating SBIR and STTR Award Timelines at the
Department of Energy.--Section 9 of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 638) is amended--
(1) in subsection (g)(8)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (C), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) with respect to the SBIR program of the Department of
Energy, the average and median amount of time that the
Department of Energy takes to review and make a final
decision on proposals submitted under the program;'';
(2) in subsection (o)(9)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (C), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) with respect to the STTR program of the Department of
Energy, the average and median amount of time that the
Department of Energy takes to review and make a final
decision on proposals submitted under the program;'';
(3) in subsection (hh), by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Requirement to accelerate department of energy sbir
and sttr awards.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this paragraph, the Department of Energy shall
establish a program to reduce the time for awards under the
SBIR and STTR programs of the Department of Energy by--
``(A) developing simplified and standardized procedures and
model contracts or awards throughout the Department of Energy
for Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III SBIR awards;
``(B) for Phase I SBIR and STTR awards, reducing the amount
of time between solicitation closure and award;
``(C) for Phase II SBIR and STTR awards, reducing the
amount of time between the end of a Phase I award and the
start of the Phase II award;
``(D) for Phase II SBIR and STTR awards that skip Phase I,
reducing the amount of time between solicitation closure and
award;
``(E) for sequential Phase II SBIR and STTR awards,
reducing the amount of time between Phase II awards; and
``(F) reducing the award times described in subparagraphs
(B), (C), (D), and (E) to be as close to 90 days as
possible.''; and
(4) in subsection (ii), by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Additional comptroller general reports for the
department of energy.--The Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small
Business of the House of Representatives, with respect to the
SBIR and STTR programs Department of Energy--
``(A) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this paragraph, a report that--
``(i) provides the average and median amount of time that
the Department takes to review and make a final decision on
proposals submitted under each program; and
``(ii) compares that average and median amount of time with
that of the previous 5 fiscal years; and
``(B) not later than March 31, 2024, a report that--
``(i) includes the information described in subparagraph
(A);
``(ii) assesses where the Department of Energy needs
improvement with respect to the proposal review and award
times under each program;
``(iii) identifies best practices for shortening the
proposal review and award times under each program; and
``(iv) analyzes the efficacy of the program established
under subsection (hh)(3).''.
(b) Improvements to Commercialization Selection.--
(1) In general.--Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 638) is amended--
(A) in subsection (g)--
(i) in paragraph (11), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(ii) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(13) with respect to peer review carried out under the
SBIR program of the Department of Energy, to the extent
practicable, include in the peer review--
``(A) the likelihood of commercialization in addition to
scientific and technical merit and feasibility; and
``(B) not less than 1 reviewer with commercialization
expertise who is capable of assessing the likelihood of
commercialization.'';
(B) in subsection (o)--
(i) in paragraph (15), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(ii) in paragraph (16), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(17) with respect to peer review carried out under the
STTR program of the Department of Energy, to the extent
practicable, include in the peer review--
``(A) the likelihood of commercialization in addition to
scientific and technical merit and feasibility; and
``(B) not less than 1 reviewer with commercialization
expertise who is capable of assessing the likelihood of
commercialization.'';
(C) in subsection (cc)--
(i) by striking ``During fiscal years 2012 through 2022,
the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense,
and the Department of Education'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--During fiscal years 2020 through 2025,
the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense,
the Department of Education, and the Department of Energy'';
and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Limitation.--The total value of awards provided by a
Federal agency described in paragraph (1) under this
subsection in a fiscal year shall be not more than 10 percent
of the total funds allocated to the SBIR and STTR programs of
the Federal agency during that fiscal year.
``(3) Extension.--During fiscal years 2024 and 2025, each
Federal agency described in paragraph (1) may continue phase
flexibility as described in this subsection only if the
reports required under subsection (tt)(1)(B) have been
submitted to the appropriate committees.'';
(D) in subsection (hh)(2)(A)(i), by inserting ``application
process and requirements'' after ``simplified and
standardized''; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(vv) Technology Commercialization Official in the
Department of Energy.--The Department of Energy shall
designate a Technology Commercialization Official in the
Department of Energy, who shall--
``(1) have sufficient commercialization experience;

[[Page S1500]]

``(2) provide assistance to SBIR and STTR program awardees
in commercializing and transitioning technologies;
``(3) identify SBIR and STTR program technologies with
sufficient technology and commercialization readiness to
advance to Phase III awards or other non-SBIR or STTR program
contracts;
``(4) coordinate with the Technology Commercialization
Officials of other Federal agencies to identify additional
markets and commercialization pathways for promising SBIR and
STTR program technologies;
``(5) submit to the Administration an annual report on the
number of technologies from the SBIR or STTR program that
have advanced commercialization activities, including
information required in the commercialization impact
assessment under subsection (xx) and how those activities may
relate to support of the diversification of the United States
supply chain;
``(6) submit to the Administration an annual report on
actions taken by the Federal agency, and the results of those
actions, to simplify, standardize, and expedite the
application process and requirements, procedures, and
contracts as required under subsection (hh) and described in
subsection (xx)(E); and
``(7) carry out such other duties as the Department of
Energy determines necessary.''.
(2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small
Business Administration shall submit to the Committee on
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the
Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives
summarizing the metrics relating to and an evaluation of the
authority provided under section 9(hh) of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 638(hh)) to the Department of Energy, as
amended by subsection (a), which shall include the size and
location of the small business concerns, as defined in
section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632),
receiving awards under the SBIR or STTR program, as defined
in section 9(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(e)),
of the Department of Energy.
______