107th Congress

Small Business Technology Transfer Program Reauthorization Act of 2001

P.L. 107-50 (H.R. 1860 and S. 856)

Impact of Public Law

Public Law (P.L.) 107-50 reauthorizes the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program, which is a set-aside program designed to support innovative research—that has the potential for commercialization of the subject of the research—conducted cooperatively by a small business concern and a research institution. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget currently constitutes the second largest amount of funding available for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and STTR programs across the Federal Government.

P.L. 107-50 reauthorized the STTR program through fiscal year (FY) 2009. Agencies participating in the program are required to expend 0.15 percent of their extramural budgets on STTR each fiscal year through FY 2003 and 0.3 percent for each fiscal year from 2004 through 2009. The law also increases limits on Phase II awards from $500,000 to $750,000. Agencies participating in the STTR program are mandated to implement outreach programs to research institutions and small businesses in conjunction with ongoing SBIR outreach activities.

The STTR Program Reauthorization Act of 2001 mandates agencies to collect and maintain data about the performance of the STTR program. All data are to be collected and maintained in a common format. Agencies, including NIH, are already collecting similar types of data for the SBIR program.

P.L. 107-50 requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to issue regulations for the development of a single model agreement to allocate intellectual property rights between small business concerns and research institutions. NIH will be required to implement this model agreement once it is established by SBA.

Legislative History

The STTR program was established by the Small Business Research and Development Enhancement Act of 1992 (P.L.102-564) and was reauthorized by the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-135). During the 107th Congress, two pieces of legislation were introduced to reauthorize the STTR program. On May 16, 2001, Representative Vernon J. Ehlers (R-MI) introduced H.R. 1860, Reauthorize the Small Business Technology Transfer Program. On May 9, 2001, Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) introduced S. 856, the Small Business Technology Transfer Program Reauthorization Act of 2001.

After introduction, H.R. 1860 was referred to the House Committees on Science and on Small Business. The bill was referred to the House Science Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards on May 18, 2001.

On June 20, 2001, the House Small Business Subcommittees on Rural Enterprises, Agriculture and Technology and on Workforce, Empowerment and Government Programs held a joint hearing on H.R. 1860. JoAnne Goodnight, NIH SBIR/STTR CoORDinator, testified about NIH STTR program success stories. Maurice Swinton, Assistant Administrator of the Office of Technology, SBA, and STTR program managers from the U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation also testified about their experiences with the STTR program.

Upon introduction, S. 856 was referred to the Senate Committee on Small Business (Senator Kerry, Chairman). On June 21, 2001, said Committee held a hearing on S. 856. During the hearing, several recipients of STTR awards testified about their experiences with the STTR program. Maurice Swinton, SBA, again testified. Jim Wells, Director of the Natural Resources and Environment team, Government Accounting Office, reported on the results of the STTR program. During the hearing, Committee Chairman Kerry expressed his strong support for the continuation of the STTR program.

On August 28, 2001, the Senate Committee on Small Business reported S. 856 without amendment and issued Senate Report 107-54. On September 13, 2001, the measure was passed by unanimous consent with an amendment by the Senate. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), on behalf of Senator Kerry, proposed an amendment in the nature of a substitute (Senate Amendment 1569). The amendment deleted the language of S. 856 and substituted it with the language of H.R. 1860.

On September 21, 2001, the House Committee on Small Business reported H.R. 1860, as amended, and filed House Report 107-213, Part I. On September 24, 2001, the House passed H.R. 1860 Under Suspension of the Rules and referred the measure to the Senate. On September 26, 2001, the Senate passed H.R. 1860 by unanimous consent. The Small Business Technology Transfer Program Reauthorization Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-50) was signed into law on October 15, 2001.