A Democratic bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The SBIR/STTR Oversight Act aims to amend reporting requirements for the SBIR and STTR programs. It increases the level of transparency by requiring reports be sent to specific House and Senate committees and published on agency websites. The bill mandates a Comptroller General report to assess program effectiveness regarding diversification and commercialization. It also changes the timeframe for reports on award timeliness and requires agencies to provide data on decision times. Additionally, it establishes a pilot program at the National Institutes of Health to accelerate the award process through simplified procedures.
Yes· 3 of 12
- Scored +4
Would business owners be better off under this?
The bill aims to reduce award timelines and increase transparency for small business owners participating in federal programs.
- Scored +4
Does this make it easier to run a small business?
The bill increases transparency, assesses diversification efforts, and establishes a pilot program to reduce award timelines for small businesses.
- Scored +4
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?
The bill requires annual reports to be published on agency websites and sent to specific congressional committees.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Increased Transparency: By requiring reports to be published on Federal agency websites, the public can access more information regarding the SBIR and STTR programs (Section 2).
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Improved Oversight of Diversity: The Comptroller General will assess the demographics of award recipients, including underrepresented groups such as women and socially/economically disadvantaged individuals, to see how agencies are broadening participation (Section 3, subsection b).
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Greater Accountability for Decision Times: The bill requires agencies to report the average and median amount of time taken to review and decide on proposals, which provides insight into how long people are waiting (Section 4).
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Faster Funding at the NIH: A new pilot program at the National Institutes of Health will aim to reduce award times by using simplified and standardized procedures, targeting a window where the time between notice and funding is as close to 90 days as possible (Section 5, subsection a).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No specific negative impacts are explicitly stated in the text of the bill.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would business owners be better off under this? — The bill aims to reduce award timelines and increase transparency for small business owners participating in federal programs. Would women be better off under this? — The bill specifically mandates tracking and improving the representation of small businesses owned and controlled by women. Would Hispanic Americans be better off under this? — The bill's assessment of underrepresented groups may assist diverse demographic groups in accessing federal funds. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — The bill includes provisions to assess participation of socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this make it easier to run a small business? — The bill increases transparency, assesses diversification efforts, and establishes a pilot program to reduce award timelines for small businesses. Is this likely to grow the economy? — By streamlining award procedures at the NIH, the bill promotes faster transition of research to the commercial market. Is this likely to create jobs? — The bill aims to accelerate award times for SBIR and STTR programs, which can facilitate faster commercialization of new technologies.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The bill requires annual reports to be published on agency websites and sent to specific congressional committees.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Does this narrow the gap between how men and women are treated? — The bill mandates assessments of efforts to increase participation of small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Does this narrow racial gaps in how people are treated? — The bill requires a report assessing the demographics of award recipients to ensure efforts to broaden participation of underrepresented groups are effective.
- Education And Technology
- Does this put more money into scientific research? — The bill improves the efficiency of how scientific research funding via SBIR/STTR programs is administered.
- Healthcare
- Does this make health care easier to get in general? — The NIH pilot program aims to accelerate the funding of small business research, which may indirectly benefit medical innovation.
- 8/19/2025
- Referred to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Introduced in House
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.