- By
Marty Zeller
ETTC
On December 15, 2000 Congress approved reauthorization
of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program in
H.R. 5667, tacked on to the FY2001 Labor, Health and Human Services,
and Education Appropriations bill. The bill has been sent to
the president for signature. The eleventh hour action, coming
on the final day of the 106th Congress, provided a much-needed
boost to small businesses that participate in the widely popular
SBIR program.
Key provisions of the SBIR reauthorization
legislation include:
The reauthorization
legislation means that agencies that had put awards for new
SBIR projects on hold, such as NASA, can now ramp back up to
make those awards. NASA had already selected award winners from
its 2000 solicitation but had not announced them, due to uncertainty
regarding the availability of SBIR funds for new projects. With
reauthorization, NASA can now move forward and begin the process
of negotiating award amounts. DoD is also expected to be able
to proceed without delay in selecting award winners from proposals
submitted under their currently open solicitation.
For
further information, contact Marty Zeller at (213) 743-2927
or zeller@usc.edu.
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