| Sponsor | Landrieu (Louisiana) |
| Committee | Small Business and Entrepreneurship |
| Date | July 28, 2009 (111th Congress, 1st Session) |
| Staff Contact | Adam Hepburn |
The House is scheduled to consider S. 1513 under suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote for passage. S. 1513 was introduced on July 24, 2009, by Sen. Mary Landieu (D-LA). The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent on the same date.
S. 1513 temporarily extends the authority of the SBA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program through September 30, 2009.
The authorization for the SBIR program is scheduled to expire on July 31, 2009. SBIR provides subsidies to small businesses to expand their businesses. Currently, SBIR is a three-step process. "Phase I" is the startup phase during which awards of up to $100,000 for approximately six months support exploration of the technical merit or feasibility of an idea or technology. "Phase II" includes awards of up to $750,000, for as many as two years, to expand upon Phase I results. "Phase III" is the period during which Phase II innovation moves into the marketplace. No federal funds support this final phase.
The SBIR program was established by Congress in 1982 in an effort to increase federal funding for small companies with research and development activities with commercial potential. It was last reauthorized in 2000.
There is no CBO cost estimate yet available for S. 1513.