A bill to establish a Federal program to assist small businesses by increasing their role in federally funded research and development.

Summary

Directs each Federal agency to set aside one percent of its research and development budget each year for small business prime research and development contracts beginning in fiscal year 1981, until such contracts equal at least ten percent of such agency's research and development budget. Requires each agency with such budget equal to $100,000,000 or more to initiate a small business innovation research competitive solicitation program modeled after the National Science Foundation program. Sets forth policies and procedures for agencies to follow relating to research and development contracts for small business, including: (1) eliminating cost-sharing requirements and allowing negotiated fees; (2) providing fair and equitable opportunity for competition on a merit basis with other participants; and (3) seeking unsolicited proposals for fair and prompt review and providing opportunities for the receipt of sole source awards. Declares that related expenses of small business firms shall be considered expenses of the fiscal year in which they occur. Directs the Departments of Defense and Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to seek means to make large- scale contracts available to small business. Directs all Federal agencies involved with research and development funding to inform their staffs of the need to provide a fair and equitable opportunity to small women-owned and minority business firms for such funding. Declares that all Federal agencies have a responsibility to make changes in or eliminate any procurement practices which discriminate against small business. Directs Federal agencies which issue regulations affecting small business to scale regulatory burdens to the size of affected firms. States that where Government regulations provide a deadline for agencies in matters initiated by small business, and the agency is not forthcoming with a decision by such deadline, the decision shall stand with legal force in favor of the affected small business. Exempts offerings of less than $2,000,000 involving 100 or fewer investors from Securities and Exchange Commission registration requirements.

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1 official file

• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 25 October 1979

  Open at official source

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