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HR 10343

CLEAR Feedback Act

119th Congress

Requires federal SBIR/STTR agencies to provide enhanced, timely debriefings with deficiencies, ranking, and denial rationale, plus a follow-up Q&A.

Introduced in House
0
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Bill Summary · HR 10343

Summary of HR 10343 — CLEAR Feedback Act (119th Congress)

Purpose and intent

  • The bill amends the Small Business Act to require federal agencies administering SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) programs to provide enhanced debriefing materials to small business concerns when their Phase I, Phase II, or Phase III award requests are denied.
  • The objective is to improve transparency and help small businesses understand why they were not awarded, with a formal process to obtain detailed feedback and allow follow-up questions.

Key provisions and changes

  1. Enhanced debriefing for SBIR award denials (Section 2)

    • Creates a new process (for each denied Phase I, II, or III SBIR proposal) to provide enhanced debriefing materials upon request.
    • Triggers and timing:
      • Debriefing process is initiated no later than 14 business days after denial, upon request by the small business concern.
    • Contents of enhanced debriefing materials:
      • Evaluation of significant deficiencies in the proposal.
      • An overall ranking of the proposal relative to all other proposals.
      • A summary of the rationale for the denial.
    • Post-debriefing interaction:
      • The denied party may submit additional questions related to the debriefing within 7 business days after receiving the enhanced materials.
      • The agency must respond to these questions within 14 business days after receipt.

  2. Enhanced debriefing for STTR award denials (Section 3)

    • Applies the same enhanced debriefing framework to STTR proposals as described for SBIR.
    • Provisions mirror SBIR enhancements:
      • Initiation within 14 business days of denial.
      • Contents include evaluation of deficiencies, relative ranking, and rationale for denial.
      • Opportunity to submit follow-up questions within 7 business days.
      • Agency responses due within 14 business days after receipt of questions.

  3. Administrative details

    • Short title: “CLEAR Feedback Act” (Clear Lessons and Evaluation for Award Reviews Feedback Act).
    • Referred to the House Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology for consideration.

Who is affected

  • Small businesses pursuing SBIR/STTR awards:
    • Entities denied a Phase I, Phase II, or Phase III award will gain access to enhanced debriefing materials.
    • They will have an opportunity to seek clarifications through a defined question-and-answer process.
  • Federal agencies administering SBIR/STTR programs:
    • Agencies must implement and maintain the enhanced debriefing process, provide detailed evaluations, rankings, and rationale, and respond to follow-up questions within prescribed timelines.

Procedural and timeline considerations

  • Initiation window: Up to 14 business days after denial for requesting enhanced debriefing.
  • Debriefing content window: Information provided as part of the enhanced debriefing follows the initial request, with a requirement to include deficiencies, ranking, and rationale.
  • Q&A window: Denied firms have 7 business days to submit questions; agencies must answer within 14 business days.
  • Applicability: Applies to both SBIR and STTR programs; covers Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III award denials not based on a listed exception in the bill’s references to existing paragraphs.

Potential impact and considerations

  • Pros:
    • Improves transparency and feedback quality for small businesses.
    • May help firms better understand weaknesses and improve future proposals.
    • Provides a structured, timely mechanism for post-denial engagement.
  • Cons/risks:
    • Administrative burden on federal agencies to generate enhanced debriefings and manage Q&A timelines.
    • Agencies must ensure consistency and avoid unintended disclosure of sensitive information.

Overall, HR 10343 seeks to strengthen accountability and learning opportunities for small businesses by formalizing and accelerating access to detailed, actionable debriefing after SBIR/STTR award denials.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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