Bill > S1003

This bill, the FAST Fix Act of 2023, proposes several modifications to the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Notably, it introduces the term "underperforming state" to refer to states that receive the fewest SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) Phase I awards. The bill prioritizes applicants located in these underperforming states, provides additional assistance to recipients in those states, and waives the matching requirements for them. Additionally, the bill increases the maximum award amount for the FAST program from $500,000 to $500,000 over 2 fiscal years, and requires recipients to report on various program-related metrics. Finally, the bill extends the authorization for the FAST program from 2004 to 2027, and increases the program's funding from $10 million to $20 million for every 2 fiscal years.