Legislators seek to reform two federal programs supporting R&D of small businesses that should expire this year.
With two federal programs that offer technological maturation subsidies to small businesses that should expire at the end of the financial year on September 30, legislators started to discuss potential reforms such as steps to increase their budgets, improve marketing opportunities and extend research security measures.
The Congress created the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program in 1982 and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) in 1992 and have since grown to allocate around $ 5 billion per year. Although largely popular, the programs have only been renewed for a few years, forcing Congress to extend them actively.
The protection of R&D of small businesses against foreign exploitation, in particular by the Chinese government, was a central theme of A hearing Taken by the House Small Business Committee this week to launch the discussion on reform ideas. Chairman of the Roger Williams committee (R-TX) rented SBIR and STTR programs, but said the security measures added via their Previous extension In 2022 are insufficient. He also said that small businesses participating in programs do not have access to capital and are faced with significant obstacles to the transition from research to marketing.
The classification member Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) described programs as among the “most effective engines for the conduct of innovation” administered by the federal government and called on congress to make them permanent. She also proposed to increase the fraction of budgets of scientific agencies which are devoted to programs. Currently, agencies with extra-suros R&D budgets exceeding $ 100 million per year must allocate at least 3.2% of their budget to SBIR and agencies with extramural R&D budgets exceeding $ 1 billion must devote at least 0.45% to Str.
Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI), who chairs the House selective committee on the CPC, also appeared to the audience to warn that certain American companies financed by the programs “then associated with entities related to the PCC or established Chinese subsidiaries, effectively transferring sensitive technology in the hands of our first adversary.”
Moolenaar and Williams sent letters to 11 federal agencies This week by asking to examine the potential vulnerabilities of SBIR and STTR programs. The president of the Chamber of Chamber Committee, Brian Babin (R-TX), also joined the letters.
In their letter At National Sciences FoundationThe three representatives make a series of data requests, including the percentage of SBIR / STTR applications which are reported each year for national security risks.
Democrats on the committees did not join the letters, but they have expressed their support for the increase in security measures for the programs. “Our current system is still based on the self-nomination of companies, which can lead to resource constraints for the government to check these reports,” said Raja Krishnamoorthi (I-I), member of the CCP CCP Committee. “We must continue to support resources for reasonable diligence so that we can see the results we promulgated in 2022.”
The Babin Committee holds a audience Wednesday, research security could probe the subject. The Senature Committee for Small Business and Entrepreneurship will also discuss the potential programs reforms during A hearing March 5. Chairman of the Joni Ernst committee (R -A) successful To add reasonable diligence checks of companies that seek support for programs via popularization legislation 2022.