American Small Businesses, Universities, Former Trump Administration Official Add to Growing Support for One-Year Extension of Small Business Innovation Programs

A program lapse would lead to expansive layoffs, set back scientific advancement, and cut billions for small businesses

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(Boston, September 25) - Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today applauded small business owners, universities, and a former Trump administration official for voicing their support for a one-year extension to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Ranking Member Markey also released new analysis on how a program lapse would harm small businesses and the American innovation ecosystem.

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bipartisan one-year extension to the SBIR and STTR programs, which would safeguard American innovation and ensure that small businesses are not harmed by an unnecessary lapse in federal funding. Ranking Member Markey has continued to advocate for the swift passage of the one-year extension in the Senate.

"The SBIR and STTR programs have bipartisan support because Congress recognizes the critical role innovative small businesses play in meeting federal research and development needs. A lapse in these programs would jeopardize over $4 billion in federal R&D funding and put thousands of small businesses and startups at risk," said Ranking Member Markey. "In May, I released my vision for how to improve these programs, including making them permanent, extending the bipartisan foreign due diligence program, increasing data collection, strengthening commercialization efforts, and codifying efforts to reach more new entrants. A one-year extension provides Congress the time it needs to come to a longer reauthorization with program improvements. These programs have not lapsed in a quarter of a century. We cannot allow them to lapse now or American innovation will face the consequences for decades to come."

Small businesses, universities, and program experts all expressed their support for a one-year extension to the SBIR/STTR programs in letters sent to Congress after House passage of the one-year extension on September 15 and asked that the program not be allowed to lapse for the good of American innovation and small business success.

• In a letter of support, 112 small businesses called upon Congress to ensure that American innovation is not jeopardized: "This is no time to risk America's innovation advantage. As China and other adversaries aggressively develop game-changing technologies, the United States relies on the SBIR and STTR programs to maintain our competitive position. Every dollar of Department of Defense (DoD) SBIR activity generates four dollars in follow-on (non-SBIR) research and development funding. Allowing these programs to lapse would undercut small businesses, weaken our defense industrial base, and erode our advantages in technology commercialization. By passing the one-year extension, the Senate can safeguard these programs while providing space to craft a long-term reauthorization that strengthens the programs for decades to come."

• In a separate letter, 150 small business leaders representing over 100 businesses and organizations in the clean energy industry wrote to urge Congressional leaders to extend the program for one year to allow for continued bipartisan negotiations while also safeguarding the stability of the American innovation ecosystem.

• American university advocates, including the Association of American Universities, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the American Council on Education, and AUTM, voiced their support for the extension, asking that continuity for researchers and small businesses be provided while Congress makes necessary changes to the SBIR/STTR programs.

• The National Academies' congressionally mandated panel to study the SBIR and STTR programs, which includes The Honorable Ellen M. Lord, former Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment in the first Trump administration, also expressed support for a one year extension, citing the need to protect America's "essential engine of innovation."

• The extension is also supported by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), which represents tens of thousands of small business contractors and is the largest defense industry association.

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