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Thank you to everyone for being here for this timely hearing. Today, we’ll be discussing the SBIR and STTR programs, two of the federal government’s most important initiatives when it comes to driving innovation. This is our third in a series of hearings on this topic.

SBIR and STTR create partnerships between federal agencies, public research institutions, and our nation’s best and brightest small businesses to develop technologies that are important to our country and later have commercial application. 

The SBIR and STTR programs meet these goals by leveraging a small percentage of extramural federal R&D spending through highly competitive awards. For fiscal year 2020, the most complete year of SBIR and STTR data, these programs resulted in nearly $3.9 billion – out of an extramural federal R&D budget of about $108.5 billion – going to small, high-technology firms.

Over the years, SBIR and STTR have leveraged this small amount of federal R&D funding to launch some of our nation’s most innovative enterprises and develop products that have become household names.

Companies like iRobot, Sonicare electric toothbrushes, 23&Me, Lasik eye surgery, and Qualcomm wireless communications were all helped along by SBIR/STTR.

More promising ideas are in the works. In FY2020 alone, 11 agencies leveraged SBIR and STTR awards to back more than 4,000 small businesses and 7,200 projects.

Given the importance of SBIR/STTR to our innovation economy, I’m pleased that we are working together to reauthorize these programs before they expire on September 30th. A program lapse would have severe implications for American entrepreneurs.

Even a short-term disruption would deliver a substantial setback to R&D-focused small firms and potentially delay groundbreaking technological innovations. Small innovators operating on the cutting edge of their industries need more certainty and stability to invest the time, money, and staff in applying for SBIR or STTR awards and carrying out the research. 

To avoid these consequences, it is my greatest hope that we can extend and reauthorize the programs in a timely manner. I look forward to working with the Ranking Member and our Senate counterparts to take these steps.

At the same time, this moment allows us to make improvements to streamline and strengthen the programs, as well as encourage more participation by minorities and women. 

Innovation is at the heart of the American economy. Making SBIR/STTR permanent and working to improve the program is vital to holding our position as one of the most innovative countries in the world. Today, I look forward to discussing the importance of these programs and what Congress must do to ensure they move forward.