Author: J.D. Harrison
Publisher: The Washington Post
Date: December 12, 2011

House and Senate lawmakers have agreed to reauthorize two small business research programs that have proven successful for more than three decades but were facing expiration at the end of the week.

Small business committees on both sides of the Capitol compromised to extend the SBIR and SBTT programs for at least six more years. (Sangjib Min – AP)House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) on Monday night announced that members of both chambers have struck a deal on a defense bill amendment reauthorizing theSmall Business Innovation Research program and the Small Business Technology Transferprogram, which require government agencies to set aside a portion of their annual research budgets for contracts and grants to small businesses. Both programs are currently running on a temporary resolution that expires Friday.

“The SBIR and STTR programs are one of government’s most effective programs for spurring innovative ideas among the small business research and development community,” Graves said. “I’m glad that we’ve reached a deal to provide some much-needed certainty for the small firms who want to participate in this program.”

Last year, the SBIR program alone distributed approximately $2.5 billion in funding to small businesses, according to government data, compared to only $1.7 billion in early-stage investments made by the entire venture capital industry. Nevertheless, both programs have survived only through temporary extensions for the last three years. Read more here.