After the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) INNOVATE Act was blocked by Senate Democrats, a group of 35 small business owners and technology leaders from across the United States called on Congressional leaders to support the bill. The legislation seeks to reform and reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which fund technology development important for national security.
In their letter, the stakeholders explained that the INNOVATE Act would direct funding toward companies creating practical technology for defense needs rather than those repeatedly seeking grants without producing results. They stated: “As a country, we no longer have the luxury to indulge such smug, self-interested dealing at the heart of a fragile defense-industrial base. We are simply out of time for incremental policy changes and continued deference to an ecosystem that deserves neither. We therefore write in support of the critical reforms proposed in the INNOVATE Act (H.R. 4777). The legislation makes important improvements to ensure that award dollars go to real entrepreneurs and innovators, not those playacting as ones.”
The letter can be viewed online by following this link.
The debate over this legislation comes shortly after Senate Democrats blocked Ernst’s proposal, which included measures intended to protect intellectual property developed through SBIR and STTR from foreign espionage. The Pentagon has also acknowledged concerns about American innovation produced through these programs being vulnerable to foreign threats.
