This
evening, House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Ralph
Hall (R-TX), House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO),
and Technology and Innovation Subcommittee Chairman Ben Quayle (R-AZ)
announced that a bipartisan deal to reauthorize the Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business Technology
Transfer (STTR) program has been agreed upon.

These
programs were set to expire on Dec. 16, 2011, but a compromise deal was
successfully negotiated with the Senate, allowing a long-term
reauthorization to be included as an amendment to the National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA).

“I
am extremely pleased that we have come to an agreement on a long-term
reauthorization for the SBIR and STTR programs. This agreement will
provide thousands of small businesses with the certainty necessary to
facilitate innovation and create high- paying jobs. The legislation will
also strengthen the program’s research and development output by
opening it up to more small businesses, and will ensure the greatest
return on taxpayer investment by helping us combat waste, fraud, and
abuse,” said Hall.

“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 and 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. This deal not only gives the program stability, but it
improves the program by opening it up to more companies regardless of
their financial structure, it increases the Phase I and II award sizes,
and it puts a stronger emphasis on commercialization. As our nation
continues to recover economically, it is important for Congress to pass
legislation like this that helps our nation’s most effective job
creators and innovators our small businesses,” said Graves.

“The
SBIR and STTR programs have largely been successful, but have operated
under temporary extensions for the last few years. Today’s agreement is
an important step that provides small businesses in Arizona and across
the country with the resources and certainty they need to continue to
innovate and create jobs. I want to thank Chairman Hall for his efforts
in finally securing a long-term reauthorization,” said Quayle.

The negotiated reauthorization:

• Reauthorizes the programs for six years
• Increases
  the SBIR program allocation from 2.5 to 3.2% and the STTR allocation
  from .3 percent to .45 percent, giving small businesses an increased
  role in the federal R&D enterprise, while preserving the bulk of
  federal R&D funding for basic research
• Allows
  for participation among small businesses with majority venture capital
  and private capital support in the program, increasing competition
• Helps
  participating agencies combat waste, fraud, and abuse within the SBIR
  and STTR programs, protecting taxpayer dollars in the program
• Tasks the National Research Council with evaluating the effectiveness of both the SBIR and the STTR programs
• Enables
  participating federal agencies to utilize 3% of program funds to
  improve administration of the program, combat waste, fraud, and abuse,
  and conduct outreach to underrepresented businesses.

SOURCE: CQRollCall.com via The Associated Press