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Senate SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act Hits "Brick Wall" Due to Amendments

May 18, 2011
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The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program reauthorizations may face a bleak future due to a recent vote on the Senate floor. Senator Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) said, "Today was our last chance to reauthorize these important programs and provide some continuity to the small businesses that depend on them. This bill, the federal government's largest research and development programs for small businesses, passed out of our Committee with nearly unanimous support, but wound up hitting a brick wall when it reached the Senate floor."

The Senate SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011 (S. 493) failed to receive the votes necessary to invoke a cloture vote — a procedure that allows the Senate to place a time limit on consideration of a bill to overcome a filibuster. A cloture vote was proposed after the Senate managed to debate only 11 of the 137 amendments. Proponents of the bill argue that the 137 amendments, most of which are not germane to the SBIR/STTR programs, eroded bipartisan support for the program.

If passed, the Senate SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011 would:

  • Reauthorize the SBIR/STTR programs for eight years;
  • Increase the SBIR set-asides by participating agencies to 3.5 percent over 10 years;
  • Increase the STTR set-aside by participating agencies to 0.6 percent over six years;
  • Allow small business concerns majority-owned and controlled by venture capital firms to be eligible for up to 25 percent of the SBIR funds; and,
  • Increase SBIR/STTR awards to $150,000 for Phase I and $1 million for Phase II awards.

 

The SBIR and STTR programs are administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration and funded by set-asides from existing research and development budgets at participating agencies (e.g, NIH, DOD and NSF).

Meanwhile, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology approved the Creating Jobs Through Small Business Innovation Act of 2011 (H.R. 1425) to reauthorize SBIR and STTR programs through the 2014 fiscal year. The legislation only would increase the size of awards ($150,000 for Phase I and $1 million for Phase II) but would not increase the current percentage "set-asides" (2.5% for SBIR and 0.3% for STTR).

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