congress

Earlier this week, congressional appropriators reached a tentative agreement on spending levels for the 2015 fiscal year just a few days before the Thursday deadline. The continuing resolution omnibus, “cromnibus,” spending package would, if approved by the House, Senate and president, avert a government shutdown and again defer budget negotiations until next September. Under the agreement, most agency budgets would remain at similar levels to those enacted for FY14.

Included in the continuing resolution/omnibus spending bill for FY15 is $10 million for the Regional Innovation program. The Regional Innovation Program was authorized under the American COMPETES Act and is designed to provide funding to support regional innovation activities. The program received its first funding of $10 million in FY14 after extensive work on the Hill by SSTI, its members and others. More than 60 organizations signed a letter urging Congress to fund the program at $20 million (see August 7, 2014 Digest article) for FY15. Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the FY14 solicitation had received 254 applications requesting more than $100 million in funding.

More than 60 organizations have signed on to an SSTI-initiated letter urging Congressional leaders to fund the Regional Innovation program at $20 million for FY2015. The Regional Innovation Program was authorized under the American COMPETES Act and is designed to provide funding to support regional innovation activities. The program received its first funding of $10 million in FY2014, and the solicitation for that funding is expected to be issued any day. The Senate has approved $20 million for the program for FY2015, while the House did not provide any funding for the program. Organizations signing on to the letter include the Association of University Research Parks, the Angel Capital Association, the National Business Incubation Association, and more than 45 state, local, university and nonprofit organizations. The more organizations that sign increases our chances to secure funding. The deadline for signatures to this letter is Friday, August 15. To read the letter, learn how to sign on, and see those organizations that have already signed on Read more…

As Congress continues negotiations over the FY15 federal budget, SSTI is hard at work trying to secure additional funding for the Regional Innovation program. The Regional Innovation Program was authorized under the American COMPETES Act and is designed to provide funding to support regional innovation activities. The Senate has approved $20 million for the program for FY2015, while the House did not provide any funding for the program. SSTI has prepared a support letter to Congressional leaders and is seeking organizations to sign on to the letter. The more organizations that sign will increase our chances to secure funding. The deadline for signatures to this letter is Thursday, July 31.