Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the reauthorization of Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs will ensure small business innovation for the future.
President Donald Trump signed the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act into law earlier this month. That bill reauthorizes the SBIR and STTR programs. Loeffler said the legislation, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Chair, and U.S. Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX), House Small Business Committee Chair, would back America’s Seed Fund program for five years and reform the legislation to address national security, accountability and innovation.
“Driven by innovative startups, the United States leads the world in scientific breakthroughs and transformative technology – and thanks to this law, SBIR and STTR will continue to power entrepreneurs who are building the industrial base of the future,” Loeffler said. “For decades, these cross-agency programs have enabled small, innovative businesses to take bold ideas to commercialization, bolster our national security, and ensure America leads the world in defense, energy, agriculture, biotechnology, space exploration, and other critical industries. Amid intense global competition and America’s reindustrialization, this law reinforces the Administration’s commitment to accelerating American ingenuity. I applaud lawmakers for advancing this critical measure and am grateful to President Trump for signing it into law to unleash the potential of the next generation of innovators.”
The SBIR and STTR programs that together make up America’s Seed Fund have invested more than $81 billion into more than 34,000 small businesses since its inception in 1982. The SBA oversees the programs and administers them across multiple federal agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Agriculture, as well as NASA, the EPA and others. The SBIR Program has supported numerous major companies in their startup stages, including Anduril, Qualcomm, Biogen, Illumina, and iRobot.
The reauthorization will run through Sept. 30, 2031 and includes reforms that will strengthen the program’s integrity, protect against foreign adversaries, expand access to new innovative businesses, and ensure taxpayer dollars deliver results, officials said.