[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 41 (Thursday, March 17, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1804-S1805]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REAUTHORIZATION OF THE SBIR AND STTR PROGRAMS

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I guess we are technically still talking 
about our reauthorization of the SBIR and STTR Programs. Senator Snowe 
and I have been working through the week to manage this bill on the 
floor, and I wish to again say how pleased I am with the progress we 
made this week. I know we have had about three or four votes on 
amendments, and there are others that are pending, but we have made 
progress. I truly appreciate the cooperation of all the Members.
  This is a very important program. We have struggled, as I have said, 
for 6 years to get this program reauthorized. While everybody is 
running around fussing about programs that do not work, it is important 
for us to focus on those programs that do work, particularly those 
programs that work to create private sector jobs.
  It is important for us to stay focused on reducing and, hopefully, 
eliminating our Federal debt and reducing annual deficits. That is 
going to be done when we do a couple of things all at one time. It is 
not going to be done by standing on the sidelines, slashing and burning 
discretionary domestic spending only, particularly some of the best 
programs in America. It is going to be done by thoughtful cuts and 
eliminations of some programs that don't work, some thoughtful 
eliminations and cuts to the Defense budget. It is going to be done by 
raising revenues where appropriate to close some of the gaps and taking 
back some of the excessive grants to high-end taxpayers, particularly 
those making over $1 million a year, in the view of this Senator. It is 
going to take some investments that can actually save taxpayer money in 
the long run, and cutting some mandatory programs.

  We know--and I think it is becoming very clear to the American 
people--as this debate over the House CR and the debate over deficits 
and debt goes on, people are understanding this better and better. So 
one of the reasons I am personally happy to be on the floor this week 
is because I know the bill I am supporting and offering here to the 
Senate--hopefully getting to the House and then eventually to the 
President's desk--will create private sector jobs and close this 
deficit gap and begin to chip away, in a substantial way, at the debt. 
We need to grow our economy.
  I have a chart I will put up in just a minute, but before I do that, 
I wish to show again a specific example of a program I am talking about 
so people will be very clear. Projects such as this were won by iRobot. 
This is just one example of the hundreds and thousands of small 
businesses that received either a contract or an award through this 
very important program.
  DOD has the largest--over $1 billion--portion of their research and 
development budget. Prior to this program, almost 100 percent of that 
money went to big businesses or to universities and big businesses. 
Small businesses were summarily overlooked. Regardless of whether they 
had good technology, they really weren't let in the front door. This 
program we are talking about reauthorizing for 8 years creates that 
door and opens it for the small businesses in Louisiana, in Colorado, 
in New Mexico, in New York, and that is why we are going to fight hard 
for this program, to get it reauthorized and to the President's desk.
  Let me give one example. The DOD needed more reliable, cost-effective 
robotic devices for going into caves, checking and diffusing IEDs.
  I don't think I have to explain to anyone listening or any Member of 
this Senate the challenges our soldiers face in Afghanistan. I have 
been to Afghanistan. I have not been in caves in Afghanistan, but I 
have visited our troops there. I have heard their stories. I have seen 
pictures and read enough books to know the frightening thousands of 
miles of caves and crevices our soldiers are having to go into to hunt 
down Osama bin Laden, who still has not been found and captured, and to 
protect our forces overseas.
  We have been in some ways as a nation kind of caught off guard about 
the

[[Page S1805]]

terrorist attacks and military strategies using explosive devices. I 
guess we knew this could be a tactic, but, honestly, we did not have 
what we needed to protect our troops to win the battles.
  So this program steps up and says: OK, this is what we need. Let's go 
out and see who has the best technology. Instead of spending billions 
and billions and millions and millions of dollars giving a contract to 
a big company and getting them to go through all the rigmarole to 
develop it--it is kind of an off-the-shelf technology almost, except 
that we develop the idea and give a small business the opportunity.
  Unlike large businesses, these small firms approach the project 
unencumbered by past research and approaches. They start with a clean 
slate. They often have innovative approaches that would be challenged 
by conventional large businesses. They often attract researchers fresh 
out of a university, such as iRobot, which started with two MIT 
students and their professors. Ideas that started just off the MIT 
campus have turned into a company with a market cap of now $400 
million, with strong military and private sector sales.
  My colleagues have probably heard of the private sector spinoff of 
the military robot, the Roomba, a product that vacuums while one is at 
work and has now sold over 5 million units in the United States. This 
is a different product than the IED robot I will speak about in a 
minute, but it is an example of one of these programs.
  When our forces needed to go into caves and find IEDs, there was some 
technology that was developed in order to do that. The Navy has many 
examples. The Army has many examples. I am encouraged to see these 
outstanding opportunities.
  This was in Bedford, MA. This is the iRobot I mentioned. I will get 
the chart for the IED explosive in just a moment. This is an example of 
some of the projects that have been funded. This is not just good for 
our soldiers, but obviously this company then became a company that 
went on to sell other products in the conventional market and created 
jobs along the way.
  I know Senator Bingaman wants to speak on energy, and I am going to 
yield the floor and then come back later and put a few more things into 
the Record before this week ends so that when we come back in a couple 
of weeks, we will have built the strongest record possible for a vote 
as soon as possible on a program that works, that is cost-effective, 
that really creates some new technologies that help our soldiers 
overseas and help us vacuum our floors here at home and create American 
jobs in the process and help us to close this deficit and debt gap.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.

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