[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 70 (Thursday, April 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2225-S2226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SBIR & STTR PROGRAMS

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about two of the 
Federal government's most important innovation programs: the Small 
Business Innovation Research program, also known as the SBIR, and the 
Small Business Technology Transfer program, or STTR for short.
  It is very appropriate we are having this discussion as we are about 
to go into conference in regards to legislation that affects America's 
competitiveness. The SBIR and the STTR program represent the best of 
government industry partnerships.
  The programs harness the creativity and ingenuity of America's 
entrepreneurs and innovators, solve the most pressing public health and 
national security challenges of our time.
  The programs are also primed to help our Nation rebuild our domestic 
production capacity, to reduce our reliance on foreign supply chains on 
critical products, and reduce costs for the American people.
  I would like to remind my colleagues that fighting inflation and 
rebuilding our domestic manufacturing capacity are inextricably linked.
  When factories close, when products sit in shipping containers in 
ports, when production capacity decreases due to sick employees, and 
when products take longer to get from the warehouse to the store, 
prices go up.
  I have no doubt that every Senator has heard from businesses in all 
sectors of the economy about solving this critical issue.
  According to a recent survey the National Federation of Independent 
Business conducted, more than half of all small business owners 
reported a significant impact due to supply chain disruptions.
  Thirty percent reported that the disruptions were causing a 
``moderate impact,'' and 14 percent reported a ``mild impact.'' Only 5 
percent of those surveyed reported that they were unaffected by the 
disruptions. Of the small business owners affected by disruptions, 80 
percent reported that the disruptions have caused them to miss out on 
business opportunities.
  I am very pleased to hear that President Biden announced during his 
State of the Union address that rebuilding America's domestic 
production capacity is central to his administration's plan to fight 
inflation and keep our Nation secure.
  SBIR and STTR are two of the best tools in the Federal government's 
toolkit to achieve our goal. Congress created the SBIR in 1982 to 
increase the participation of small businesses and Federally funded 
research and development opportunities in areas ranging from clean 
energy to advanced manufacturing.
  Under the program, Federal agencies that budget at least $100 million 
annually for outside research must allocate a portion--3.2 percent 
since fiscal year 2017--to support R&D and small businesses.
  There are 11 Federal agencies and departments currently in the 
program, including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, 
Department of Education, and Health and Human Services. The program 
awards funds in three phases:
  Phase 1 awards are worth up to $225,000 and may be used to conduct a 
feasibility study to determine an idea's scientific and commercial 
promise.
  Phase 2 awards up to $1.5 million and may be used to conduct further 
R&D on the feasibility of turning an idea into a commercial product.
  And phase 3 does not involve an award of funds, but denotes that an 
idea is ready to move from the laboratory to the marketplace.
  During the commercialization phase, small businesses must raise 
funding from the private sector or secure non-SBIR Federal funds.
  Congress created the STTR program in 1992. While the program is 
similar to the SBIR in structure, utilizing a similar three-phase 
progression, the STTR awards go to small businesses engaging in 
collaborative R&D with Federal labs, as well as nonprofit educational 
and scientific institutions.
  The program requires Federal agencies and departments to spend at 
least $1 billion on outside research to allocate at least 0.45 percent 
of the funds to STTR opportunities.
  Most people may not be familiar with SBIR or STTR, but they 
definitely recognize the products and companies in the programs that it 
helped create. Sonicare Electric toothbrush, iRobot, Lasik eye surgery, 
all received SBIR/STTR funding when they were startups. Qualcomm, which 
makes computer chips, semiconductors, and other technologies critical 
to our national communication infrastructure, also received funding 
from these programs. Progeny Systems, a small business based in 
Manassas, VA, received more than 300 SBIR and STTR awards to conduct 
research over a 20-year period. Progeny's research produced technology 
that drastically improves the Navy's torpedo capacity. The company is 
now the sole supplier of torpedos to the Navy; and, yes, it is still a 
small business.
  This is another benefit of these programs: They expand and diversify 
the supplier base from which the Federal agencies source goods and 
services, increasing competition and investment in high-growth sectors, 
which reduce costs over time.
  On the manufacturing front, several agencies, including NASA and the 
Department of Defense, are currently funding research on advanced 
manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing and glass that can handle 
temperatures as high as 900 degrees, which would revolutionize our 
ability to monitor nuclear reactors and power plant furnaces to prevent 
accidents.
  Simply put, SBIR and STTR are invaluable to our national security, 
and we should fund these programs adequately to rebuild our domestic 
supply chain. Unfortunately, authority for these critical programs 
will expire at the end of September unless Congress acts to extend 
them.

  The House and Senate will go to conference soon on America COMPETES 
Act, which includes a 5-year extension of SBIR and STTR. I urge all my 
colleagues, especially those who will be conferees, to support this 
critical provision.
  The junior Senator from Iowa has submitted a motion to instruct 
conferees to couple this effort to extend the SBIR program and the STTR 
program by 5 years with authorizing language to prevent China and 
Russia from acquiring critical national security technology developed 
by the program.
  I agree with the Senator that the United States needs to safeguard 
technologies from being compromised and stolen, and I am pleased that 
the House Competes Act bill includes safeguards to prevent our 
adversaries from affecting our innovation--not just China and Russia, 
but all foreign countries of concern, including Iran and North Korea. 
This effort builds off of section 223 of the fiscal year 2021 National 
Defense Authorization Act that provides protections and requires 
disclosure to guard against foreign influence on Federally funded 
research and development.
  So I will support the motion the Senator from Iowa will make; but we 
must recognize that if we are able to compete with China and Russia, 
extending the authorization for SBIR and STTR are critical. I hope she 
will work with me to keep this important program from shutting its 
doors on September 30.
  I would like to add that this issue is very important to my 
constituents in

[[Page S2226]]

Maryland. Our State ranks number one in the Nation in R&D spending due 
to the presence of Federal and academic research institutions such as 
the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of 
Maryland.
  I have had many discussions with State government officials and 
leading scientists in Maryland who have told me that one of the most 
sensible steps we can take to improve the SBIR and STTR program were to 
make these programs permanent. The research SBIR and STTR funds often 
continues for several years before producing a product ready to go to 
the market. Researchers need to know that these programs will not 
disappear in the middle of years-long research projects.
  It is our responsibility to make sure that we act timely so that 
there is no lapse in these programs or reduced funding that is 
critically needed for these programs' success.
  Any such action would be shortsighted and would have a devastating 
impact on small businesses engaged in cutting-edge research Nationwide. 
Reducing the size of these programs or allowing them to lapse 
altogether would hinder our efforts to restore the production of 
critical products.
  I recently convened a hearing of the Senate Small Business Committee 
to examine the impacts of supply chain disruptions on small businesses. 
One of our witnesses, Dr. Sridhar Kota, who leads an organization that 
advocates for increased public and private sector investment in 
America's manufacturing sector, called the SBIR and the STTR ``one of 
the really good tools in the toolbox'' and urged the committee to 
strengthen the programs to support even more researchers. I could not 
agree more.
  Instead of leaving the researchers who are inventing the tools that 
will power the economy of the future guessing about the SBIR and STTR, 
we in Congress have an opportunity--and I would say an obligation--to 
reauthorize these programs before they expire in September. We should 
also make them permanent, which both the Pentagon and NASA have urged 
us to do. This is in our national security interest, as well as our 
economic interest and fairness to small businesses.
  Arthur C. Clarke wrote:

       New ideas pass through three periods: (1) It can't be done. 
     (2) It probably can be done, but it's not worth doing. (3) I 
     knew it was a good idea all along.

  The SBIR and the STTR programs help visionary entrepreneurs get 
through one and two to reach three. Getting to three makes America 
stronger and more prosperous.
  Let us make sure that we act in time.
  With that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CASSIDY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________