Shaheen Applauds Inclusion of Language to Extend the SBIR/STTR Programs for Five Years

Press Release

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the lead Democrat on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (SBC), today applauded the inclusion of language to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs for five years as part of the bicameral FY17 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). These programs award competitive contracts to small businesses to develop innovative technologies that keep the U.S. economy competitive and address national security needs.

"The SBIR and STTR programs have a proven track record of success and have enabled entrepreneurs in New Hampshire and across the country to engage in the research and development that keeps America at the forefront of innovation," said Senator Shaheen, who repeatedly called on Congress to act this year to ensure that the programs would be reauthorized. "These programs have bipartisan support because they unleash the innovative potential of America's high-tech businesses to drive our country's growth, contribute to our national defense and meet urgent public needs. I'm glad Congress is taking the important actions needed to support small businesses and keep America on the cutting edge."

As Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee, Shaheen has been working to reauthorize the SBIR/STTR programs since the beginning of the year, starting with a hearing on reauthorization in January. Shaheen then introduced bipartisan legislation to permanently authorize and improve the programs. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, she also called attention to the importance of these programs for national security and secured language to permanently authorize the Department of Defense's SBIR/STTR programs in the Senate version of the NDAA.

Under the conference agreement on the NDAA, the SBIR and STTR programs, which were due to expire on September 30, 2017, will now be extended for five years at all federal agencies participating in the programs. This is a significant win for small businesses, which have faced major uncertainty due to Congressional inaction in previous years. The programs were reauthorized for six years in FY2011; prior to that, the SBIR/STTR programs endured 14 stop-gap extensions.

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