Enhancing Small Business Research And Innovation Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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(Ms. CLARKE asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. CLARKE. I rise today to take a strong stand for small business by supporting H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act of 2009, which reauthorizes the Small Business Innovation Research and the Small Business Technology Transfer grant programs. This very important piece of legislation will strengthen and solidify the foundation for the growth and ultimate success of our Nation's small businesses and determine the subsequent success of our country's economy.

The SBIR program is one of the most successful Federal programs for research and technology innovations. It has been central in the process of maintaining the U.S. as a leader in technological innovation, delivering over 60,000 patents and several hundred valuable innovations in all commercial areas, including defense and homeland security.

This 111th Congress, I have the honor of sitting on the Committee on Homeland Security and chairing the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology. And as the Representative of the 11th Congressional District located in central Brooklyn and a native New Yorker, I have witnessed firsthand the need for advanced technology to keep America and its citizens safe.

The events of 9/11 and subsequent war in Afghanistan and Iraq have catalyzed the need to develop both antiterrorism technology and defense systems that will defend our Nation and save precious American lives from terrorist action.

Moreover, this funding is integral in providing funding for women and minority-owned research firms that have historically been marginalized and locked out of the system and have had more difficulty navigating through the technology and innovation research arena.

There is no better time than now to encourage technological innovation, to meet the Federal research and development needs of our country, and to increase the quality and quantity of products in our market. And there is no other group better equipped to handle such a task than the small business community.

Currently, small businesses are responsible for creating roughly 70 percent of new jobs and employ half of the private sector workforce. They are truly the backbone of our economy and the conduit through which we will emerge from this recession. I have had a very longstanding commitment to the support of the technological entrepreneurship and the jobs it creates. In my district in Brooklyn, our State University Medical Center is home to Brooklyn's first biotechnology incubator where small emerging entrepreneurs are developing the cures for our Nation's illnesses and diseases. This legislation enables the vital support these entrepreneurs are desperately seeking. This is why I strongly support H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act of 2009.

I thank Chairwoman Velázquez, Ranking Member Graves, Subcommittee Chairman Nye and Congressman Altmire for taking charge on this bill.

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