Enhancing Small Business Research And Innovation Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. I rise in support of H.R. 2965, updating and enhancing the Small Business Administration's Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 2965, which will reauthorize and improve the SBA's SBIR and STTR programs. This bill has strong bipartisan support and would work to invest in entrepreneurial innovation and job growth.

While our economy is recovering, it still has a ways to go. Even now, we need to be focused on putting Americans back to work. We need growth that is lasting and industries that are sustainable. We need jobs that cannot be shipped overseas and will not evaporate in the next cycle of boom and bust. But those jobs aren't going to appear out of thin air. They need to be created. By expanding existing industries and unlocking new ones, H.R. 2965 will generate the jobs we need.

The SBIR and STTR programs are vital to small business growth. Year after year, they help jump-start 1,500 new companies. At the very least, that is 1,500 new employers. Over time, that is millions and millions of direct and indirect positions. But while these initiatives are crucial, they're not living up to their full potential. Through H.R. 2965, we can improve SBIR and STTR so they are running at maximum capacity.

Job creation, Mr. Chairman, is the primary goal of R&D. But in order to generate new positions, we have to first develop new industries. Commercialization is critical to that process.

But, unfortunately, most research never makes it to the market.

To address that issue, we are creating commercialization benchmarks. We're also encouraging conversations between SBIR officers and purchasing agents. Ultimately, those dialogs will enhance the flow of information between buyers and sellers, helping more ideas move from the drawing board to the marketplace.

When all is said and done, commercialization means more than new products--it means new jobs. Once a product hits the mainstream, it opens up a world of opportunity in a wide range of industries, from retail to manufacturing. By stimulating these sectors, we can help our economy on its route to recovery.

Even as our economy rebounds, small firms struggle to find funding--particularly equity investment. Just a year ago, venture capital firms drove $5.7 billion into small companies. Today, we have seen almost a 50 percent decline. In terms of what that means for the economy, there are now $3.7 billion fewer dollars to help our small businesses create jobs. The programs' current regulations only compound those challenges.

By shutting venture capital out of SBIR and STTR, we are blocking billions of dollars to create jobs and limiting our ability to innovate. What are we supposed to say to a venture-backed firm that is researching cures for pancreatic cancer? Are we supposed to shake our heads and say, Sorry, you've done some promising research, but we just can't help you find a cure?

Mr. Chairman, this program is better than that. That is why H.R. 2965 gives small firms--not Washington bureaucrats--the final say in how their firms are financed.

This bill provides for the reasonable use of venture capital, while maintaining important safeguards. Make no mistake, SBIR and STTR are--and forever will be--small business programs. This provision doesn't change that. What it does do is give small firms the funding they need to develop new products.

Even with the necessary capital, small firms struggle to see R&D from start to finish. That is because it is a complex process. Measures to block funding delays and increase efficiency will streamline R&D, helping more products make it out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. Meanwhile, we're going to broaden the scope of American innovation.

Silicon Valley doesn't hold a franchise on innovation, which is why H.R. 2965 reaches out to underserved rural areas. Through cutting edge technology and grassroots marketing, it also seeks to bring women, minorities, and veterans into the SBIR and STTR programs.

Innovation is the first stop on the path to prosperity. By enhancing and expanding SBIR and STTR, we can encourage small business growth in all parts of the country. In doing so, we will help our small firms to grow, innovate, and--most importantly--create homegrown jobs.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, today we have an opportunity to invest in the two greatest sources of economic growth: entrepreneurship and innovation. We know that small firms create roughly 70 percent of all new jobs, and we recognize that new markets are the surest path to prosperity, so it only makes sense to strengthen small business innovation. H.R. 2965 does exactly that. This is a bipartisan bill, one that could not have been drafted without contributions from my colleagues, Mr. Graves, Mr. Schock, Mrs. Halvorson, Mr. Bright, Mr. Nye, and most importantly, the bill sponsor, Mr. Altmire.

I would also like to thank Science and Technology, both chairman and ranking member, and the subcommittee chairman, Mr. DAVID WU, and the ranking member.

Especially, I want to say thank you to the staff on both committees who have worked so diligently in working in a bipartisan manner.

This legislation has the support of 60 different organizations, including the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce, the Advanced Medical Technology Association and the Biotechnology Industry Organization. The SBIR and STTR programs are critical to small business resources. They helped 1,500 firms get off the ground every year, and in the past we have sparked breakthroughs in everything from antivirus software to defense technology.

Clearly, these programs hold enormous value. Even so, they haven't been modernized in over 8 years and are in sore need of enhancement. In improving SBIR and STTR, we are going to increase efficiency, expand the small business talent pool and boost commercialization.

Meanwhile, we are also going to give entrepreneurs more options for forming their ventures. Taken together these measures will do more than spark invention. They will help small firms market new products, open new industries and put more Americans back to work.

I will urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Space exploration has long been a symbol of American innovation. Today, we are in the process of unwinding one of our most high-profile efforts in that arena. In the next year, NASA's space shuttle project will retire for good. As the program comes to an end, so will an estimated 8,000 contracting jobs. While the project is shutting down, its contractors and the innovation behind it shouldn't have to.

In the past, these firms contributed a great deal to NASA's space shuttle program. I believe they can do the same for other Federal agencies, and for other space initiatives such as the Mars Lander project. That is why Ms. Kosmas's amendment is so important.

By retooling their operations and seeking new markets, space shuttle contractors can continue to offer high-wage jobs to countless Americans, all while maintaining their commitment to science and technology.

This amendment offers transitional assistance to displaced firms, helping them identify and vie for other R&D projects. In doing so, it will ensure that even with the loss of the program, we don't lose our most innovative businesses.

I urge the adoption of this amendment.

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