SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011
Floor Speech
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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, let me thank the Senator from Louisiana, Ms. Landrieu, for her tremendous work on the bill in front of us today, the small business bill. It is so important that we keep focusing on what is most important right now for families and small business owners across the country; that is, to continue working to create jobs and boost the economy. That is exactly what this bill is all about.
Last month our economy added over 200,000 private sector jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to the lowest in 2 years. We have a long way to go, but I am confident we have turned the corner and we are now beginning to move in the right direction. But we have to continue to make progress. That is exactly why I strongly support this long-term reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research Program, which supports research and development efforts by small businesses that will help them grow and create jobs.
That is why I will continue working with all of our colleagues to make sure we pass a budget for this year that cuts spending responsibly while continuing to invest in programs that create jobs and boost our economy.
The Small Business Innovation Research Program, or SBIR, is a bipartisan bill that has been successfully creating jobs since it was signed into law by President Reagan in 1982. The resources this program has provided to small businesses over the years have led to new products, new ideas, and new innovations. In fact, small business tech firms that receive SBIR grants produce 38 percent of our country's taxes, they employ 40 percent of America's scientists and engineers, and they have produced many of the most important innovations that have driven our economy forward.
This program has been especially important in my home State of Washington, for over 200,000 grants have been awarded to small businesses totaling close to $700 million. One company that received the support of the Small Business Innovation Research Program is Infinia, in the Tri-Cities area of my State. Infinia was founded in 1985 as an R&D firm, but they have been able now to successfully transition to commercial production and have emerged as a leader in our State's clean-tech industry.
With support from SBIR's other programs, Infinia has been able to develop their products and grow from 30 employees to over 150. These are good family-wage jobs in that community. This is such a great example of what small businesses can do with just a little bit of support.
There are thousands of companies across the country with similar stories that have received a critical boost from SBIR. Unfortunately, the Small Business Innovation Research Program has been operating now under a short-term authorization over the last several years, and that creates uncertainty and makes planning very difficult for companies that do want to participate in this program.
I hope we support this long-term legislation that will help our innovative small businesses develop their products and expand and create jobs and we do not continue to see all these extraneous measures added onto it that will stop us from getting it passed in the Senate and moving to a place that can help create jobs and grow our economy.
I also want to mention another issue we are going to be discussing on the floor because it is directly connected to Senate Democrats' efforts to get workers back on the job; that is, the need to pass a long-term budget bill to keep the government open through the end of this fiscal year.
I am disappointed that the same Republicans who came into office saying they were going to focus on the economy have now put forward a very damaging and short-sighted budget proposal that would literally destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs and devastate our workers and small businesses and undermine our fragile economic recovery.
I am disappointed that at a time when our middle-class families still need some support to get back on their feet, Republicans have proposed this very highly politicized slash-and-burn budget that is going to pull the rug out from under these families at a critical time.
I am disappointed that while on this side, Senate Democrats have put forward some ideas to make responsible and prudent budget cuts that will allow us to continue to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build our competitors, that we need to do, we are seeing a Republican budget proposal that is going to hack away at the investments that strengthen our ability to compete right now and improve the quality of life for all of our families in this country.
The proposal they put forward would slash programs such as Head Start. It would decimate housing and economic development. It would eliminate community health centers that the Presiding Officer has worked so hard to put in place. It would cut off critical investments for our workers and our infrastructure.
Independent analysts have said their plan would destroy up to 700,000 American jobs. That includes 15,000 in my home State. That is a hit we cannot take right now. It would be devastating.
Senate Democrats are trying to put forward a proposal that goes in a very different direction. We will cut spending billions of dollars, but we will do it in a responsible and measured way to protect our middle-class families and not kill jobs and continue making the investments we need to compete and win in the 21th-century economy.
Unfortunately, as we all know, we were not able to pass that proposal last week. Now, unfortunately, we are back to passing a short-term funding bill just to keep the government from shutting down. I have to tell you, weekly spending bills are no way to run the government. I am hopeful that moderate Republicans will say no to the extreme members of their party and come to the table to work with us to pass a responsible long-term budget that will help us create jobs and invest in middle-class families and workers across the country. That is what this is all about: creating jobs, getting our economy back on track, and setting our country up for continued success and prosperity now and in the future. That is exactly why this debate is so important, and it is also why having the Small Business Research Investment Program is so critical.
I urge my colleagues today to support this reauthorization, to support small businesses and investment in innovation and growth. I hope we can get rid of these extraneous matters for all of us to come together and do something that helps create jobs and gets our economy back on track rather than diving into all the political debates of the past and offering all the amendments we can think of in order to slow it down.
This bill is important, and I hope we can move it forward to final passage.
I yield the floor.
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