NHBR Article

U.S. House pulls back on SBIR grants extension

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

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The U.S. House of Representatives has cut in half the temporary extension period for 10 federally funded small-business programs approved last week by the Senate.

On Oct. 29, the House Small Business Committee amended S. 1929, granting a temporary extension to the Small Business Innovation and Research and related grant programs to Jan. 31, 2010 — three months shorter than the Senate committee's version of the bill.

The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship passed S. 1929 on Oct. 26, at that time giving a temporary extension to SBIR/STTR programs until April 30, 2010.

If an extension of some form had not been passed, funding for some 10 Small Business Administration programs would have expired Oct. 31.

Extension of SBA grant programs associated with the Department of Defense, however, were addressed in a separate piece of legislation by the Senate and House Armed Services committees and were passed earlier last week. President Obama signed them into law on Oct. 28. These programs remain funded through Sept. 30, 2010.

“SBIR programs are such a critical investment for the future of the country,” said Hollis McGuire, director of the Manchester/Nashua Small Business Development Center, who's watching the legislation closely.

“I've been telling my clients to take a good look at the DoD SBIR program, which has more than half of the money,” she said.

In fact, she said she's forgoing attending the annual SBIR conference, set to take place this week in Reno, Nev., because the situation is so fluid and much of the information presented there has the potential to be changed in a matter of days.

“My office has limited dollars, and I don't want to waste money,” said McGuire.

The House and the Senate have been working for months to reach a compromise bill giving long-term funding to SBIR/STTR programs, but have yet to reach an agreement. In the meantime, the various committees have been passing stop-gap measures to keep the programs in the black.

According to McGuire, the core issues that have proved to be sticking points are whether to allow larger grants and larger companies to participate.

“The lawmakers are also more broadly focusing on their districts,” she added. “There's high unemployment, there are a lot of concerning world issues, and not to mention the health-care reform currently being debated.”

Eleven federal agencies – including the Department of Defense and National Science Foundation — participate in the SBIR, STTR and related programs, which provide millions of dollars in grants — with awards reaching upwards of $750,000 to individual businesses meeting specific criteria. — CINDY KIBBE/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW

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