Inside (the Beltway) Scoop

By: Ellen Kuo
Thursday, March 12, 2026

SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Nearing Completion as It Advances to the House
After a contentions period of negotiations, a compromise was reached between Senators Joni Ernst and Ed Markey to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Authorizations for both programs lapsed last fall, placing future funding for SBIR/STTR grants in jeopardy. The compromise bill passed the Senate under unanimous consent on Tuesday, March 10. S. 3971, known as the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, provides a five-year reauthorization and allocates approximately $4 billion a year. “The five-year reauthorization of the SBIR/STTR programs is a win-win-win-win—for American small businesses, for workers, for the innovation economy, and for the communities they serve,” said Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Ranking Member Markey. “This much-improved reauthorization has come a long way from early proposals that would have immediately kicked dozens of U.S. small businesses out of the programs and severely limited the ability of hundreds more in Massachusetts and across the country to grow and thrive. While this legislation does not include every improvement I would like to see, its enactment will immediately reopen these essential programs so that we can once again stake our position on the world stage, empowering our most nimble allies—our small businesses.”

On the Senate floor, Senator Ernst remarked that the Senate puts small businesses first in America’s innovation program and gives them certainty as they seek to build and grow. She fought to change the status quo to insert reforms to strengthen America’s seed fund and to ensure awardees safeguard their technology against Chinese espionage by holding recipients accountable rather than providing a blank check. The bill puts a first-time annual limit on the number of applications that can be submitted by a single entity to prioritize truly small businesses over large companies, who she said were gaming the system. New strategic breakthrough awards were created, and there is increased transparency.
 
Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee ranking member Markey issued a summary of the bill. Some key provisions are to allow a carryover of unused SBIR monies from FY 2026 that can be used in FY 2027 and to allow SBIR offices to set their own rules to implement the new limit on the number of applications that can be submitted by individual entities.