PRESS | Lawmakers Must Restore SBIR/STTR Programs for Small Business

Written by NSBA | Oct 8, 2025 9:45:00 AM

A lapse in SBIR/STTR funding is harmful to small-business innovators and technology researchers - the Senate must act to restore funds for these critical programs supporting the nation's most important economic community.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 8, 2025

CONTACT: Molly Day
202-552-2904
mday@nsbaadvocate.org

Washington, D.C. – The National Small Business Association (NSBA) and its technology arm, the Small Business Technology Council (SBTC), are imploring lawmakers to promptly pass legislation to extend the highly-successful and revenue-generating Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Despite the bipartisan leadership shown in the House to extend the program by one year and give negotiators extra time to hammer out a deal, the measure was blocked by Senate Small Business Committee Chair Joni Ernst (R-IA).

“The expiration of these critically important small-business programs was wholly avoidable, and innovative small firms across the country are facing major hardships because of it,” stated Jere Glover, SBTC Executive Director. “SBTC joins Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Reps. Roger Williams (R-Texas), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Brian Babin (R-Texas) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) in their disappointment at the lapse of the SBIR and STTR programs. These programs are critical to the U.S. industrial base and America’s innovative economy and should never have been allowed to lapse.

The longer this lapse lasts, the more damage is done to highly innovative small businesses, their employees and every business in their pipeline. SBIR/STTR funds more than 4,000 companies per year, over 1,000 of which are new to government contracting. Economic impact studies show a $22-33 return for every dollar invested, depending on the agency, and the SBIR/STTR programs generated 65,578 jobs per year over a 23-year period.

"NSBA and SBTC are very grateful for the support from Congress we've received fighting for the SBIR/STTR programs, but the Senate must not allow this program to be blocked over narrow agendas that do not serve the small-business stakeholders,” stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “Government and specific program shutdowns are costly, damaging and wholly avoidable. This is irresponsible and we deserve better.”

Click here for more details on the SBIR program.

Celebrating more than 85 years in operation, NSBA is a member-driven nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. NSBA's 65,000 members represent every state and every industry in the U.S., and we are proud to be the nation’s first small-business advocacy organization. Please visit www.NSBAadvocate.org and follow us at @NSBAAdvocate.

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