H.R. 5100

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I was prepared to come to the floor today to seek unanimous consent to pass H.R. 5100, a bill to temporarily extend the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs until September 30, 2026.

However, because Senator Ernst is unavailable to state her objection to the bill, I have decided not to call for unanimous consent at this time.

I want to express my condolences to Senator Ernst, a combat veteran who served in the Iowa National Guard, for the tragedy in Syria that killed two and injured three Iowa National Guard members.

The bill I would have brought to the floor today would have re-opened the SBIR and STTR programs, which have been shut down now for more than 70 days. The bill was unanimously passed by the House, led by the Republican chairs of the House Small Business Committee and House Science Committee.

Since the SBIR and STTR programs closed their doors, I have heard from hundreds of small businesses across the country that are being forced to lay off employees, cease critical research, and may soon have to close their doors for good. Passing H.R. 5100 is not just a matter of policy; it is about whether small innovative companies can survive. This is the only real path that will immediately reopen this program while we continue to negotiate. Each day the program is shut down, the further behind our innovation economy falls.

The fate of this program lies in the hands of six negotiators: the chair and ranking member of the Senate Small Business Committee, the chair and ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, and the chair and ranking member of the House Science Committee. Five of these six negotiators agree that the best path forward is to temporarily extend the SBIR and STTR programs, to keep them running while we continue to negotiate reforms and a longer reauthorization. We have been working to try and find a path forward for a long-term reauthorization and will continue to do so, but we have yet to find a solution that does not irreparably harm innovative small businesses, nor have we found a solution that meaningfully addresses foreign due diligence concerns. The SBIR and STTR programs have produced technologies that have changed Americans' lives: the world's smallest heart pump, new cancer therapies, Alzheimer Disease treatments, GPS, and Qualcomm wireless communications systems.

I am disappointed that these programs have been forced to shut down, ending funding for the most cutting-edge technologies being developed by our most nimble allies, small businesses. I am disappointed that a company in Pennsylvania may have to cease scaling their patented brake technology due to the lapse in the programs. I am disappointed that a company in Virginia producing the next generation of energy technologies is being forced to put their research on hold until these programs are re-opened. And I am disappointed that a company in Texas must put its progress towards unlocking unprecedented spacecraft maneuvering for our Agencies on hold.

Just because we are unable to come to a long-term solution today does not mean we should decimate a critical part of our innovation ecosystem by keeping these programs closed. In May, I introduced a 52-page bill with my long-term vision for the programs. I want to provide small businesses with the certainty they deserve by making the programs permanent, ensuring we do not watch the clock hit zero like this again.

I want to increase how much Agencies are required to allocate for these programs to maximize our innovation potential. I want to strengthen our commercialization efforts through allowing direct to phase II authority for all Agencies, as well as better data collection, better training, and specifically designated commercialization officers. I want to increase the number of new entrants by reauthorizing and codifying new programs that aim to reach underserved populations. And, like all of my colleagues, I want to make sure that our technology never falls into the hands of our adversaries.

That is why I want to continue the bipartisan foreign due diligence program enacted in 2022, which has already successfully identified and mitigated foreign risk in its short period of implementation. If it were just up to me, I would want my bill to pass tomorrow. However, I understand that is not possible. That is why I have joined the four House negotiators in supporting a temporary extension while we figure out the long-term path forward that not only preserves our innovation ecosystem but supercharges it.

As a long-time champion of the SBIR and STTR programs, I will continue to fight to protect the innovation ecosystem and the small businesses that support it.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source