NEWS | NSBA, SBTC Urge Senate to Restore Lapsed SBIR/STTR Programs for Small Business
- NSBA
- Oct 7
- 2 min read
NSBA and SBTC are continuing to urge the Senate to act on H.R. 5100 to restore funding for SBIR/STTR funds - critical research and technology programs driving innovation across the small-business community.
OCT. 08, 2025 | The National Small Business Association (NSBA) and its Small Business Technology Council (SBTC) are calling on lawmakers to reinstate the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs following lapse of their authorizations affecting the small-business community.
The SBIR and STTR programs channel billions of dollars in federal research funding to small, high-tech firms, but expired this month after a 1-year extension plan stalled in the Senate. Led by Senate Small Business Committee Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Senators chose to block legislation to extend authorizations for the programs, despite passage of H.R. 5100 in the House and bipartisan support for an extension in both chambers of Congress.
“The expiration of these critically important small-business programs was wholly avoidable,” Executive Director of SBTC Jere Glover said. “Innovative small firms across the country are facing major hardships because of it.”
For over 40 years, the SBIR and STTR programs have served as a crucial pipeline between small-business innovation and federal research needs. Together, they fund more than 4,000 companies each year, including more than 1,000 small businesses news to government contracting.
SBIR/STTR funds have been credited with generating an estimated $22 to $33 return for every $1 invested on the federal level. Between 1998 and 2021 alone, SBIR/STTR also supported an average of 65,000 jobs annually.
NSBA and SBTC leaders say the lapse in SBIR/STTR funds threatens this proven economic engine and risks slowing America’s innovation ecosystem at a time of increased global competition.
“Government and specific program shutdowns are costly, damaging and wholly avoidable,” NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken said. “The Senate must not allow this program to be blocked over narrow agendas that do not serve small-business stakeholders. This is irresponsible, and we deserve better.”
The SIBR/STTR lapse has drawn bipartisan concern from lawmakers including Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas), Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), all of whom have expressed disappointment in Congress’s failure to reauthorize the programs.
Founded over 85 years ago, NSBA represents more than 65,000 small businesses across all industries and states. The association remains a leading nonpartisan voice for America’s entrepreneurs and is urging immediate legislative action to restore the SBIR and STTR programs before lasting harm is done to the nation’s innovation base. For more information, visit www.NSBAadvocate.org or follow @NSBAAdvocate on social media.
