NEWS | SBIR/STTR Reauthorization at Standstill as Government Set to Reopen - NSBA, SBTC Small Business Advocates Sound the Alarm

Stand with NSBA and the Small Business Technology Council (SBTC) in our fight to ensure reauthorization and permanency for SBIR and STTR programs - critical research and innovation funds for the nation's most important economic community.

UPDATE, NOV. 13, 2025 | This week, after 43 days, the House voted for and the President signed a Senate-passed spending package to reopen the federal government. While NSBA and SBTC commend Congress for choosing compromise to end the shutdown, lasting effects are poised to impact the nation's small-business community, including how the shutdown delayed Congress' consideration of a plan to reinstate these critical research and innovation funds. Join us in urging the Senate to take up the House-passed 1-year reauthorization of the SBIR/STTR programs.

RELATED | House Passes, President Signs Senate Spending Package to End Shutdown, Reopen Government

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With the federal government set to reopen this week under a short-term continuing resolution (CR) funding measure, a key piece of America’s innovation ecosystem remains suspended: the authorizations for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program remain lapsed as of October 1, 2025.

The reauthorization debate has become a tug-of-war between different legislative camps. On one side, the House passed H.R. 5100, a simple, 1-year extension of SBIR/STTR through September 30, 2026, with no programmatic changes.

RELATED | NSBA, SBTC Drive Leadership for SBIR/STTR Program Reauthorization in Congress, Washington

On the other side, the INNOVATE Act, introduced by Senate Small Business Committee Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), proposes a more sweeping overhaul of the programs, raising set-aside percentages, shifting SBIR/STTR structures, and altering eligibility rules for small-business participants.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) are pushing a competing version, the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2025, which would make the programs permanent and raise agency set-aside targets to 7 percent for SBIR and 1 percent for STTR over time.

Because none of the "six corners," consisting of House Small Business Republicans, House Small Business Democrats, Senate Small Business Republicans, Senate Small Business Democrats, House Science Committee, and their Senate counterpart, have aligned all terms, the simplest path of pushing the expiration date back with no changes has been and remains blocked.

Working to address this impasse is NSBA and SBTC, which remain vocal in calling out Congress’ failure to act and pushing for prompt reinstatement of SBIR/STTR. Following lapse of the funds in early October, NSBA and SBTC emphasized the programs' “ billions of dollars in federal research funding to small, high-tech firms” and urged the Senate to take up H.R. 5100.

Failure to reauthorize these critical programs comes with real consequences. However, SBIR/STTR programs are momentarily frozen, not because they lack value, but because Congress has not yet resolved how to extend or reshape them.

While the broader government reopened, small businesses seeking SBIR/STTR funds remain in limbo.

Join NSBA and SBTC among the champions of small-business innovation pushing hard for both a quick fix and a long-term solution: