These questions are culled from phone calls, letters, faxes and e-mails sent to Rep. Gallegly's Thousand Oaks, Solvang, and Washington offices. Each week Rep. Gallegly adds another question and answer. Please add your comments.
Week ending January 28, 2011
Question: The Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Program is set to expire on January 31, 2011. Is Congress going to extend this program?
Answer: The Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 created SBIR programs within the major federal research and development (R&D) agencies.
The SBIR program is designed to increase the participation of small, high technology firms in the federal R&D endeavor. Congressional support for the initiative was predicated upon the belief that while technology-based companies with less than 500 employees tended to be highly innovative, and innovation is essential to the economic well-being of the United States, these businesses were underrepresented in government R&D activities.
Agency SBIR programs guarantee this sector a portion of the government's R&D budget to compensate for what was viewed as a preference for contracting with large firms. Current law requires that every federal department with an R&D budget of $100 million or more establish and operate an SBIR program.
A set percentage of that agency's applicable extramural research and development budget -- originally at 1.25%, now at 2.5% -- is to be used to support mission-related work in small companies.
Reauthorized several times over the years, the SBIR program was scheduled to terminate on September 30, 2008. However, the program has been temporarily extended by several bills.
Most recently, with my support, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 366 on January 25, 2011, with the Senate approving the bill on January 26. H.R. 366 will extend the SBIR program through May 31, 2011, and currently awaits the President’s signature to become law.
This extension adds no additional cost to the taxpayer, as this extension simply allows all the participating federal departments to continue to offer awards out of their own R&D budgets.
It is my hope that Congress will consider a long-term extension of the SBIR program during the 112th Congress. The SBIR program provides government agencies with new, cost-effective, technical and scientific solutions to meet their diverse needs.
Investing in our small innovators is critical to our future. Small businesses develop more patents per employee than large firms.
For more information on my positions on economic issues, please see my Economy issues page.
For previous Questions of the Week chronologically and by topic, please see my Questions of the Week page.
Hopefully the president would sign this program to become a law. Because this extension adds no additional cost to the taxpayer, as this extension simply allows all the participating federal departments to continue to offer awards out of their own R&D budgets.
I am really hoping our president would rally after this and sign this into law. As the above commenter has said, there's no additional tax burden to the people so why not sign it into law?