Legislative Affairs

Small technology based companies from across the country "flew in" to Washington DC today to meet with Senate offices regarding protecting the SBIR.

 Few programs have meant more to small business over the last 25 years than the SBIR program.  It has provided the seed money to help start up and second stage companies develop new technologies, prove innovative concepts, and move them along to levels where they can either stand on their own OR access investment capital.  Without SBIR - many new American technologies would never make it out of the lab or off the bench!

 This session, Congress must reauthorize the SBIR program.  The bill that came through the House has signigficant changes, many of them that favor VC’s and bigger businesses much more than the small businesses the program is intended to support.  The biggest of these changes is the trippling of the size of awards from $100K to $300K for phase one and to millions for phase two commercialization.  It sounds good at first until you read on and discover that they did not make the total amount of money to be allocated bigger - just the awards.  What this means is that if this goes through we cut the number of projects that can benefit from this program by two-thirds.  This puts all technology oriented small businesses at a disadvantage. 

Other changes include allowing businesses that are controlled by VC’s at 51% or more to still be continued ’small".  Again this is not a good idea.  With majority interest the VC has control - not the entrepreneur.  As one business owner stated to her Senator - at that point I am not the entrepreneur  any more - I am just another employee. 

Now the bill moves to the Senate - where hopefully cooler - less influenced heads will prevail.  It is up to us to let our Senators McCain and Kyl know how important the SBIR is to small business and that it keeps to its original mandate - support of innovation and research for SMALL businesses.

 What do you think?