8/27/2008
Arkansas SBIR Recipients Voice Opinions to Senator
by Mildred Holley, Technology Programs Manager
The federal SBIR and STTR programs serve a critical purpose and should continue, Arkansas entrepreneurs told U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor Aug. 21.
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs provide more than $2 billion in federal grants and contracts to small business owners annually for business and product strategies that meet federal research and development needs. SBIR will expire Sept. 30, followed by STTR one year later, without reauthorization by Congress. Both houses have proposed legislation to extend SBIR and STTR, but the two bills differ significantly.
Arkansas Small Business Development Center hosted a listening session at UALR for the senator to hear feedback on the bills from previous and potential SBIR and STTR recipients. Participants from Alma, Fayetteville, Jonesboro and Little Rock companies expressed deep appreciation for the federal funding they have received through the programs and favored the increases in award limits contained in both the Senate and House versions. Several spoke against the House provision to extend eligibility to venture capital-funded firms for the first time, preferring the Senate position on venture capital.
Pryor (D-Ark.) serves on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, which authored the Senate bill. Voicing support for SBIR and STTR, he said, “This is a way that we can reinvest federal dollars into our communities and make a huge difference, not just for our local communities but for the U.S. economy.”
The Senate is expected to take action on the SBIR/STTR reauthorization bill when it reconvenes following the August recess.
Read the bills:
Senate 3362, www.asbdc.ualr.edu/sbir/S.3362.pdf
House Resolution 5819, www.asbdc.ualr.edu/sbir/H.R.5819.pdf
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