On April 16, 2024, SBTC Executive Director Jere Glover was invited to testify before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access in a hearing titled “Exploring SBA Programs: Reviewing the SBIC and SBIR Programs’ Impact on Small Businesses”.  In his testimony, Jere highlighted the remarkable successes of the SBIR/STTR programs, both in the key innovations they have produced as well as the incredible economic returns on the taxpayer dollar generated.  He stressed the need for reauthorization, and urged Congress to make the programs permanent, to avoid the chaos and uncertainty of another contentious reauthorization fight. Jere also recommended streamlining and simplifying the solicitation process to lower barriers of entry to new firms, as well as increasing the size of the program, and engaging with the large primes to improve Phase III transitions.

With the SBIR/STTR programs set to expire in September 2025, SBTC’s hope that this hearing can get the ball rolling on drafting reauthorization language that, if not passed this year, will at least serve as a starting point early next.  SBTC has already had several discussions with staffers on the hill about what that legislation might look like, and what legislative vehicles could be used to pass it.

Follow the links below to read Jere’s written testimony, and watch a replay of the livestream of the Hearing on the House Small Business Committee’s Youtube channel: