House Small Business hearing urges permanent SBIR/STTR reauthorization, focuses on China risks and commercialization gaps

At a House Committee on Small Business hearing, Chair Roger Williams and Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez heard testimony urging Congress to make the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs permanent, strengthen protections against foreign‑linked exploitation, and reduce barriers that keep early‑stage firms from reaching Phase 3 commercialization.

The panel heard repeated warnings that the programs — which witnesses said total “just under $5,000,000,000 annually” — face both an administrative “valley of death” during commercialization and active efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to acquire U.S. taxpayer‑funded research. With SBIR and STTR authorization set to expire on September 30, 2025, committee members and witnesses described reauthorization as urgent.

Why it matters: SBIR and STTR are structured to direct federal R&D to small businesses and to help translate research into marketable technologies for both civilian and defense uses. Witnesses described the programs as a pipeline for innovations ranging from medical devices to defense systems, and said lapses or funding uncertainty could force firms to close or seek capital abroad.

Witnesses and members described three linked problems: (1) foreign influence and investment that can funnel sensitive technology overseas; (2) administrative complexity and uneven agency follow‑through that slow or block Phase 2→Phase 3 transitions; and (3)…