WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) spoke on the floor on Tuesday about the importance of small businesses to the American economy and urged his colleagues to support S. 493, which would reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research program and the Small Business Technology Transfer program.

- As Delivered -

Thank you, Mr. President.  I rise this afternoon to speak in support of the incredibly important legislation that’s on the floor, the Small Business Innovation Research program reauthorization, a bill, S. 493, which also reauthorizes the Small Business Technology Transfer program.  I want to commend Senator Landrieu, the Chair of the Small Business Entrepreneurship Committee, and her Ranking Minority Member, Senator Snowe of Maine, for their leadership in moving this to the floor, and getting this considered is vital to making progress on this bipartisan bill. 

This is the third, Mr. President, in a series of bipartisan bills we have taken up.  The first two, the FAA reauthorization and the patent reform bill, have passed, and it is my real hope that all of us in this chamber will seriously consider supporting S. 493. 

The thirty million small businesses in America are incubators of creativity and job creation.  They drive our innovation sector and make us more competitive globally. In addition to employing over half our private sector workforce, small businesses are the backbones of our American communities and can be a source of economic advancement for millions of Americans in every state. 

The Small Business Innovation Research program, or “SBIR,” sets aside a small part of the research and development budget from a number of federal agencies to be used as grants for small businesses, and the Small Business Technology Transfer program, or “STTR,” helps scientists and innovators at research institutions take their discoveries and commercialize them through small business start-ups.  Since their creation in 1982 and 1992, respectively, SBIR and STTR have invested more than $28 billion in helping American small businesses turn into big businesses through innovation and commercialization of cutting-edge products. 

The classic example, which a number of our colleagues, including Senator Landrieu, have highlighted in the conversation so far, is Qualcomm of San Diego, which began as a small business of just thirty-five employees and has now, in fact, grown to a company of 17,000.  It pays more in taxes every year than the whole budget of the SBA.  We can’t lose sight that every large company in America at one point began as a small business. 

The SBIR and STTR programs were created through bipartisanship and should maintain wide support.  In fact, SBIR was signed into law by former President Ronald Reagan.  They more than pay for themselves through the jobs and economic growth they create and the taxes paid by these companies as they grow. 

For too long, the Senate has kicked the can down the road by passing temporary extensions month after month, year after year, for these two vital programs.  This week, at long last, we have the chance to pass real long-term reauthorization.  It’s a shame, I feel, we had to vote for cloture even just to begin debating this bill, which has wide bipartisan support.  Ideology should not trump practical solutions that can put more Americans back to work and get our economy moving again.  These two programs are proven vehicles for growth in all our states, including my home state of Delaware. 

In Delaware, where we have a strong and growing high-tech sector, small businesses have been benefiting from these two programs and, with your forbearance, Mr. President, I will for a moment just mention three. 

One Delaware company that received a critical SBIR grant was Elcriton.  It started with two employees who invented and patented a process to take bacteria that turn algae into butanol for fuel.  Think about literally using pond scum for fuel for cars and trucks.  It is superior to ethanol in many respects, because it is compatible with the current petroleum infrastructure.  The SBIR grant enabled this company to expand significantly, to grow their production, and to scale up not just the research and development but their early stage manufacturing. 

Another company, Compact Membrane Systems of Newport, Delaware, is putting a million dollar SBIR grant to work developing a hollow fiber filter that’s used to filter hydraulic fluid from water.  This extends the life of machinery like wind turbines that use hydraulic fluid or filter oil.  They started with three employees and now have twenty-four.  Five of those hires were directly made possible through the SBIR grant. 

Last, in Newark, Delaware, ANP Technologies is building biological agent detection systems for our Department of Defense.  The kit they are developing is rapid, lightweight, and lifesaving for our troops and first-responders.  This recipient of an SPIR grant is just another great example of cutting-edge technology by a small business that will have positive impacts for our first responders, our armed forces, and my home community of Newark, Delaware. 

Since 1983, nearly 400 Delaware businesses have received $400 million in SBIR grants.  I know that every one of my colleagues here in the Senate has a similar positive story from his or her state.  Each one of these businesses I just spoke about in Delaware could be the next Qualcomm.  Any one of the small businesses in our states that receive grants through SBIR and support through STTR could generate a revolution in high-tech that spurs the creation of thousands of jobs. 

In my view, Mr. President, we cannot afford to let this critical job-creating program expire.  According to one report, small businesses backed by SBIR grants have been responsible for almost a quarter of our nation’s most important innovations over the past decade, and they account for almost forty percent of our nation’s patents.  The applications range from the military to medicine, from education to emergency services. 

Congress must have a smart approach to budget reform that balances budget cuts with strategic long-term investments that create growth and job-creation for our communities, a great example of exactly what it is that the SBIR and STTR programs do. 

I hope all of our colleagues will join in supporting Senator Landrieu of Louisiana in supporting this vital bill and the great work she and the Committee have done to advance it to this date. 

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