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‘THE BEST IDEAS’: USACA leadership is participating in a campaign by other industry groups and small businesses to ensure that Congress reauthorizes in its current form the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, the four-decade-old programs that have seeded breakthrough technologies for national security, energy, communications, transportation, public health, and more.
Defend SBIR: Earlier this month, the campaign hosted two days of discussions and meetings with lawmakers and staff, as well as a public forum featuring success stories and independent analysis of technology transition rates, particularly for the military.
“Every dollar of DOD SBIR activity generates $4 in follow-on non-SBIR research, development, test, and evaluation funding,” Dr. Maryann Feldman, who is chairing a National Academies of Sciences study on SBIR and defense, said at the forum.
She also revealed that the forthcoming National Academies study, which Congress mandated, concludes that capping SBIR awards "ignores the fact that firms have multiple Principal Investigators" and "SBIR firms are an effective platform for organizing innovative activity."
"Don’t cap submissions," she recommended, noting the objective of the programs "is to source the best ideas."
Scouting report: The House on September 15 passed by voice vote a clean, one-year extension for the programs that was proposed by Small Business Chair Roger Williams (R-TX). The issue now goes to the Senate, where a minority of GOP members led by Williams’ counterpart, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), continue to insist that any extension include proposed reforms such as caps on lifetime awards.
Read Dr. Feldman's presentation.
And learn more about the Defend SBIR campaign and watch the recent forum.
BUDGET BATTLES: The annual federal appropriations process remains in flux as we head into the fall. With the fiscal year ending on September 30, House Republican leaders are eyeing the passage of a stop-gap measure to carry through November 20, allowing more time for negotiations with Democrats on full-year appropriations.
We still anticipate passage of the annual defense funding bill before the end of 2025, as well as the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets policy.
Defense spending: The Senate and House still must reconcile their versions of the Defense Appropriations Act, which were passed by each chamber in July.
Here is a good breakdown of the differences.
NDAA update: Meanwhile, the House passed its version of the NDAA, mostly along party lines, on September 10. This includes the bipartisan Speed Act, which would give the Department of War new authorities and remove bureaucratic hurdles to deliver new capabilities in months rather than years. The Senate version of the bill remains in doubt.
Read more: Senate may skip the NDAA again
NEW PRIORITIES: We are also closely tracking a variety of new defense projects and investments underway at the Department of War following the recent passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The big winners were missile defense, hypersonic weapons, munitions, critical and strategic materials, autonomous systems, advanced manufacturing, shipbuilding, and nuclear weapons programs.
The need for speed: We expect the department to be more aggressive than in the past in executing and accelerating timelines and to place a premium on multiple suppliers to reinforce the defense industrial base.
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