WASHINGTON – Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Ranking Member on the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, today sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense inquiring about Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funds that have yet to be dispersed by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) for fiscal year 2003.
“With research funding for small business in such short supply, I don't understand why the Missile Defense Agency has been unable to comply with the law and create jobs by dispersing more than $90 million in research funds for small business,” Kerry said.
This isn’t the first time small businesses have faced losing R&D dollars through the MDA. Two years ago, Senator Kerry successfully fought attempts to cut in half SBIR funds for small businesses through the Agency. Kerry’s actions saved high-tech firms from losing an estimated $74 million in R&D funds each year.
In 1982, Congress established a government-wide policy to encourage small business innovation by creating the SBIR program at the U.S. Small Business Administration. Any federal agency or department that spends over $100 million in R&D is required by law to award 2.5 percent of its R&D budget to small businesses through a highly competitive application process. This includes the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Transportation, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation.
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“With research funding for small business in such short supply, I don't understand why the Missile Defense Agency has been unable to comply with the law and create jobs by dispersing more than $90 million in research funds for small business,” Kerry said.
This isn’t the first time small businesses have faced losing R&D dollars through the MDA. Two years ago, Senator Kerry successfully fought attempts to cut in half SBIR funds for small businesses through the Agency. Kerry’s actions saved high-tech firms from losing an estimated $74 million in R&D funds each year.
In 1982, Congress established a government-wide policy to encourage small business innovation by creating the SBIR program at the U.S. Small Business Administration. Any federal agency or department that spends over $100 million in R&D is required by law to award 2.5 percent of its R&D budget to small businesses through a highly competitive application process. This includes the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Transportation, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation.
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