THANK YOU for seeking to protect - and grow - the SBIR!
1,116 Letters and Emails Sent So Far
Investment in innovation is a critical driver of economic recovery, and SBIR has a proven history of seeding innovation that creates sustainable new jobs nationwide.
Despite this, Congress is poised to cripple innovation by radically decreasing the number of SBIR-funded grants, offering ANOTHER taxpayer funded bailout of Wall Street Venture & Hedge Funds, and raiding the SBIR to expand government bureaucracy.
Congress must stand up for innovation by supporting three vital changes to the deeply flawed SBIR reauthorization bill (HR 1425):
- A 1%, revenue-neutral increase to SBIR at all agencies in FY 2012, paid for by a slight reduction in indirect costs across all grants – The most proven & effective spur to sustainable job-creation, without impacting basic research.
- Preventing a Billion Dollar bailout of Wall Street from the SBIR– No taxpayer-funded bailouts of Billionaire Wall Street Venture & Hedge Funds that will only replace private investment with public dollars and enrich wall street while stifling innovation!
- Blocking the use of SBIR funds to pay for Agency administration – No expansion of government bureaucracy on the backs of small businesses at a time when every private job matters!
Small business innovators and entrepreneurs generated 2/3 of all new science and engineering jobs in the last 15 years, a quarter of all key innovations in the last decade, and 38% of all patents filed – all with less than 4.3% of all federal R&D spending.
Sign our petition and send Congress a message: invest in small business innovators and entrepreneurs with a proven record of job creation!
Enter Your Name and Submit to Sign
The SBIR program is a very efficient way to stimulate technology innovation, and to develop new technologies and new businesses. Certainly the most efficient way to stimulate our economy and maintain technology and business leadership.
The SBIR program allowed us to create jobs for researchers at a University and at a small business, and lead to a patented instrument that is now licensed to another business which has begun to sell it.
The current SBIR program has helped us launch our business and create jobs.
My company, TeachTown (www.teachtown.com), won an SBIR grant in 2004 when we struggled to find any financing and had 3 employees. We used the funding to initiate a product to help children with autism. Today we have 40 full time employees and the product, TeachTown: Basics, has served thousands of children with autism, is used by hundreds of school districts, and continues to thrive. It remains our flagship product.
Without SBIR support, we would not be employing 40 people, thousands of children would lack an innovative and proven-effective autism intervention, and we would not have been able to attract investors or expand our software and services.
Without SBIR support, we would not be employing 40 people, thousands of children would lack an innovative and proven-effective autism intervention, and we would not have been able to attract investors or expand our software and services.
The SBIR program has helped our company create engineering software that is currently saving significant time and cost for US Naval programs. We could not have done it without SBIR funds. Please support SBIR funding that directly supports small businesses rather than through the Venture Capital groups.
Please support SBIR funding that directly supports small businesses rather than through the Venture Capital groups.
An example of how SBIR works: In the late 1980's a SBIR was granted to Optiva Inc. a small company struggling to get started. The granted SBIR was a big boost in allowing the company to bring the Sonicare toothbrush to the market. Sonicare now is not only the best selling high tech toothbrush but it has aided millions of people maintain their gums healthy in a manner previously not achieved by brushing. Signed by one of the Co-founder of Optiva
Innovation is what separates USA from other competing nations in the world. Programs like SBIR are essential to maintain our nations edge, without such programs that foster new ideas, we will fall behind in the global economy.
The SBIR program works exceedingly well. It has a high return on investment for the country, generates jobs, and grows the economy. It should be expanded with minimal changes to its character.
Message 1 (to Congress). SBIR = high tech jobs & commercializable IP = more jobs!
Message 2. VC-funded companies are eligible, and more importantly have the resources, to compete for 100% of the R&D grant funding from all federal agencies. Why should they deserve special treatment for the measly (2.5%) small business set-aside through the SBIR program? Could it be that sharks can feed much easier on the minnows in a smaller pool? My 2nd message to Congress - Keep the sharks out of the minnow pool!
Message 2. VC-funded companies are eligible, and more importantly have the resources, to compete for 100% of the R&D grant funding from all federal agencies. Why should they deserve special treatment for the measly (2.5%) small business set-aside through the SBIR program? Could it be that sharks can feed much easier on the minnows in a smaller pool? My 2nd message to Congress - Keep the sharks out of the minnow pool!
The SBIR program has worked extremely well, in its current incarnation, for over twenty years. The proposed HR1425 changes would fundamentally change the use and distribution of SBIR funds, to the great detriment of the small, high-risk, cutting-edge technology businesses that the SBIR program was created to support.
It is the only remaining source of funds for small business research and development.
View activity report
People signing this petition: Browse all signers