With SBIR and STTR authorization expired, Senator Markey’s compromise bill proposes stronger national security checks, commercialization mandates, and strategic grants—seeking bipartisan buy-in to restart America’s $4B small business research engine.
Congress’s latest spending package reshapes how agencies handle SBIR funds during reauthorization gaps—unlocking DOE flexibilities, preserving overhead recovery, and tightening oversight. Small businesses in R&D should prepare for new compliance norms.
The 2025 NDAA deal moves forward without restoring the expired SBIR/STTR programs, leaving thousands of small R&D firms in limbo as congressional negotiations stall over proposed reforms, caps, and national-security vetting requirements.
SBIR and STTR programs lapsed on Sept. 30, 2025, halting new awards. Agencies await reauthorization, likely via the FY2026 NDAA. Here’s where things stand and what’s next for small tech firms.
SBIR Program Gets Critical Protection Through 2030: What Small Businesses Need to Know About New Security Legislation
The INNOVATE Act of 2025 proposes major changes to SBIR: new entry pathways, stricter commercialization rules, and limits on repeat winners. Here’s what U.S. startups and small firms need to know now.