New England Council Endorses Permanent SBIR/STTR Reauthorization
On July 8, 2025, The New England Council sent a letter to the region’s Senators and Representatives urging them to support legislation reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology (STTR) programs before they are set to expire on September 30, 2025. In the letter, the Council specifically expressed its support the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2025 recently introduced by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) in the Senate, and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) in the House, which would permanently reauthorize both programs.
SBIR and STTR programs authorize federal agencies to distribute competitive awards to early-stage small businesses with innovative proposals that address federal research and development objectives. These popular, bipartisan programs focus on spurring innovation in high-impact technology sectors – such as healthcare, energy, and defense, and ensuring that the United States remains competitive internationally.
The SBIR and STTR programs have been critcially important to small businesses in New England – earning over 33,000 awards valued at over $12 billion since the programs’ inception. The SBIR program has created thousands of high-quality jobs in New England, generated hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity, and developed thousands of important technologies—many of which are manufactured in the region and help make the US more globally competitive. The STTR program provides a critical link between the region’s premier research institutions and new businesses by providing the trained personnel and facilities necessary to get them started. The continuation of these programs is vital to New England’s continued business growth and success.
For more information on the Council’s work on this issue, or on our Technology & Innovation Working Group more broadly, please contact Mariah Healy.