Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) highlighted the importance of the Small Business Research and Innovation Act as part of the nation’s long-term economic blueprint to spur job creation by encouraging America’s entrepreneurs to innovate toward breakthrough technological advancements. Since 1992, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has provided 65,000 grants to small companies engaged in cutting edge research to cure diseases, strengthen our national defense and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. High growth start-ups – like these – have job growth rates nearly four times that of bigger firms.

While DeLauro voted in favor of the legislation, she has expressed concerns about a provision in the bill to allow greater participation of venture capital-backed firms in the program. The concern is that by allowing companies with more than half their capital coming from venture capital-backed firms to compete for grants, truly small businesses will be unable to compete with these firms and access the grants available through the program.

“Small businesses fuel our economic growth – creating 60 to 80 percent of all new jobs each year. And every year, the Small Business Innovation Research program helps 1,500 new firms get off the ground and results in a $2.2 billion investment in small businesses,” said DeLauro.

“We need to make sure that these programs continue to prioritize and protect the interests of small businesses. On the whole I think this legislation will ensure this, but I am concerned that some provisions in the bill could be counter to this goal. And as the bill moves forward I will work with my colleagues to ensure that small businesses will continue to be able to access the funding through the grant program.”