Wednesday, June 22, 2011

SBIR R&D program extended; New board targets government waste

Small business R&D program extended
Congress gave itself another four months to consider changes in the Small Business Innovation Research program.

Through the SBIR program, 11 federal agencies award at least 2.5 percent of their outside research dollars to small businesses. The program’s authorization was scheduled to expire May 31, but Congress extended it through Sept. 30. President Barack Obama signed the bill June 1.

This gives the House and the Senate more time to resolve the differences in their SBIR reauthorization bills. The biggest issue is whether small companies that are majority-owned by venture capital firms should be eligible to receive SBIR awards. These types of companies have been shut out of the SBIR program since 2003.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization and the National Venture Capital Association have been lobbying Congress ever since to overturn this ruling and make VC-owned firms eligible for the program.

Board targets government waste
President Barack Obama signed an executive order creating a new oversight board to help federal agencies reduce waste and fraud. It’s part of the White House’s new Campaign to Cut Waste. Agencies will be asked to identify and consolidate overlapping programs, and reduce travel and the use of consultants. The campaign will start by halting the creation of new government websites. Over the next year, federal agencies will shut down or consolidate half of their current 2,000 stand-alone sites.

“We are stepping up the hunt for misspent dollars,” said Vice President Joe Biden, who will direct this effort.

But the ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee questions whether creating a new board is the best way to attack government waste.
“The American people do not need yet another government board to identify wasteful programs and inefficient management,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “It’s ironic that this commission would duplicate the work of the Government Accountability Office, which already has identified many specific sources of waste and duplication in government.”

— Kent Hoover ACBJ News Service