News: Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is working to shoehorn her plan to renew two small business grant programs into the annual defense policy bill.
Ernst, who helms the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, has attempted to enlist the help of House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) to get the language in the final version of the NDAA. Calvert’s office did not return a request for comment.
The longshot push, detailed by two people with knowledge of the effort, has drawn the ire of leading lawmakers in the House and Senate who oversee the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and complementary Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The initiatives are key avenues for delivering new capabilities to the military.
“By trying to bypass other chairs and ranking members, Sen. Ernst is sidestepping the standard process for bipartisan negotiations,” House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) said.
Ernst spokesman Zach Kraft said the Iowa Republican “is willing to work with anyone, anytime to reform the SBIR and STTR programs to stand up to China and actually deliver for our warfighters.”
Both programs lapsed on Sept. 30. The House previously approved a clean, one-year reauthorization, but the Senate has not taken it up over opposition from Ernst.
Ernst, meanwhile, has pitched sweeping changes to SBIR. Her bill would create a number of caps in the program that critics have argued would effectively box out longstanding participants. But supporters counter that the provisions are needed to curb the influence of businesses that repeatedly win awards but fall short of generating concrete solutions.
House Small Business Committee Chair Roger Williams (R-Texas) said he “will not rush provisions that jeopardize” the success of small businesses or weaken the programs’ “proven value.”
