Tech program gets short-term fix

Despite President Obama’s recent call to invest in American innovation, Congress has failed to permanently extend funding for a small business program that many tech companies rely on. The Small Business Innovation Research program, along with a sister initiative, funnels roughly $2 billion a year in grants to companies that are “truly at the cutting edge,” according to National Science Foundation spokesman Josh Chamot.

NSF is one of eleven agencies that administer the grants. But the funding could run out this year without congressional action. President Barack Obama on Monday signed into law a stop-gap measure that will continue funding through the end of May. SBIR funding would have expired Jan 31 without the bill, which Congress passed last week. The program has been temporarily reauthorized half a dozen times over the past two years. Despite having bipartisan backing, efforts to ensure long-term funding for the program have stalled as Congress has focused on larger issues.