U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) recently reintroduced legislation that would the DoD to identify programs supporting small business research into future budgets and plans.
The legislation, the DOD Entrepreneurial Innovation Act, would require the DoD to identify the Small Business Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs for inclusion in future budgets. The requirement will foster more transparency and awareness of entrepreneurial innovation projects, Calvert’s office said. The legislation requires the Service Secretary to identify the top five SBIR/STTR program that would provide new technologies or process, or future cost savings, that would advance the country’s national security capabilities.
“To support America’s national security mission, we need to leverage America’s technological superiority into an advantage on the battlefield,” Calvert said. “The DOD Entrepreneurial Innovation Act will help the Defense Department nurture and realize the potential of our technological innovations. I will continue to be a champion of the SBIR and STTR programs because small businesses and entrepreneurs are the drivers of innovation in the defense sector and beyond.”
The SBIR and STTR programs are competitive ones that encourage small businesses to engage in federal research or R&D with the potential for commercialization. By including qualified small businesses in the R&D arena, officials said, the federal government is able to stimulate innovation.
Calvert said his legislation would help the DoD capitalize on advanced technologies in the private sector.