Rep. Brad Miller Votes to Create Small Business Jobs; Praises North Carolina Businesses on House Floor as Successful Models

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Brad Miller (NC-13) voted to create new jobs and boost the economy by supporting small business innovation in research and technology. The Small Business Research and Innovation Act is part of the long-term economic blueprint to spur job creation by encouraging America’s entrepreneurs to innovate toward breakthrough technological advancements. 

"America can and should be the most innovative and productive economy in the world," said Rep. Miller. "Our great strength is the American people--the American worker, the American entrepreneur, the American scientist.  The SBIR and STTR programs tap directly into these great American resources, to the benefit of us all."

The bill modernizes the government’s largest small business research and development programs, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, more than doubling the amount of the grants small businesses can apply for and helping them engage in cutting-edge research.

The Small Business Research and Innovation Act will broaden the pool of businesses that participate in the programs by reaching out to rural entrepreneurs, veterans, minorities and women. The bill will make it easier for small businesses to find financing, allowing them, not Washington bureaucrats, to decide how to raise capital. It also puts a greater emphasis on helping smaller firms bring their products to market.

Since 1992, the SBIR and STTR programs have awarded 65,000 grants to small companies that are leading research efforts to cure diseases, strengthen national defense and reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources. Without action by Congress, these programs will expire later this month.

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Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUi6Sm5HmtU to view Rep. Miller’s remarks on the House floor today. The Congressman praises Geophex and 3Phoenix, two successful small business models in North Carolina, in support of the bill.

The full text of Rep. Miller’s remarks:

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support of HR 2965 The Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act.

This bill will reauthorize and strengthen two programs that are important drivers of American innovation and economic development:  the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program.

These programs help to ensure that our small, innovative businesses and our universities play a key role in the federal government’s research and development efforts. 

Nationwide, small businesses employ half of the private sector workforce and create almost 80 percent of all new jobs.  Small businesses are one of our country’s primary sources of innovation; they drive advances in virtually every industry in America’s economy.

A company in my district called Geophex was awarded an SBIR grant from NASA in 2000.   The purpose of the grant was to develop a sensor that could detect electromagnetic changes beneath a planet’s surface, for up to 30 feet.  NASA was interested in that sensor to discover if there was water beneath the surface of other planets. Now I know that making a sensor for the specific purpose of discovering water on another planet is not by itself going to lead to much new economic development.  But through commercialization, Geophex has found other practical application here on Earth.  Their sensor has been used by the Department of Defense to help detect mines on land and in the water; it is used by construction companies to help detect electric wires and water pipes buried underground, and it has been used to detect new sources of water, right here on earth.

I recently visited another company in my district, called 3Phoenix.  3Phoenix has received several awards under these programs.  From one of these they have developed the technology to synchronize data from different sensors, technology which is being used by the Navy to help detect periscopes in the water at a long distance.  This technology is also being commercialized to help drivers find the closest parking space in a crowded downtown, helping to relieve traffic, reduce emissions and driver frustration.  For an SBIR investment of $832,000, this technology is expected to bring in new revenue of $8.93 million.  After only 6 years in existence 3Phoenix now employs more than 70 people and they plan to expand to 100 employees in the next 2 years.  These are real jobs, with good salaries, something that is sorely needed in these tough economic times.

America can and should be the most innovative and productive economy in the world. Our great strength is the American people--the American worker, the American entrepreneur, the American scientist.  The SBIR and STTR programs tap directly into these great American resources, to the benefit of us all.

Today’s bill will help make these programs work more efficiently, it will help to increase access to capital for small businesses, and it will help to get even more products to market in order to create more jobs.   I pleased to support bill and the reauthorization of these two very important programs.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.