Vicente Gonzalez: “Mr. Speaker, today we stand and take the final step toward reauthorizing the Small Business Technology Transfer Program…”

“Mr. Speaker, today we stand and take the final step toward reauthorizing the Small Business Technology Transfer Program and upgrading it from its current pilot program status. We began this initiative in 1992 with a unique goal, to help the small business and research communities work together to bring innovative new technologies to the marketplace. It is impossible to overstate the impact that technological innovation has had on the economy and on our lives. Computer and telecommunications innovation, biotechnology and chemical engineering have fueled a boom and profoundly changed the way we work and live. Some technologies were exotic or even unheard of just 10 years ago. Today, they have become commonplace. Mr. Speaker, the Small Business Technology Transfer Program has helped to spur some of this remarkable creativity and growth. Between 1994 and 1998 alone, STTR awarded 864 Federal grants for research through 5 Federal departments and agencies. STTR has led to inventions emerging in highly evolved technologies, including advances in vaccine applications and biotechnology research. With the passage of today's legislation, we will continue to support small technology firms across this country by extending the life of STTR through the year 2009, while expanding the program from its previous pilot program status.”