Ernst Protects American Innovation from the CCP

WASHINGTON – During a U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing, Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) touted her report that uncovered loopholes and a lack of consistent due diligence standards are exposing hundreds of millions of dollars in sensitive American intellectual property to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Ernst emphasized the need for Congress to pass her INNOVATE Act to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and safeguard intellectual property from Chinese espionage to ensure America continues to be the world’s leader in developing cutting-edge technology.

Watch Senator Ernst’s full remarks here. 

Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Fellow Emily Bruyère agreed with Chair Ernst that reforming the due diligence process in the SBIR and STTR programs is an essential step to ensuring that companies receiving federal funding do not have concerning malign foreign ties.

Bruyère emphasized the need to clawback award dollars if a small business exposes taxpayer-funded intellectual property to a foreign adversary.

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