WTAS: Small Businesses Support Ernst’s Work to Fuel Innovation
WASHINGTON – As part of her River to River tour across Iowa, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) met with small businesses in Iowa City to discuss how her INNOVATE Act will help usher in a Golden Age in America by reforming the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs to fuel innovation and supply vital technology to the industrial base.
Ernst spoke with the group about how her bill will expand opportunities in the heartland and ensure that truly small businesses and startups are able to bolster America’s competitiveness and technological leadership.
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After the event, the INNOVATE Act earned high praise from attendees:
"Senator Ernst understands the importance of the SBIR/STTR program to Iowa's biotech entrepreneurs and to the long-term economic growth of our state,” said Jessica Hyland, Executive Director, Iowa Biotechnology Association. “The SBIR/STTR program plays a critical role in growing Iowa's biotech ecosystem. The funding helps to grow and scale companies developing new cures, better crops, new energy sources, innovative materials and foods, while creating new jobs for Iowans. The reauthorization of these vital programs produce an outsized return on investment to the economy and provides crucial capital to these early-stage companies. We applaud Senator Ernst for her leadership, her vision and her commitment to ensuring that Iowa and America leads the world in innovative biotechnology breakthroughs."
“On behalf of America's Cultivation Corridor, I would like to thank Senator Ernst for hosting today’s INNOVATE Act roundtable,” said Billi Hunt, Executive Director, America's Cultivation Corridor. “It was an important opportunity to hear directly from innovators here in her own backyard about the value programs like SBIR bring to our innovation ecosystem. I am proud to support the INNOVATE Act to ensure SBIR is focused on America’s best innovators and well-defined deliverables. Iowa has long been a leader in innovation, with strengths in agriculture, advanced manufacturing, and financial services. These sectors give us a unique perspective on how innovations can successfully reach commercialization.”
The INNOVATE Act has already earned widespread support and continues to earn additional high marks.
“The INNOVATE Act represents a powerful framework for how the US government can stimulate impact-oriented innovation,” said Will Dickson, Chief Commercial Officer, Canopy Aerospace. “It’s no secret the small businesses move more quickly and take more risks than established businesses; harnessing this capability is critical to maintaining US global technological competitiveness in the coming decades. As a next-gen materials development company that is hyper-focused on ensuring that our innovations cross the valley of death, we believe reforming SBIR to focus on outcomes versus ‘neat research’ is the best use of the authority.”
"The INNOVATE Act of 2025 represents a committed Congressional focus to streamlining investment in domestic innovation, ensuring that defense-application small businesses, such as Ursa Major, are enabled and empowered to apply impactful technological advances to further national security priorities," said Ben Nicholson, Chief Business Officer, Ursa Major.
"Vita has benefited greatly from the SBIR program, and passing Sen. Ernst's INNOVATE Act will create meaningful improvements to "America's seed fund" and will make sure it is viable for years to come," said Caleb Carr, President and CEO, Vita Inclinata Technologies.
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