UPDATE 4/14/26: SBIR IS BACK!
On April 13, 2026, the White House announced that S. 3971, the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, had been signed into law. The measure reauthorizes and amends SBIR/STTR through September 30, 2031, while extending related pilot programs.
The timing matters. The prior authorization lapsed on September 30, 2025, so by the calendar this closes a 195-day gap without reauthorization, or just over six months of uncertainty for founders, small R&D companies, and innovators planning around SBIR/STTR.
UPDATE (Late March 2026): Congress has now fully passed S. 3971, the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, and the bill is currently awaiting presidential signature. If the President does not act within 10 days (excluding Sundays) and Congress remains in session, the bill will automatically become law—potentially in early April 2026.
FORMER POST:
As of Wednesday, March 11, 2026, the newest concrete update is on the House side: S. 3971, the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, is now listed on docs.house.gov for House floor consideration during the week of March 16, 2026, under suspension of the rules. That posting was updated on March 10.
Before that, a bipartisan compromise was announced on February 27, and the Senate passed S. 3971 by voice vote on March 3. The House received the bill on March 4 and held it at the desk; the week-of-March-16 posting is the latest official House movement I found.
What the bill would do: it would reauthorize SBIR/STTR through September 30, 2031. The Senate-passed text also adds stronger security-risk and foreign-risk screening, requires each agency to set annual proposal-submission limits starting in FY2027, creates a new “Strategic Breakthrough” Phase II path worth up to $30 million over up to 48 months with 100% matching funds required, and allows unused FY2026 SBIR/STTR funds to roll into FY2027.
The important caveat is that it is not law yet. SBIR.gov still says the programs’ congressional authority expired on September 30, 2025 and warns that, until Congress acts, agencies may delay, cancel, or rescind solicitations.
So the current state of play is: Senate passed it, House has now scheduled it for the week of March 16, and the programs remain technically lapsed until the House passes it and the president signs it.
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