The Biggest Little Fight in DOD Aims at Set-Asides: Ben Van Roo

A small line item in the $778 fiscal 2022 Defense Department budget is the subject of intense scrutiny Washington and Silicon Valley.

Small business contracting set-aside programs, known as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), provide roughly $3.5 billion annually in government money for startups and other small companies. Around $1.3 billion of that comes from the DOD. Both programs are up for reauthorization this year and will expire Sept. 30 if Congress doesn’t act.

Critics, including Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), are pushing for changes to address national security concerns ...