The Small Business Innovation Research program in America, designed to fund the next generation of American innovators, is being exploited by foreign adversaries and corporate welfare recipients. Sen. Joni Ernst’s report reveals that six of the 25 program’s largest recipients had clear links to China yet still received nearly $180 million from the Pentagon in 2023 and 2024. Meanwhile, the top 20 “SBIR mills” have received $3.4 billion in Phase I and II contracts, often producing little more than policy white papers. This dysfunction is a national security crisis masquerading as an innovation development difficulty. The program has become the opposite of what Congress intended, serving as corporate welfare for the connected and well-funded, instead of innovation fuel for emerging American businesses. China has weaponized America’s open innovation system against us, launching a $138 billion government-backed venture fund in March 2025, specifically targeting quantum and AI startups. The Innovate Act addresses these problems by establishing lifetime caps on funding each company, stopping foreign exploitation, protecting American intellectual property, and providing real accountability. Congress has a narrow window to implement these critical reforms before the programs expire in five weeks.
US taxpayers are funding China’s innovation, a trend that we must address. HoangMySpa 128
