The SSTI Innovation Advocacy Council continues to work toward additional appropriations for Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs, Build to Scale, and the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership. This week, the Council facilitated meetings with SSTI members and congressional offices to discuss funding priorities. SSTI also released a letter signed by 70 national and regional entities that support fully-funding the Tech Hubs program.

The U.S. Department of Treasury and the International Trade Administration within the U.S. Department of Commerce have issued reports considering a program to address national security concerns “arising from outbound investments from the United States into sensitive technologies that could enhance the technological capabilities of countries of concern in ways that threaten U.S.

Enough races have now been called in the 2022 midterm elections to confirm that the Senate will remain under Democratic party control while the House will switch to the Republican party. If any legislation is going to advance to the White House over the next two years, the parties are going to need to work together — both across and within each chamber (where Senate filibuster rules and House politics are likely to make bipartisan votes a necessity to passing bills).

In a hearing this week, lawmakers expressed bipartisan support for EDA’s innovation programs and for providing appropriations for the newly-authorized Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs. On Dec.

With the return of congressionally-directed spending — more commonly known as “earmarks” — for the FY 2022 budget, nearly 5,000 projects received more than $9.6 billion in such funding. The return of the earmarks followed a 10-year absence after the practice was banned in 2011. SSTI’s review of the spending data, which was collected by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) from the congressional appropriations committees, showed that projects related to technology-based economic development (TBED) were included in the funding.

New House appropriations committee chair Tom Cole (R-OK) has announced a rule that nonprofits are not eligible for “community project funding” (i.e., earmarks) from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Economic Development Initiative in the FY 2025 appropriations bill.

As of this writing, Congress has yet to agree to fund the federal government beyond this Saturday, Sept. 30.

As of Thursday morning, party control of both chambers of Congress is undetermined, as final outcomes remain unknown for 44 House seats and three Senate seats (per the AP). Chamber control may drive the size of the next few federal budgets — affecting opportunities for additional science and innovation funding — and determines who will be chair versus ranking member of committees.

This week, Congress approved a new version of legislation to incentivize semiconductor manufacturing facilities, create a Regional Technology Hubs program, and reauthorize many science-related agencies. The Senate passed the bill on the 27th, and the House passed the legislation a day later.

Editor's note: The Senate appropriations subcommittees were formally updated after this article originally published. They have been updated to reflect new assignments.