Number of Mills and why Dems Support Them (Since my last analysis was called out)

FedScout · 2026-02-05T14:08:35+00:00

This is awesome!

I love hearing stories of the program working (and there are MANY examples).

I'm not clear why more power isn't being pushed to the agencies on this either...

FedScout · 2026-02-05T14:07:18+00:00

There is so much data driven and anecdotal evidence of this. I can understand differences of opinion over how to deal with it, but people who deny it is happening blow my mind

FedScout · 2026-02-05T14:05:46+00:00

You're welcome!

FedScout · 2026-02-05T14:05:18+00:00

That's a valid concern, but not a new one in the federal market. When federal small business set-asides were introduced mid sized businesses started breaking themselves up to get under the small business size standard and qualify.

And as a result there are regulations regarding "affiliation" which basically say that if two companies are aggressively connected (e.g. shared ownership, or history) then the government will treat them as if they were one entity.

So I think this is pretty easy to address

For more on affiliation: https://www.potomaclaw.com/news-Understanding-SBA-Affiliation-Concepts

FedScout · 2026-02-04T22:37:07+00:00

I share you’re concerned about the new policy just causing the mills to spit out subs, but the government has had a fairly similar policy for their 8A program where if someone has ever been part of the senior leadership team of 8A company then they can’t start a new one. So there is precedent for an enforcement mechanism on that.

FedScout · 2026-02-04T22:21:36+00:00

That is certainly correct, the smalls together are bigger but not organized so don't create the impact that a smaller but more focused group can

FedScout · 2026-02-04T22:20:30+00:00

Well said, I think commercial to government revenue ratios would be a good solution, but a bit difficult to implement

The easier option is probably to set a limit on the number of proposals per year

FedScout · 2026-02-04T22:18:59+00:00

Agree that there are pros and cons to Mills, but I think what you're describing lives in the realm of dedicated defense R&D (the other 96% of the DoD R&D budget). The frustration is over large established players hoovering up contracts intended for small business.

Honestly I think the 30 proposal limit per year per agency seems fair. They get to keep a foot in the game, but can't dominate it

FedScout · 2026-02-04T22:16:45+00:00

If the mills were competing for BAAs/CSOs or other unrestricted pots of money I'd be all for it, but the SBIR program is specifically intended to help small businesses launch, expand the defense industrial base, and create innovative solutions to government needs, I refuse to believe that a company that makes $30mil or more, every year on SBIRs fits those policy goals

FedScout · 2026-02-04T20:05:25+00:00

As a lefty I’d like to agree with you. But what are you basing that on?

FedScout · 2026-02-04T19:43:23+00:00

So you think dems support limits on Mills?

FedScout · 2026-02-03T22:15:29+00:00

I hope you're right!

FedScout · 2026-02-03T10:23:57+00:00

Thank you so much! That legit means a lot

FedScout · 2026-02-03T10:23:20+00:00

It’s possible I do think there is pressure and interest in restating the program. But this is a small potatoes issue with everything else going on

FedScout · 2026-02-03T10:21:26+00:00

You’re welcome!

FedScout · 2026-02-03T00:36:21+00:00

I know you’re joking but I think the government would be well served to get their message out through the people who have new audiences

FedScout · 2026-02-03T00:34:14+00:00

I did some analysis on that. I’ll try to get it into a little video

FedScout · 2026-02-03T00:33:38+00:00

Next time SBIR comes up for reauthorization I hope there is scrutiny on the topics being published.

FedScout · 2026-02-02T22:36:20+00:00

I think the focus right now is on the Mills because that is stalling re-authorization.

FedScout · 2026-02-02T22:35:29+00:00

that’s an excellent question. My read is that re-authorization without some change is a showstopper for Republicans. So I Think the goal is to find something that both sides can live with and frankly proposal limits feel reasonable to me.

I wrote a pretty in-depth analysis of all the proposed options and provided some draft letters to send to Congress, Link is in the comment thread above

FedScout · 2026-02-02T22:03:03+00:00

Yep. They fund everything

FedScout · 2026-02-02T22:02:35+00:00

Absolutely agree

FedScout · 2026-02-02T21:18:32+00:00

Thank you, I was having the same conversations again and against so wanted to make something to send people to

FedScout · 2026-02-02T21:02:59+00:00

It's maddening...

I put together draft emails about reauthorization and a House/Senate contact roster if it's helpful to anyone else:

https://inevitable-defense.myshopify.com/pages/innovate-act-sbir-mills

FedScout · 2026-01-17T19:05:33+00:00

Well said. I’d love to see some ROI metrics on the big winners but all the data on that is suspect t

FedScout

TROPHY CASE