Congress has ended its three-year disagreement and reauthorized two small business programs designed to boost research and development . The Small Business Innovation Research program and the Small Business Technology Transfer program gave a combined $2.2 billion to small companies in 2011 . That number will continue to climb, as the reauthorization includes changes to the amount of grant monies set aside for companies with fewer than 500 employees. Congress also increased the size of the grants themselves. The Small Business Innovation Research program directs 11 federal departments to distribute 2.5% of their research and development funds to small businesses. They include the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Energy.