Senator Flags China Ties in Program to Aid Defense Startups

Six of the top 25 award recipients under a pair of Pentagon programs to bolster small businesses have “troubling ties” to China, including a company whose leader also served on the board of a Chinese state-backed investment vehicle, a Senate investigation has concluded.

The findings from Senator Joni Ernst add fuel to her campaign to overhaul the programs, which have awarded more than $75 billion since the first one began in 1982.

Ernst, an Iowa Republican, and other critics have long expressed two main concerns about the programs, known as the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer ...