To increase the amount in certain funding agreements relating to patents and nonprofit organizations to be used for scientific research, development, and education, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately as the result of a death in the family and my need to return to Illinois by Saturday morning for the funeral services, I was unable to cast my votes on the following pieces of legislation. I request that the Record state my intentions on these votes had I been present to vote.

I would have voted ``aye'' for H. Res. 1100, the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 6406, to modify temporarily certain rates of duty and make other technical amendments to the trade laws, to extend certain trade preference programs, and for other purposes.

I would have voted ``aye'' on H.R. 5948, the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2006. Passage of the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act supports Belarus as an emerging democracy with U.S. assistance by strengthening democratic institutions and processes within the country. Our country has a long history of promoting democracy worldwide and this bill will assist the people of Belarus with foreign aid and the risk of U.S. sanctions should the recent political upheavals and the repression of democratic groups in the country continue.

I would have voted ``present'' in response to the Call of the House. I am sorry to have missed Speaker J. Dennis Hastert's farewell speech. I respect and admire him, and am proud to serve with him in the Illinois congressional delegation. His long tenure as the Speaker of the House is historic, and he will be celebrated as an esteemed statesman.

I would have voted ``aye'' on H.R. 6406, to modify temporarily certain rates of duty and make other technical amendments to the trade laws, to extend certain trade preference programs, and for other purposes. This package contains trade provisions I have supported in the past and will continue to do so in the future. These provisions will help expand the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers and exporters within the global marketplace.

I would have voted ``aye'' on the Conference Report on H.R. 5682, the Henry J. Hyde U.S.-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006. India has been a longtime and important ally to the U.S. and U.S. assistance in the development of a civilian nuclear energy program will only cement the strategic partnership between our two countries. With the passage of the cooperation agreement with India the U.S. can be assured the peaceful sharing of nuclear energy technologies under international safeguards while preventing the spread of nuclear weapon information to rogue countries, such as North Korea and Iran.

I would have voted ``aye'' on H.J. Res. 102, making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2007. While I am disappointed that we were not able to pass the remaining appropriations bills under regular order, I feel that it is important that we continue to fund our government program at adequate levels until we can address the appropriations bills in the next session of Congress.

Finally, I would have voted ``aye'' on the following bills, considered under suspension of the rules:

1. H.R. 6407--Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act

2. H. Res. 1104--Providing for a severance payment for employees of leadership offices and committees of the House of Representatives who are separated from employment solely and directly as a result of a change in the party holding the majority of the membership in the House

3. H.R. 6060--Department of State Authorities Act of 2006

4. S. 4050--Sergeant First Class Robert Lee `Bobby' Hollar, Jr. Post Office Building Designation Act

5. S. 4093--A bill to amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to extend a suspension of limitation on the period for which certain borrowers are eligible for guaranteed assistance

6. H.R. 5304--Preventing Harassment through Outbound Number Enforcement Act

7. S. 3821--COMPETE Act of 2006

8. S. 4042--A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit disruptions of funerals of members or former members of the Armed Forces

9. H.R. 6427--To increase the amount in certain funding agreements relating to patents and nonprofit organizations to be used for scientific research, development, and education, and for other purposes

10. H.R. 6428--To authorize the Secretary of the Army to carry out certain elements of the project for hurricane and storm damage reduction, Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana

11. S. 2735--Dam Safety Act of 2006

12. S. Con. Res. 123--A concurrent resolution providing for correction to the enrollment of the bill H.R. 5946

13. H.R. 5946--Stevens-Inouye International Fisheries Monitoring and Compliance Legacy Act of 2006

14. H.R. 4075--Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 2006

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6427) to increase the amount in certain funding agreements relating to patents and nonprofit organizations to be used for scientific research, development, and education, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 6427 currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6427 and urge its adoption by the House.

The bill changes the way a particular royalty formula under the Bayh- Dole Act. This is the landmark 1980 law that governs protection of patented inventions developed with the assistance of Federal funding. In brief, H.R. 6427 allows small government-owned, contractor-operated laboratories and their affiliated universities or nonprofits to receive a fair percentage of revenue from a successful patent that they license. The bill produces an equitable result for small entities that perform important research in a number of scientific fields, all of which benefits the American people.

I commend the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham) for his work on this issue; I urge the House to pass H.R. 6427 for expeditious consideration by the other body.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield so much time as the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham) may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would just like to say that at an earlier phase of my life I had the great privilege of working with the people who helped develop these policies that allowed for the privatization of Federal R&D.

This is a simple bill that makes enormous sense and the underlying bill that it amends has resulted in massive improvements in the lives of all Americans. This is a sensible adjustment to that, and I suggest that all of our colleagues support this reasonable bill

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah and I also thank the gentleman from Michigan for supporting this legislation.

H.R. 6427 has no budgetary impact at all. This bill would raise from 5 percent to 15 percent the percentage of patent royalties that can be retained by the government-owned, contractor-operated labs and universities and nonprofits with annual budgets of $40 million or less in any given fiscal year under the patent laws.

The bill would provide relief to smaller contracts, and incentivize these labs and universities to reinvest in their research and educational operations. The bill would only raise the ceiling for very small budgets. The majority of these contracts have much larger budgets of $100 million or more, and for those current larger budgets the 5 percent threshold would remain.

This bill has no opposition, and ensures that these contracts have the necessary funding to continue their successful pursuit of revolutionary inventions by keeping a larger percentage of the patent royalty. The thrust of this bill is to give incentives for smaller institutions and labs to continue investing in research and development. These smaller contracts of $40 million or less should not be penalized for their success just because they reach the current statutory 5 percent ceiling more quickly than the larger contracts in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Raising the ceiling to 15 percent for these smaller contracts is fair. The bill makes the royalty regime more equitable for all.

Mr. Speaker, again I appreciate the support of both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Of course we support this legislation, because the bill merely amends the extent to which small nonprofits can keep the profits of inventions they develop in conjunction with the Federal Government.

Under the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, the Federal Government will provide funds to nonprofits, including universities, for the purpose of conducting important research. Because the government is not equipped to do so, the nonprofits are allowed to patent any discoveries, sell and license the inventions, and keep a portion of the profits. Currently, the nonprofit can keep an amount of the profits up to 5 percent of its annual budget; the balance of the profits must be returned to the taxpayers.

Because of the unique situation of small universities, the bill would permit them to retain a higher percentage of the profits. While small universities may have small budgets, their research and development costs might not be small and can have a significant impact upon their budgets themselves. This legislation would permit small entities, those with a budget of less than $40 million, could retain a higher portion of the profits, up to 15 percent of their budgets.

This is a simple, straightforward proposition, we have heard no objection to it, and I am pleased to urge that it be passed this evening

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.