To authorize the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 for patent operations in order to avoid furloughs and reductions-in-force, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3114, and commend the Chairman for his leadership in acting so swiftly to rectify this situation.

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, located in my District, is funded entirely by the user fees it collects; it does not draw any taxpayer funds from the general Treasury.

Like many other businesses and industries, the PTO has seen significant reductions in its revenues as a result of economic belt- tightening by its customers. In response, PTO has already enacted over $140 million in budget cuts and cost-savings measures. PTO has instituted a hiring freeze, curtailed non-bargaining unit performance awards, stopped overtime for many workers and significantly reduced contracts, travel, supplies and other non-essential overhead expenses.

In the meantime, we must ensure that the USPTO can continue to maintain its personnel level and perform its critical mission of examining and granting patents that promote innovation and create jobs. As a result, a serious budget situation has developed. Absent adoption of this legislation approximately 9,000 patent office employees would be subject to furloughs during the last pay period of FY09 (last two weeks of September).

The Department of Commerce is monitoring the situation on a daily basis, and out of an abundance of caution, and to prevent a possible violation of federal law, the Department of Commerce is asking for a one-time funding fix from Congress to avoid the furlough of Patent Office employees.

The Trademark Office, as distinct from the Patent Office, within PTO has a surplus of $60-$70 million. Without asking for new monies from Congress, the Treasury, or other agency programs funds, this bill before us would provide an immediate and one-time-only borrowing option that is accompanied by a statutory repayment period. In 1999 and 2005, the opposite situation occurred, and the Trademark Office received assistance from Patents totaling $24 million.

In order for Americans to prevail against this economic downturn, and to remain competitive globally, we need to ensure new technologies, innovation, and products are fully funded. The new concepts and ideas promoted by the work of PTO are drivers for American economic recovery and growth.

At such a time as this, America should be looking for its next Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs.

This bill simply lets the USPTO's patent operation borrow from an existing balance held by the trademark operation, and only if reasonably necessary to avoid employee furloughs or a reduction in force. Payback of any borrowed funds is assured by a temporary surcharge on patent fees.

This is a crucial juncture for the PTO. We need to remain at the cutting edge of global technological progress and achievement, or we risk lagging behind other nations.

The bill amounts to an insurance policy for the USPTO to make sure it can cover its payroll for over 9,000 federal employees. I ask my colleagues to support it.

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

Given the ongoing economic downturn in this country, patent fee collections at the Patent and Trademark Office are running short, based on earlier estimates. If things do not improve, the agency must initiate furloughs of its staff in the fall, an outcome that no one wants.

Aside from affecting the individual workers, mostly examiners, these furloughs would create another setback in the effort to reduce application backlogs and expedite the processing of new applications.

The agency has already reduced its operating plan for fiscal year 2009 by $120 million and is pursuing another $125 million in cuts. But the PTO cannot accurately estimate at this time how much additional revenue it needs to survive through this fiscal year. H.R. 3114 responds to this crisis by allowing the director to shift necessary funds from the trademark ledger to patent operations through June 30, 2010, less than 1 year from now.

The bill also requires the Patent Office to reimburse the Trademark Office for any funds reassigned to it within the CBO's 5-year scoring window. The bill also is an appropriate legislative response because trademark operations currently have a projected surplus of $60 million to $70 million.

In addition, there is precedence for allowing such an intra-agency revenue transfer. Twice in the past 10 years, the Trademark Office borrowed more than $24 million from patent operations. This is an unfortunate but necessary response to a funding crisis at an agency that is crucial to the economic vitality of this country.

American IP industries now account for over half of all U.S. exports and 40 percent of our economic growth. These industries provide millions of jobs for Americans with high-paying salaries. Patents encourage innovation and provide incentives to create, build, and market new products.

Delays in obtaining patents stifle entrepreneurship in our country. We want new ideas, new technologies, and new patents. America has always been the Nation of great inventors. Now we must protect those inventors and their inventions with timely patents.

Mr. Speaker, this bill won't cure all that ails the Patent and Trademark Office long term. For that we need the other body to confirm the new PTO director who will work with Congress to implement fundamental change to the agency; but failure to enact H.R. 3114 at this time will place PTO in an even deeper hole that jeopardizes agency jobs, harms the interests of inventors, and damages a crucial component of our national economy.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3114.

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

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3114) to authorize the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 for patent operations in order to avoid furloughs and reductions-in-force, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, this bill will help the Patent and Trademark Office retain educated and trained employees who face the possibility of furlough and reduction in force due to the current economic downturn.

It is with great urgency that I bring this bill to the floor today. We have recently been informed by the Department of Commerce and the Patent and Trademark Office that the current downtrend in patent fee revenues could lead to employee furlough.

The USPTO is a user-fee funded organization, and the downturn in the economy has led to a steep drop in revenues. USPTO management has already shaved over $120 million from its current budget through various cost savings; however, June's receipts show that those cuts may not be sufficient. A budget shortfall is a very real possibility, which could necessitate furloughs and, if severe enough, a reduction in force.

Now is not the time to impede the essential economic stimulating activity at the Patent Office. Now more than ever, we need to foster innovation to help the U.S. economy rebound.

This century has seen an explosion in the number of patent applications filed, and even though the PTO has hired over 1,000 examiners each year

for the past several years, this explosion has led to a current inventory of about 1.2 million pending applications. That is 1.2 million potential patents that could provide the foundation for new businesses and new jobs.

Because of this backlog, inventors are waiting an average of 32 months to get their patents approved, and in some areas, such as communications and computer-related technologies, the wait is much longer. This backlog means a delay in the creation of new products or startup companies that would generate new jobs and research and development investment.

Now is not the time to exacerbate this problem. Furloughing employees will only increase the backlog and the consequent delays. In order to help the USPTO get through the next year, we have identified an approximately $60 million surplus in the trademark operation at the

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

Mr. President, I wish to submit to the Senate the second budget scorekeeping reports for the 2010 budget resolution. The reports, which cover fiscal years 2009 and 2010, were prepared by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 308(b) and in aid of section 311 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended.

The reports show the effects of congressional action through July 31, 2009, and include the effects of legislation since I filed my last reports on June 25, 2009. The new legislation includes P.L. 111-42, a joint resolution approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, and for other purposes; H.R. 3114, an act to authorize the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 for patent operations in order to avoid furloughs and reductions-in-force, and for other purposes, pending Presidential action; S. 1107, the Judicial Survivors Protection Act of 2009, pending Presidential action; and H.R. 3357, an act to restore sums to the highway trust fund, and for other purposes, pending Presidential action. The estimates of budget authority, outlays, and revenues are consistent with the technical and economic assumptions of S. Con. Res. 13, the 2010 budget resolution.

For 2009, the estimates show that current level spending is $982 million below the level provided for in the budget resolution for budget authority and $3.8 billion above it for outlays while current level revenues match the budget resolution level. For 2010, the estimates show that current level spending is $1,205.9 billion below the level provided for in the budget resolution for budget authority and $715.8 billion below it for outlays while current level revenues are $19.2 billion above the budget resolution level.

I ask unanimous consent to have the letters and accompanying tables from CBO printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3114, a bill to promote the success and vitality of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, ``USPTO.''

The USPTO is integral in strengthening America's battered economy. Although there are those in this body that believe the federal government can spend our way out of the current financial crisis, this is a fallacy. It is through private commerce and investment that we will find the light at the end of the tunnel. For many sectors of our economy, patent protections provide tremendous incentive to invest.

The USPTO is already faced with a tremendous backlog of patent applications. A reduction in labor force at the USPTO would only compound this problem. It is for this reason that we must make sure that the USPTO is not forced to lay off or furlough patent examiners. Allowing the USPTO Director to use funds made available under the Trademark Act of 1946 will help to ensure this does not occur.

Innovation is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. It is innovation which has and will continue to promote prosperity and wealth in the United States and aid in combating the recession in which we find ourselves today. I encourage my colleagues to support the USPTO and support this legislation.