CONTENTS
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS, TAX ISSUES
- Senate Adopts FY16 Budget Conference Agreement
OTHER CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
- Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on PATENT Act
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS, TAX ISSUES
SENATE ADOPTS FY16 BUDGET RESOLUTION AGREEMENT
The Senate on May 5 gave final approval to the FY16 budget resolution conference report (S. Con. Res. 11), marking the first time in six years that Congress has been able to agree on a budget blueprint. The measure, which passed the Senate by a vote of 51 to 48, provides overall guidance for spending but is not signed into law by the President. It was approved by the House on April 30.
The FY16 agreement technically adheres to the spending caps enacted in the Budget Control Act for both defense and nondefense discretionary spending in FY16, but it bolsters defense spending by an extra $38 billion through the Overseas Contingency Operations fund, which is not counted against the spending caps.
OTHER CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HOLDS HEARING ON PATENT ACT
The Senate Judiciary Committee on May 7 held a hearing to discuss the PATENT Act (S. 1137), legislation introduced by leaders and members of the Committee on April 29 to address abusive patent litigation practices.
The witnesses—from Cisco Systems, 3M, JCPenney, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Engine—were largely supportive of the PATENT Act, although the witnesses from 3M and Bristol-Myers Squibb said they cannot not fully support the bill until it includes meaningful reforms to the Inter Partes Review (IPR) and Post Grant Review (PGR) proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Several members of the Committee, including Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chris Coons (D-DE), expressed serious reservations about the PATENT Act, stressing their concern that the bill would increase the difficulty for patent holders–particularly small entities–to enforce their patents. Senator Coons noted that his STRONG Patents Act (S. 632), cosponsored by Senators Durbin, Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and David Vitter (R-LA), contains provisions to reform IPR and PGR proceedings.