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At 1135 AM on September 16, President Obama signed into law H.R. 1249, the "Leahy-Smith America Invents Act."
The signing ceremony was held at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology ("TJ"), an elite science and technology school in Alexandria that attracts the most outstanding math and science students from the Northern Virginia area.
The three amendments that are described in my Legislative Notice sent this morning at 8:25 were each offered and rejected, and thus the bill will not have to go back to the House for further action, and is cleared to go to the president for signing into law.
The Sessions amendment failed by a vote of 47-51.
The Cantwell amendment failed by a vote of 13-85.
By a vote of 50-48, the Senate voted to table (kill) the Coburn amendment.
This is a follow-up report to the Legislative Report send on Saturday, September 3 regarding a senate vote on patent law reform scheduled for Tuesday, September 6. Saturday's report describes the nature and relevance of that technical but important procedural vote.
Last night Senate Majority Leader Reid announced that the Senate has reached a unanimous consent agreement that will today result in debate and final votes on H.R. 1249, the House-passed patent reform bill.
Copies of ammendments: Sessions am SA 600 | Cantwell amd hr 1249 SA 595 | Coburn am to 1249 SA 599
When the U.S. Senate returns from its five week summer recess on Tuesday, September 6, the second order of business will be an important procedural vote on patent reform legislation. The Senate will resume legislative business at 5 pm on September 6, and following a vote on the nomination of former ABA Secretary Bernice Bouie Donald to be Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, the Senate will vote on a motion by Majority Leader Reid to limit debate on a motion to begin consideration of H.R. 1249, the House-passed Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.
Plans for the Senate to take up next week H.R. 1249, the patent reform bill passed by the House on June 23, appear to have been abandoned.
Because of the dominance of the debt ceiling and budget issues in the attention the Senate, it was felt that some senators may object to Senate consideration of any other matter until action on those matters has been taken. Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, who would like for the Senate to pass the House bill without further amendment, is still hoping to have the Senate act on H.R. 1249 before the month-long August recess.
