At 5:30 pm EDT today, the Senate will vote on a judicial nomination before proceeding to a cloture vote on H.R. 1249. To invoke cloture requires the votes of 60 senators. If cloture is invoked, debate on H.R. 1249 will be limited to 30 hours and only to the bill as it stands and any amendments that have been filed prior to the cloture vote. Senate rules require that an up-or-down vote be taken on the bill before the upper chamber of Congress is permitted to take up other business.
H.R. 1249 is the House version of the Patent Reform bill that passed that chamber in June. Although the Senate passed the original Patent Reform bill in the 112th Congress, the House has thusfar won the fight over the issues. The House bill differs from the Senate version in that it does not end the practice of PTO fee diversion by Congress and it adds several other provisions such as the defense of prior user rights.
When the two houses of Congress pass different versions of the same legislation, a typical procedure is to convene a Conference Committee with members of both chambers that work together to craft a compromise that can then be passed by both houses. In this case, the Senate appears to be satisfied to permit the House to carry the day on Patent Reform.
If the Senate simply passes H.R. 1249, the bill will proceed to Pres. Obama for enactment. If the Senate passes H.R. 1249 with amendments, the amended bill would need to be re-passed by the House or proceed to a Conference Committee before enactment.
The Senate appears ready to capitulate. I expect the cloture vote to pass today with limited debate on the House bill before it is passed late this week or early next week.
Stay tuned . . .
