Rogers, Ryan Fight Pending Patent Bill Changes

Republican Reps. Hal Rogers, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan aren’t happy about a proposed patent reform bill. As a result, the Republican leadership may have to delay a vote on the plan, Politico reports.

The measure would allow the Patent and Trademark Office to gather and spend authorized fees, and the office would escape annual congressional approval of its spending.

“We strongly oppose this proposed shift of billions in discretionary funding and fee collections to mandatory spending,” Rogers and Ryan wrote in a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith. “Putting PTO funding on auto-pilot is a move in exactly the wrong direction, given the new Republican majority’s commitment to restrained spending, improving accountability and transparency, and reducing the nation’s unparalleled deficits and debt.”

Majority Leader Eric Cantor will still work for a vote on the bill before July 4, his office said. But that may not happen next