[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H1757-H1758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SUPPORT H.R. 400 WITHOUT WEAKENING AMENDMENTS

  (Mr. COBLE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

[[Page H1758]]

  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, never has a bill been so misrepresented and 
trashed as has the patent bill. The effort to demonize this bill has 
not contributed to our debate, but has only misled Members who do not 
and should not be expected to understand the intricacies of the complex 
patent laws.
  Following our debate last week, a Member was quoted as saying Mr. 
Rohrabacher's bill helps the little guy while H.R. 400 only helps big 
business. I asked him how he reached that conclusion, and he replied 
that is what the opponents of H.R. 400 told me to say. That is his 
explanation.
  This typifies the type of reasoning that has surrounded this debate. 
We defeated the Rohrabacher amendment last week. We are not yet 
finished. Help us defeat the amendments today, pass H.R. 400, and bring 
the United States patent system into the 21st century.
  Mr. Speaker, later today we will finish consideration of an omnibus 
patent bill, H.R. 400, which I have attempted to shepherd through this 
body. While I believe we will pass the measure without weakening 
amendments, I feel compelled to address the manner by which the bill 
has been criticized since its introduction on January 9.
  Never, in my years as a Congressman have I seen a piece of 
legislation so thoroughly misrepresented as to content and effect as 
has the patent bill. The effort to demonize this bill has not 
contributed to our debate; it has only served to mislead, confuse, and 
paralyze some Members who do not and should not be expected to 
understand all of the intricacies of a complex and arcane topic such as 
patent law. If we wait much longer, I anticipate that our detractors 
will attempt to convince the American public that I, as a lifetime 
member of the VFW, am conspiring with the other Bolsheviks down at the 
VFW Hall in Greensboro, NC, to destroy the United States and subvert 
her national economy.
  With all due respect, Mr. Speaker, the chief opponent of H.R. 400 
does not serve on either the subcommittee or full committee of 
jurisdiction. I dare say he has never sat on a panel charged with 
having knowledge of any intellectual property law.
  Mr. Speaker, I implore my colleagues to bring our patent system into 
the 21st century by supporting H.R. 400 and rejecting the simplistic 
and distorted criticism that has surrounded the bill to date.

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