[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 20, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E591]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING DEBORAH COHN AND THE USPTO

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 20, 2007

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, it is an honor for me to 
recognize Deborah Cohn, Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations at 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO, for her 
leadership in promoting government telework. Telework offers a great 
opportunity for the Federal Government to help solve environmental, 
traffic, and possibly continuity-of-operations issues, especially on 
the busy highways of Northern Virginia. It is well known that the 
Federal Government lags behind the private sector in providing telework 
options for its workforce. Yet, USPTO has set itself apart with its 
telework program.
  With her foresight, creativity, and perseverance, Deborah Cohn 
pioneered the development of USPTO's first telework program at a time 
when telework was far from the norm. Ms. Cohn not only convinced 
reluctant agency executives, she forged coalitions with managers, IT 
personnel, and the employee union to create an innovative, award-
winning telework program at the USPTO.
  This month, the Trademark Work at Home, TWAH, program celebrates its 
10th anniversary. TWAH, which began as a feasibility pilot of 18 
teleworkers, today stands as the most innovative and progressive 
program in the Federal Government. It involves more than 220 employees, 
or 85 percent of eligible examining attorneys, who spend the vast 
majority of their workweek at home.
  The USPTO program has received awards from the Metropolitan 
Washington Council of Governments, the Telework Exchange, the Mid-
Atlantic Telework Advisory Council, and the International Telework 
Association and Council. Just last month, USPTO received the 2007 Work-
Life Innovative Excellence Award from the Alliance for Work-Life 
Progress for the Trademark Work at Home Program.
  The TWAH program now serves as a prototype of an innovative telework 
program, combining management-by-objective with hoteling, resulting in 
documented savings of space and cost savings for the agency. The 
ability to manage employees remotely using clear, measurable 
performance goals, regardless of where they work, models an extremely 
successful telecommuting program for government agencies. The TWAH 
program also demonstrates that flexibility of time and location enables 
employees to maximize efficiency, which is reflected by production 
gains of teleworkers. The phenomenally low attrition rate among TWAH 
participants should encourage agencies that face recruitment and 
retention problems to consider such programs.

  It is essential that federal agencies maintain procedures for 
continuing government operations in the midst of, and following, a 
national emergency caused by terrorism or natural causes. Effective 
telework plans and procedures help ensure critical agency operations 
continue uninterrupted. Federal agencies with telecommuting programs 
receive significant benefits, including a more productive workforce, 
increased employee morale and quality of life, and the ability to 
better accommodate employees with health problems or child- or elder-
care responsibilities. Teleworking eliminates a significant number of 
vehicle trips during peak hours, which aids the environment. The 
Federal Government should be a telecommuting leader, yet many federal 
agencies have been reluctant to embrace the concept. That is why I am 
delighted to congratulate Ms. Cohn on her outstanding leadership on 
telework issues.
  Ms. Cohn began her career at USPTO in 1983 as a trademark examining 
attorney. In 2001, she joined the Senior Executive Service as a 
Trademark Group Director. She became Deputy Commissioner for Trademark 
Operations in 2005 and currently oversees the examination and 
processing of applications throughout the trademark operation.
  Throughout her legal career at USPTO, Ms. Cohn has been involved in 
work-life improvement initiatives. She is a former Council of 
Excellence in Government Fellow, where she first developed the seeds of 
the trademark work-at-home program. Ms. Cohn is a graduate of The 
American University and George Mason University School of Law. Ms. Cohn 
is a sought-after resource and speaker as an expert on the development 
and management of telework programs.
  I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing Ms. Cohn's efforts in 
making USPTO's telework program the most successful operation of its 
kind within the federal government. Additionally, I call upon my 
colleagues to join me in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the 
Trademark Office's award-winning telework program.

                          ____________________