[Senate Report 116-276]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 569
116th Congress} { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-276
======================================================================
TELEWORK FOR U.S. INNOVATION ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 4138
TO AMEND TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, TO MAKE
PERMANENT THE AUTHORITY OF THE UNITED STATES PATENT
AND TRADEMARK OFFICE TO CONDUCT A TELEWORK TRAVEL EXPENSES PROGRAM
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
October 1, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2020
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RAND PAUL, Kentucky THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
RICK SCOTT, Florida KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Staff Director
Joseph C. Folio III, Chief Counsel
Patrick J. Bailey, Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
Clark A. Hedrick, Counsel
David M. Weinberg, Minority Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Minority Chief Counsel
Marie E. Talarico, Minority Research Assistant
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 569
116th Congress} { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-276
======================================================================
TELEWORK FOR U.S. INNOVATION ACT
_______
October 1, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 4138]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4138), to amend
title 5, United States Code, to make permanent the authority of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office to conduct a
telework travel expenses program, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................1
III. Legislative History..............................................2
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............4
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 4138, the Telework for U.S. Innovation Act, removes the
statutory expiration date for the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office's (PTO) telework travel expenses program and requires a
permanent annual report to Congress.
II. Background and the Need for Legislation
In the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, Congress
established a test program under which the PTO ``may pay any
travel expenses of an employee for travel to and from a [PTO]
worksite or provide an employee with the option to waive any
payment authorized'' under the program under certain
conditions.\1\ Pursuant to this authority, the PTO launched the
Telework Enhancement Act Pilot Program (TEAPP) in February
2012.
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\1\5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(f)(2), (f)(3).
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TEAPP is a voluntary program for employees wherein, in
exchange for increased workplace flexibility, TEAPP employees
waive the right to receive reimbursement of travel expenses for
a limited number of potential mandatory trips to the PTO each
year. USPTO reported that in October 2019, 2,929 full-time
employees were participating in the program.\2\
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\2\Telework Enhancement Act Pilot Program, Annual Evaluation,
FY2019, U.S. Patent and Trade Office, at 2 (2019) (on file with the
Committee).
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Recent PTO annual reports demonstrate the benefits enjoyed
by the agency, amounting to more than $123 million in net
savings in fiscal year (FY) 2019.\3\ The PTO reports that over
a five-year period, from FYs 2015 through 2019, the attrition
rate for participants was 1.1 percent lower than non-
teleworking patent examiners.\4\ The PTO calculates that this
reduced attrition accounts for up to $23 million annually in
retained production unit capacity and avoided training
costs.\5\ The PTO also calculates that the agency increased
production units, bringing in an additional $48.8 million in
revenue in FY 2019, and a savings of $52 million in avoided
real estate costs. Other benefits include savings from salary
differentials, avoided travel expenses, and avoided transit
subsidy costs.\6\ The value of the benefit has increased almost
every year since the program began.\7\
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\3\See id. at 19.
\4\Id. at 5.
\5\Id. at 5-6.
\6\Id. at 19.
\7\Id.
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The PTO reports a total of approximately $1.9 million in
costs associated with TEAPP, which do not significantly offset
the benefits. For FY 2019, these costs included $453,123 in
travel time, $998,859 in lost revenue due to travel time,
$140,356 in trademarks travel costs, and $299,296 in added
shipping costs.\8\ In sum, the approximately $125 million in
total benefits far outweigh the $1.9 million in additional
costs.
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\8\Id.
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With no statutory change, the PTO will lose the authority
to operate the TEAPP on December 31, 2020.\9\
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\9\5 U.S.C. Sec. 5711(g).
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III. Legislative History
Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and Senator Kyrsten Sinema
(D-AZ) introduced S. 4138, the Telework for U.S. Innovation
Act, on July 1, 2020. Senator Christopher Coons (D-DE) later
joined as a cosponsor. The bill was referred to the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 4138 at a business meeting on
July 22, 2020. The bill was ordered reported favorably en bloc
by voice vote without amendment. Senators Johnson, Portman,
Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, Enzi, Hawley, Peters, Carper,
Hassan, Harris, and Rosen were present.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section established that the bill may be cited as the
``Telework for U.S. Innovation Act.''
Section 2. Telework Travel Expenses Program of the United States Patent
and Trademark Office
Subsection (a) strikes language establishing the program as
a ``test'' and provides that the PTO may maintain the telework
travel expenses program but adds a requirement for an annual
report to Congress on the program, including its effectiveness
and costs and benefits. Subsection (b) provides technical and
conforming amendments.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 22, 2020.
Hon. Ron, Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 4138, the Telework
for U.S. Innovation Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we
will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff
contact is David Hughes.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 4138 would permanently authorize the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office's (PTO) Telework Enhancement Act Pilot Program
(TEAPP). Under current law, TEAPP, which expires on December
31, 2020, enables about 3,000 PTO employees to waive
reimbursement for travel expenses in exchange for the ability
to live and work anywhere in the United States or Puerto Rico
without routinely reporting to a specific jobsite.
Using information from the PTO, CBO expects that the agency
would continue most aspects of the telework program after
December 31, 2020, though some employees could be required to
travel to a specific jobsite for training. As a result, CBO
expects that implementing the bill would decrease travel
reimbursements the PTO would incur after the pilot program
expires. Using information from the PTO, CBO estimates those
decreased costs would be less than $500,000 over the 2021-2025
period. Because the PTO is authorized to collect fees in an
amount sufficient to offset its annual appropriation, CBO
expects that the agency would adjust fee collections to match
any decrease in operating costs. On that basis, CBO estimates
that any change in net discretionary spending by the PTO would
be negligible, assuming appropriation action consistent with
that authority.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is David Hughes.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
TITLE 5--GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES
* * * * * * *
PART III--EMPLOYEES
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 57--TRAVEL, TRANSPORTATION, AND SUBSISTENCE
* * * * * * *
Subchapter I--Travel and Subsistence; Mileage Allowances
* * * * * * *
Table of sections
Sec.
5701. Definitions.
* * * * * * *
[5711. Authority for telework travel expenses test programs.]
* * * * * * *
5711. Authority for telework travel expenses programs.
SEC. 5711. AUTHORITY FOR TELEWORK TRAVEL EXPENSES [TEST] PROGRAMS.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(f) * * *
(1) In this section, the term appropriate ``
[committee] committees of Congress'' means--
(A) * * *
(B) the Committee on Oversight and
[Government] Reform of the House of
Representatives;
* * * * * * *
(2) The Patent and Trademark Office shall conduct a
[test] program under this [section, including the
provision of reports in accordance with subsection
(d)(1)] subsection.
(3) * * *
(4) * * *
(A) * * *
(B) the oversight committee shall develop and
maintain the operating procedures for the
program under this subsection to--
* * * * * * *
(5) * * *
(A) The [test] program under this subsection
shall be designed to enhance cost savings or
other efficiencies that accrue to the
Government.
[(B) The Director of the Patent and Trademark
Office shall--
[(i) prepare an analysis of the
expected costs and benefits and a set
of criteria for evaluating the
effectiveness of the program; and
[(ii) before the test program is
implemented, submit the analysis and
criteria to the Administrator of
General Services and to the appropriate
committees of Congress.]
(B) The Director of the Patent and Trademark
Office shall prepare and submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress an annual
report on the operation of the program under
this subsection, which shall include--
(i) the costs and benefits of the
program; and
(ii) an analysis of the effectiveness
of the program, as determined under
criteria developed by the Director.
* * * * * * *
(g) The authority to conduct test programs [under this
section] subsection (b) shall expire on December 31, 2020.
* * * * * * *
[all]