H.R. 1473, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, is the legislation reflecting the compromise on the Continuing Resolution to fund the government for fiscal 2011. Provisions of the bill related to the PTO appropriate $100 million less than the projected user fee revenues to be collected, essentially diverting that money to other government programs.
In addition, the bill lacks the appropriations "buffer" language included in previous bills to ensure that the Office may utilize the fee revenue that exceeds the original projected collections for the fiscal year.
Many complain the application, search, issue and maintenance fees paid to the PTO (a self-funded government agency) are again diverted to other government expenses.
The USPTO currently expects to receive about $2.19 billion in fee collections for 2011, but the bill would limit the PTO’s spending to $2.09 billion. That extra $100 million would then go to pay for other government expenditures. Although $100 million only about 5% of the USPTO's annual budget, the cuts ask for $100 million from the next five months, which would represent a 10% cut in spending over that time period
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