America Invents Act

Senate Democrats spearheaded a job creation initiative in September 2011 with the passage of the America Invents Act, ushering in the most significant reform of the U.S. patent system in nearly 60 years.  In addition to transitioning the United States to the "first-inventor-to-file" patent system used in the rest of the world, the America Invents Act is reducing backlogs for patent approval, allowing U.S. companies to focus on job creation and innovation. The new law will help clear a nagging backlog of nearly 700,000 applications, improve patent quality, strengthen IP protections for inventors, and consequently bring new ideas to market faster than ever before. 

The American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act

Passed in July 2010, the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act extended tax incentives that encourage American innovation, like the research and development (R&D) tax credit and credits for clean energy, while encouraging businesses to keep jobs here in America by closing certain tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas. The bill also kept cops on the street and teachers in the classroom by shoring up state budgets in order to help prevent layoffs.