September 19, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6427 

After World War II, marines were 

sent home to be congratulated by the 

President. The Montford Point Marines 

weren’t even recognized for their service. 

Decades after the doors opened at 

Camp Montford Point, in November of 

last year, Congress finally voted to 

award these honorable men with the 

highest civilian award in the United 

States because of their honorable and 

noble service to America. They were 

called to serve and they responded— 

nearly 20,000 strong. 

Despite the poor treatment, despite 

the poor jobs, despite the substandard 

conditions, the Montford Point Marines served their country. Before all 

else, they were Americans. Archibald 

Mosley and his friends lived and 

breathed the Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis, ‘‘Always Faithful.’’ 

I am thankful that they did. I am 

also thankful that our Nation took the 

steps we did to ensure those brave 

Americans received the recognition 

they were denied for so many years. 

Saul Griffin, Jr. and James France 

didn’t live to see it, sadly, but Reverend Mosley and many of his fellow 

marines were able to make the trip to 

Washington this summer to receive the 

long delayed thanks from a grateful 

Nation. 

f 

ANNIVERSARY OF ENACTMENT OF 

THE LEAHY-SMITH AMERICA INVENTS ACT 

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Sunday 

marked the 1-year anniversary of the 

enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. One year ago, I was 

pleased to stand on a stage at the 

Thomas Jefferson High School for 

Science and Technology in Virginia 

with House Judiciary Committee chairman LAMAR SMITH, Director of the U.S. 

Patent and Trademark Office David 

Kappos, Acting Commerce Secretary 

Rebecca Blank, and others. Together, 

we watched President Obama sign into 

law the most important changes to our 

Nation’s patent laws in 60 years. 

Many of the provisions of the legislation took effect on the 1-year anniversary, while other important changes, 

such as the shift to first-inventor-tofile, will take effect in 6 months. I 

commend the Patent and Trademark 

Office, PTO, for the work they have 

done, in a transparent manner, to prepare for the new procedures that take 

effect this week. 

At its best, our patent system encourages exploration and invention, 

creating wealth, and providing jobs. 

Abraham Lincoln famously said that 

‘‘the patent system added the fuel of 

interest to the fire of genius.’’ But 

when patents are granted on 

unpatentable subject matter or on obvious creations already in use, they 

can be misused to stifle competition. 

The new patent law will aid the PTO 

in separating the wheat from the chaff, 

weeding out low-quality patents that 

infect our system, and bolstering those 

patents that truly advance ‘‘the 

progress of science and useful arts.’’ 

While the changes made by the patent bill were sweeping, I am under no 

illusion that they solved all the problems that confront our patent system. 

The assertion of patents is too often 

still used by patent trolls to extract 

payment even where there is not infringement of a valid patent because 

the cost of litigation makes settlement 

more expedient, and the ‘‘tech patent 

wars’’ among the large mobile phone 

companies show the perils to competition that can come when companies do 

not reach business-to-business resolutions of their patent disputes. But the 

improvements made by the LeahySmith America Invents Act will go a 

long way to making the system work 

better for inventors and implementers. 

Enactment of the patent bill was 

more than a victory for American inventors, large and small; it was a demonstration that Congress can still work 

in a bipartisan, bicameral matter. I 

stood proudly on the stage 1 year ago 

with a Republican chairman of the 

House Judiciary Committee, watching 

the President sign a law on which 

Chairman SMITH and I had worked 

closely together for 6 years. 

The legislative success of the patent 

bill shows what we can achieve when 

we put aside rhetoric and, instead, negotiate and collaborate in good faith. 

We held countless bipartisan, bicameral meetings, briefings, and discussions with all interested parties. We 

worked closely with Director Kappos, 

then-Secretary of Commerce Locke, 

and Members of Democratic and Republican leadership in both the Senate 

and the House of Representatives. 

In short, the process that took the 

patent bill from the Congress to the 

President for his signature was one of 

which we can all be proud. In an increasingly partisan Congress, I was 

pleased to have the opportunity to lead 

a legislative process that was, from 

start to finish, both bipartisan and bicameral. 

f 

GENERAL CRAIG MCKINLEY 

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, next 

month, a distinguished member of our 

Armed Forces will retire. I want to recognize and congratulate GEN Craig 

McKinley, who has spent the last 38 

years in service to our country, and 

who has led the National Guard 

through a unique period of challenge, 

change, and triumph. 

General McKinley’s service began 

during another period of dramatic 

change. He received his commission as 

a distinguished graduate of the ROTC 

program at Southern Methodist University and entered undergraduate 

pilot training at Moody Air Force Base 

in Georgia in 1974. With the conclusion 

of military engagement in Vietnam, 

the nation’s military leaders faced a 

number of questions, including the future role of the National Guard. These 

same questions would later guide General McKinley’s efforts to lead the National Guard toward its current role as 

an operational force. 

General McKinley has had a distinguished career, including assignments 

as an instructor pilot, the commander 

of the 125th Fighter Wing, the commander of the 1st Air Force, and the 

commander of the Continental United 

States Region of the North American 

Aerospace Defense Command. He 

served in the U.S. European Command 

and as Director of the Air National 

Guard. These assignments culminated 

in General McKinley earning his fourth 

star as Chief of the National Guard Bureau. He did all of this while logging 

over 4,000 flying hours in a wide range 

of aircraft and earning the rating of 

command pilot. 

While I could reflect on many notable 

moments in General McKinley’s career, 

I will never forget one in particular. It 

was November 10, 2011, when Senator 

LEVIN and Senator MCCAIN convened an 

historic hearing of all six sitting Joint 

Chiefs of Staff, the Department of Defense General Counsel, and General 

McKinley, to examine a proposal I had 

introduced to add the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to the Joint 

Chiefs of Staff. Despite the arguments 

against this change by all six sitting 

Joint Chiefs, General McKinley’s measured and reasonable responses won the 

day. Ultimately, 71 senators came to 

agree with General McKinley and 

joined as cosponsors of what is known 

commonly as the second National 

Guard Empowerment Act. This bill became law in December 2011, and General McKinley was a decisive factor in 

this victory for the National Guard. 

Without his resolve to see the almost 

half a million men and women of the 

Guard represented at the top military 

panel in the national command structure, we would not have triumphed. 

General McKinley has offered steady 

leadership to the Guard during a truly 

historic period. I am grateful to have 

had him as a partner. Without him, I 

doubt our nation would have the worldclass operational reserve that we have 

today. 

Congratulations, General McKinley. 

Best wishes to you, Cheryl, Patrick, 

and Christina as you retire to civilian 

life. 

f 

REQUEST FOR CONSULTATION 

Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent that my letter to 

Senator MCCONNELL dated September 

19, 2012, be printed in the RECORD. 

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the 

RECORD, as follows: 

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, 

Washington, DC, Sept. 19, 2012. 

Hon. MITCH MCCONNELL, 

Senate Minority Leader, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR SENATOR MCCONNELL: I am requesting I be consulted before the Senate enters 

into any unanimous consent agreements or 

time limitations regarding the Local Courthouse Safety Act of 2012, S. 2076. 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with SENATE