On August 10, 2010, the the President signed into law H.R. 5874, a bill to make supplemental appropriations for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010.
On July 28, 2010, Senator Stabenow (D) introduced the National Manufacturing Strategy Act of 2010 (S. 3662), which would require the President to submit a National Manufacturing Strategy to Congress and post it on a public website.
In a letter sent to the Department of Defense August 6, 2010, Senators Brown (D) and Carper (D) urged the Administration to address the issue of counterfeit parts infiltrating the DOD supply chain. The senators cited two reports, one from the Department of Commerce ("Defense Industrial Base Assessment: Counterfeit Electronics,") and one from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) ("Defense Supplier Base: DOD Should Leverage Ongoing Initiatives in Developing Its Program to Mitigate Risk of Counterfeit Parts"), that describe this serious harm to military equipment and missions.
The Congressional Research Service has issued a report entitled “Trade Law: An Introduction to Selected International Agreements and U.S. Laws,” which provides an introductory overview of the legal framework governing trade-related measures.
On August 5, 2010, several House Committee and Subcommittee Chairmen sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius regarding funding levels for the Food and Drug Administration in the FY 2012 budget request. The letter urges Secretary Sebelius to ensure that the FDA’s FY 2012 budget request will set forth a funding level sufficient for FDA to fulfill its public health mission.