CAPITOL HILL WATCH

Senate: Patent Law Overhaul Likely to Slip Until Spring - According to the
chatter on Capital Hill, the Senate is not expected to take up the pending
patent reform bill (S.1145) until April at the earliest. Senate Judiciary
Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the bill's sponsor, has been pushing Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to schedule S. 1145 for floor action.
However, Reid is unlikely to do so until after a two-week recess in March
because the bill does not have the support of at least 60 members of the
Senate. Obtaining this support before floor action will help prevent a
filibuster and other efforts to kill the legislation. With an election
year-shortened legislative calendar, the majority leader has made it clear
he is not likely to schedule bills for floor action unless they can be
considered under unanimous consent agreements on amendments and debate
time. Adding to the bill's woes could be this week's release of the
Congressional Budget Office's estimate that while the changes would boost
federal revenue by $25.5 billion over a nine-year period beginning in 2009,
they would also increase federal spending by $26.9 billion.