Wednesday, March 18 at 10 a.m. — The Senator will attend a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on patent reform entitled “The Impact of Abusive Patent Litigation Practices on the American Economy.” Earlier this month, Senators Coons, Durbin (D-Ill.), and Hirono (D-Hawaii) introduced legislation to strengthen America’s patent system and target abusers. The STRONG Patents Act takes a series of focused, thoughtful steps to make the patent system work for individual inventors and research-intensive companies from every sector of the economy. Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226, Washington, D.C. — Open to press. Contact: Judiciary Committee’s Beth Levine at 202-224-5225.
Wednesday, March 18 at 10:30 a.m. — The Senator will attend a hearing of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of Transportation’s FY16 budget request. United States Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will be the lone witness. Senator Coons, who is a daily rider on Amtrak, will question Sec. Foxx on the railroad’s funding. Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 562, Washington, D.C. — Open to press. Contact: Appropriation Committee’s Vince Morris at 202-224-1010.
Thursday, March 19 at 9:30 a.m. — The Senator will attend a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs entitled: “U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Seven Months Later: Progress and Setbacks” presided by Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ari.). Witnesses will include Ben Leo, Senior Fellow Director of Rethinking US Development Policy Center for Global Development and Karen Daniel, Executive Director, CFO Black and Veatch. Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 419, Washington, D.C. — Open to press. Contact: Foreign Relations Committee’s Foreign Relations Committee’s Tara DiJulio at 202-224-6797.
Thursday, March 19 at 10 a.m. — The Senator will attend a Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing on patent reform called “Patent Reform: Protecting Innovation and Entrepreneurship.” The work of this hearing is to develop an alternate path to reforming the patent system. Witnesses will include a diverse group of stakeholders relevant to patent reform. Russell Senate Office Building Room 428A, Washington, D.C. — Open to press. Contact: Small Business Committee’s Sue Walitsky at 202-224-4524.
Thursday, March 19 at 3:30 p.m. — The Senator will attend a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee entitled “Reining in Amnesty: Texas vs. United States and Its Implications.” Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226, Washington, D.C. — Open to press. Contact: Judiciary Committee’s Beth Levine at 202-224-5225.
Thursday, March 19 at 6 p.m. — The Senator will attend the International Conservation Caucus Foundation Gala where the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will receive an award for Exceptional Leadership in Conservation. The ICCF is an educational foundation promoting the projection of U.S. leadership for international conservation worldwide. Andrew Mellon Auditorium, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. — Closed to press.
Note: Schedule is subject to change.