mr. shadegg: thank you. i first want to ank chairman smith and chairman goodlatte for their leadership in getting us to the point that we are in this important legislation here this evening. section 8, clause 8 of the constitution states that the congress shall have power to, quote, promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for a limited time to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective rightings and discoveri, unquote. the constitution clearly grants congress the authority to grant patent rights to inventors and it defers to the discretion of congress how best procedurally to award these rights to the inventor. i rise in support of h.r. 1249, the american -- the america invents act. the first inventor to file provisions shift us to a system used by all modern industrial nations. this system would end the need for expensive discovery and litigation over priority issues and would put an end to expensive interference proceedings that small entities overwhelmingly lose. thi

mr. shadegg: thank you. i first want to thank chairman smith and chairman goodlatte for their leadership in getting us to the point that we are in this important legislation here this evening. section 8, clause 8 of the constitution states that the congress shall have power to, quote, promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for a limited time to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective rightings and discoveries, unquote. the constitution clearly grants congress the authority to grant patent rights to inventors and it defers to the discretion of congress how best procedurally to award these rights to the inventor. i rise in support of h.r. 1249, the american -- the america invents act. the first inventor to file provisions shift us to a system used by all modern industrial nations. this system would end the need for expensive discovery and litigation over priority issues and would put an end to expensive interference proceedings that small entities overwhelmingly lose.

mr. shadegg talked about being under fire. if youhaven't and i. -- have an i.e.d. out there, the u.s. army does not use civilians, government or otherwise. >> the u.s. army's primary mission is to project force in defense of the united states. >> that is projecting force. we are talking about a rescue mission. it is lifesaving. >> i think there is a distinction. projecting force is inherently governmental. >> are you comfortable with that definition as you use it? >> i am comfortable with this definition, yes. inherently, i am comfortable. secondly, there are 1800 and some odd state department diplomatic security professionals in the entire world. i need, i believe, when all is said and done, i will need close to 7500 static guards for both afghanistan -- >> i am going to agree with you. the bottom line is necessity requires you to use contractors because you have such a huge need. let me say, you are a very candid witness. i appreciate the dialogue, but a more helpful response would be, "guess what -- we have no choice. we have to use contractors." what i hear is that if you have to

mr. cooper shadegg. he currently serves as legal adviser to governor robert bentley of alabama. in that capacity he was elected to serve as chairman of the executive committee of the trustee council. so we get to hold him responsible for everything i suppose. but actually, i am a little concerned that i don't think any of our leaders have a lot of executive power pages have collegial power in this process. prior to joining the bentley and a station, he was practicing attorney for the firm of rose and hallwood in tuscaloosa and served as adjunct professor of law at the university of alabama school flock, one of the top law schools in america. i'm proud to say. she is a bar commissioner for the sixth circuit selected by fellow board members and is currently the member of the alabama state bar foundation board of trustees, member of the tuscaloosa bar where he served as president previously, bachelor's degree in economics he has from georgia tech and a doctorate from alabama. he and his wife live in tuscaloosa and have four daughters. he's been an associate pastor at the united met

mr. cooper shadegg. he currently serves as legal adviser to governor robert bentley of alabama.in that capacity he was elected to serve as chairman of the executive committee of the trustee council. so we get to hold him responsible for everything i suppose. but actually, i am a little concerned that i don't think any of our leaders have a lot of executive power pages have collegial power in this process. prior to joining the bentley and a station, he was practicing attorney for the firm of rose and hallwood in tuscaloosa and served as adjunct professor of law at the university of alabama school flock, one of the top law schools in america. i'm proud to say. she is a bar commissioner for the sixth circuit selected by fellow board members and is currently the member of the alabama state bar foundation board of trustees, member of the tuscaloosa bar where he served as president previously, bachelor's degree in economics he has from georgia tech and a doctorate from alabama. he and his wife live in tuscaloosa and have four daughters. he's been an associate pastor at the united meth

mr. shadegg, welcome. >> senator vitter? >> thank you, mr. chairman. as i mentioned, garrett graves is here today as a louisiana trustee, and he also serves as the chair of the coastal protection and restoration authority of louisiana. that's a state cabinet-level position over all of coastal restoration and protection. before that i was honored to have him on my staff serving with me, and he served many members of louisiana's congressional delegation over several years. he was intimately involved in virtually every water resources, coastal restoration-related bill going through this process while he was up here. a very, very able and i know louisiana's interests are in very good hands. >> doctor thank you. senator whitehouse? >> >> i just want to recognize dean lie 9/11. this is, as i said earlier, a banner day for the uri graduate school of oceanography with both a graduate in the first panel and a former dean on this panel. the dean was kind enough to return to the graduate school of oceanography for the 50th anniversary celebration, and if my timin