Defend Trade Secrets Bill

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today the Senate will vote on the Defend Trade Secrets Act. This bipartisan legislation can help promote growth of the economy, help spur the increase and retention of American jobs, and help protect American innovation in the global economy. It aims to do so by providing tools for American companies both small and large to effectively protect some of their most valuable assets in today's international economy.

American companies spend billions every year on research and development and in the creation of products we use every day. But some thieves would rather not go through the trouble of developing products themselves; they would rather just steal the fruits of others' creativity and innovation. That is more than just wrong; it puts American jobs and the American economy at risk.

American businesses find themselves increasingly under attack from a sophisticated effort to steal the very things that give them a competitive edge in the 21st-century economy--things such as codes, formulas, and confidential manufacturing processes. While it has never been easier for these thieves to launch attacks on innovation, sometimes armed with little more than a jump drive, many American businesses now find themselves less able to protect their important assets under current law.

Senator Hatch knew we had to do something about this. He knew it was time to modernize our trade secret laws to keep pace with rapid advances in technology and in criminal techniques. He knew it was time to streamline and simplify the process for U.S. companies to effectively defend American jobs, American growth, and the American innovation that is increasingly at the heart of our modern economy. Senator Hatch worked across the aisle with Senator Coons to develop the Defend Trade Secrets Act. This bipartisan legislation eventually gained the cosponsorship of a majority of the Senate.

This bipartisan legislation also passed the Judiciary Committee unanimously. That is impressive, and it wouldn't have happened without the able leadership of the chairman of that committee, Senator Grassley from Iowa. Since the new majority took office, Senator Grassley has been a highly effective legislator as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. From comprehensive legislation to address America's opioid epidemic, to protecting the victims of modern slavery, to today's effort to support American innovation, he has received widespread praise from both sides of the aisle for leading a very productive committee. Senator Grassley is a hard worker, and he is again winning kudos on this bill.

The organization that represents America's tech sector said that ``the committee's process has been very open and thoughtful.'' A broad cross section of American businesses wrote that ``the approach to the bill has been consensus-oriented.'' This, they said, ``led to broad and enthusiastic support from a wide range of American organizations and companies . . . representing the technology, medical device, agriculture, biotech, pharmaceutical, automobile, clean energy, consumer products and manufacturing sectors.''

Here is what I say: Today's trade secret theft is high-tech. It is fast moving, and it threatens America's economy, America's jobs, and America's innovation.

I ask that my colleagues join me this evening in voting to fight back on behalf of the American people. I ask them to join me in supporting the bipartisan Defend Trade Secrets Act.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source