Congress gives USPTO money, sort of

From LegalTimes:

The legislation, which now goes to the president, stems from the rather unusual budget system for the PTO and the annual problems that system creates. The office is fully financed by user fees. Every year it estimates the amount of fees it will collect, and the House Appropriations Committee subsequently appropriates an amount equal to the estimate.

The USPTO is financed by user fees. But when collections increase, the USPTO still has to ask for the money. From LegalTimes:

But it now appears that the agency will collect more fees this year than it had estimated—roughly $129 million more. Under the current budget authority, the PTO would be unable to touch that extra money. And so Congress had to step in.