Federal gov help for small biotech filing foreign patent applications?

Within an article titled USPTO Effort for Small Businesses Seeking Overseas Patents Draws Interest from Bioindustry, Genetic Engineeering and Biotechnology News wrote:

In consultation with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Small Business Administration Administrator Karen G. Mills, USPTO director David Kappos is required to submit the study by January 14, 2012, under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, the patent reform law enacted in September by President Barack Obama.

USPTO held hearings on the study October 27 and November 1. Among the questions the USPTO report is intended to answer:

What role, if any, should the federal government play?
Should Washington establish a loan fund, a grant program, or both?
What criteria should be created to qualify companies for loans and/or grants?
What role, if any, should the private sector play in the funding programs?

A newsflash from IPBiz: Gary Locke resigned as Secretary of Commerce on August 1, 2011 to become the U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China.

Also within the GEN article:

Hans Sauer, Ph.D., BIO’s deputy general counsel, intellectual property, explained to GEN that startups can expect to spend six figures for patent applications after accounting for filing costs and translation costs. “Just to start the process in foreign countries, you’re looking at an expense of $150,000 or more,” Dr. Sauer said. “If you have three patent applications, and you want to go into these foreign countries, you’re looking at a half million dollars. That might not be a small chunk of your R&D budget for the year.”