During his confirmation hearing in May, Squires emphasized his goal of making patents strong up front. While Squires fielded criticism of his comments about the poor quality of patents currently being issued by the Office, in his written responses to the Senate Judiciary Committee in June he clarified his statements. Welch seemed concerned about the decrease and asked Squires how he would address it. Squires wrote:“Allowing foreign rivals to bankroll lawsuits against U.S. companies to gain access to our technology is unacceptable. District court local rules require such disclosures and notification of the patent office of such parties in interest, the PTAB should have similar transparency requirements.