WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress gave President Barack Obama's drive to promote jobs growth a boost Thursday by presenting him with a major overhaul of the patent system that the president has sought as a means to spur innovation and put more people back to work.

The Senate voted 89-9 to pass the patent bill and send it to Obama for his signature. The vote came a little more than an hour before Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress on his jobs agenda and gave some evidence that lawmakers can, in an age of political division, occasionally find common ground.

The first major change in patent law in six decades is aimed at streamlining the patent process, reducing costly legal battles and giving the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office the money it needs to process patent applications in a timely fashion.