[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 295 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 295

     To establish the Rural Export Center, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 31, 2019

  Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Hoeven) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
                       Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To establish the Rural Export Center, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Rural Exports Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Rural businesses are often located far from information 
        clusters and major transportation corridors.
            (2) Because of their location, rural businesses face higher 
        barriers to accessing international markets.
            (3) A dedicated Rural Export Center within the United 
        States and Foreign Commercial Service providing business- and 
        product-specific support can help companies in the United 
        States looking to export their products.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RURAL EXPORT CENTER.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary'' 
        means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General 
        of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service appointed 
        pursuant to section 2301(a)(2) of the Export Enhancement Act of 
        1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(a)(2)).
            (2) Commercial service.--The term ``Commercial Service'' 
        means the United States and Foreign Commercial Service 
        established under section 2301(a)(1) of the Export Enhancement 
        Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(a)(1)).
    (b) Establishment of the Rural Export Center.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall 
        establish a Rural Export Center (in this section referred to as 
        the ``Center'') for the purpose of providing businesses located 
        in rural areas in the United States with resources to help 
        those businesses export their products.
            (2) Location of the center.--
                    (A) In general.--The Center shall be established at 
                an office of the Commercial Service in the United 
                States in existence before the date of the enactment of 
                this Act.
                    (B) Criteria for selecting location.--In selecting 
                a location for the Center, the Assistant Secretary 
                shall give preference--
                            (i) based on expertise and operations at 
                        Commercial Service offices that support rural 
                        businesses exporting to new markets before the 
                        date of the enactment of this Act; and
                            (ii) to such offices not located in major 
                        metropolitan areas.
                    (C) Location of staff.--Any researcher or staff 
                directly supporting the operation of the Center shall 
                be primarily based at the Center.
    (c) Export Center Operations.--
            (1) In general.--The Center shall--
                    (A) provide in-depth, customized, and actionable 
                market research services that--
                            (i) a business may opt into based on need; 
                        and
                            (ii) are--
                                    (I) focused on actionable and 
                                measurable results for a business;
                                    (II) business- and product-
                                specific;
                                    (III) targeted to not more than 3 
                                international markets;
                                    (IV) based on high-quality data, 
                                including data from international trade 
                                association subscription databases; and
                                    (V) based on market analysis and 
                                export services of the Commercial 
                                Service available before the date of 
                                the enactment of this Act, including 
                                the Rural America's Intelligence 
                                Service for Exporters program; and
                    (B) conduct strategic planning and export support 
                services for rural businesses as needed.
            (2) Measure of effectiveness.--To measure the effectiveness 
        of the Center, the Center shall collect and make available data 
        on--
                    (A) the number of businesses that sign up for 
                market research assistance;
                    (B) the number of export assistance services a 
                business engages in following the research assistance, 
                including--
                            (i) trade shows;
                            (ii) trade missions; and
                            (iii) other services facilitated by the 
                        Center; and
                    (C) the total monetary value of exports facilitated 
                by the services provided by the Center.
            (3) Website for the center.--The Center shall maintain an 
        internet website that includes--
                    (A) data collected by the Center;
                    (B) best practices for rural businesses beginning 
                to evaluate export opportunities; and
                    (C) appropriate contact information for staff at 
                the Center.
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