[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 139 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5093-H5094]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MAINTAINING AMERICAN SUPERIORITY BY IMPROVING EXPORT CONTROL
TRANSPARENCY ACT
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 6614) to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018
relating to licensing transparency, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6614
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 ``Maintaining American
Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. LICENSING TRANSPARENCY.
Section 1756 of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50
U.S.C. 4815) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Report.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this subsection, and not less frequently
than every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary, shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report on license
applications, enforcement actions, and other requests for
authorization for the export, reexport, release, and in-
country transfer of items controlled under this part to
covered entities.
``(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall
include, with respect to the 90 days preceding the previous
90-day period, the following:
``(A) For each license application or other request for
authorization, the name of the entity submitting the
application (both parent company as well as the subsidiary
directly involved), a brief description of the item
(including the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN)
and level of control, if applicable), the name of the end-
user, the end-user's location, a value estimate, decision
with respect to the license application or authorization, and
the date of submission.
``(B) The date, location, and result of site inspections,
monitoring, and enforcement actions to ensure compliance with
United States export controls.
``(C) Aggregate statistics on all license applications and
other requests for authorization as described in subparagraph
(A).
``(D) For each license denial in which items in category
EAR99 constitute at least 50 percent of the financial value
of the license application, a list detailing what specific
items are being denied a license.
``(3) Confidentiality of information.--The information
required to be provided in the reports required by this
subsection (other than the information required by paragraph
(2)(C)) shall be exempt from public disclosure pursuant to
section 1761(h)(1).
``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `appropriate congressional committees'
means--
``(i) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
``(ii) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
of the Senate; and
``(B) the term `covered entity' means any entity included
on--
``(i) the list maintained and set forth in Supplement No. 4
to part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations; or
``(ii) the list maintained and set forth in Supplement No.
7 to part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
American Samoa (Mrs. Radewagen) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina
(Ms. Manning) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from American Samoa.
General Leave
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from American Samoa?
There was no objection.
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Maintaining American
Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act, introduced by
my colleague from Texas (Mr. Jackson) along with Foreign Affairs
Chairman McCaul.
Export controls are one of the most powerful tools we have to
constrain China's military modernization and rebuke its severe human
rights abuses.
Ultimately, the strength of our export control regime hinges on the
ability to approve or deny a license to sell sensitive technology to
China. That process is overseen by the Commerce Department's Bureau of
Industry and Security, or BIS.
On multiple occasions, in response to persistent committee requests,
BIS has provided the House Foreign Affairs Committee with licensing
data--information on whether BIS approved or denied licenses to China.
The committee found that even for companies like SMIC and Huawei with
deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party and military, BIS rarely, if
ever, denied a license.
This data has been essential to our committee's oversight efforts.
This bill will ensure better oversight of the Commerce Department's
export control policies and licensing practices.
Every 90 days, the Secretary of Commerce will submit a report to
Congress on activities related to items affected by export control
policies, including licenses granted to foreign persons and entities on
the entity list.
This bill will finally give Congress the visibility it needs to
conduct real oversight on licensing decisions and will help us assess
where and how BIS is drawing the line on U.S. national security.
At the Foreign Affairs Committee markup, H.R. 6614 was adopted by a
unanimous bipartisan vote of 43-0.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Maintaining American
Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6614, as amended,
and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the bill calls for more transparency around license
application decisions by the Bureau of Industry and Security for
potential exports to entities on its Entity and Military End Users
Lists. Inclusion in these lists means that the export, re-export, and
transfer of certain U.S. items to these entities requires a license.
This bill would enable Congress to conduct oversight to ensure that
the BIS licensing and enforcement processes are working properly and
effectively.
I thank Mr. Jackson and Chairman McCaul for working with Ranking
Member Meeks to reach a bipartisan agreement on this bill, which will
ensure that the committee is getting the information it needs while
protecting business proprietary information and allowing BIS to
effectively execute its core national security mandate.
As we add to the list of things we are asking BIS to do, it is also
important that we equip BIS with the resources and staffing to meet
those requirements. We are asking BIS to take on more responsibility
with less.
[[Page H5094]]
BIS desperately needs to update its outdated and inefficient IT
system, which has not been updated in over 15 years. In that time, the
number of license applications BIS receives per year has more than
doubled to over 40,000 per year.
As a result, simple data requests such as compiling license
application information for Congress can be lengthy and often involve
painstaking manual review of materials.
Let me repeat: We are adding more burden to BIS without giving them
the resources they so desperately need.
Representative Crow and Ranking Member Meeks have worked on a bill to
fund IT modernization for BIS, and I sincerely hope that as we pass
bills like this one offered by Mr. Jackson, we also live up to our
responsibility to actually equip BIS to do its important work and give
them the resources they so desperately need.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
{time} 2030
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Jackson), a Member of the Committee on
Foreign Affairs and the author of this bill.
Mr. JACKSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today we are bringing to the floor
a very important bill, the Maintaining American Superiority by
Improving Export Control Transparency Act.
Our country's determination and commitment to achieving what was once
thought impossible has led to some of the most incredible technological
advances in the history of the world. Consequently, many of the world's
very best and most advanced goods are made right here in the United
States of America. However, the reality is that it is hard to keep good
things to yourself, and nations across the world want to benefit from
American goods themselves.
As a general principle, we are happy to export the fruits of our
labor because international trade is an important part of any
successful and vibrant economy, especially for a country like the
United States, but the harsh reality is that not every country who
wants access to our goods and materials is friendly to the United
States. Malign actors like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran would
gladly seek to use our very own goods and technologies against us,
whether in military engagements or on the economic battlefield.
The type of goods I am speaking about are not just overtly military
hardware, like night vision goggles, tanks, or stealth technology.
These bad actors are constantly thinking of new creative ways to use
anything and everything against us, making everyday commercial items
produced right here in the United States ripe to be weaponized against
the American people.
One example would be telecommunications equipment. Anything from
routers to cell phones to Bluetooth technology are generally thought of
as harmless commercial goods, but they all have huge national security
and military implications as well, especially in the hands of our
adversaries. These so-called dual-use technologies are the type of
goods that our current export controls attempt to prevent from falling
into the hands of malign actors.
My bill, the Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export
Control Transparency Act, seeks to ensure increased transparency and
accountability in the export control process by mandating a report on
export control license applications.
Simply put, my bill creates a mechanism through tracking and
reporting on export control license applications that can be utilized
to form a paper trail to understand where dual-use technologies came
from, who produced them, and whom they were sold to.
If our enemies are utilizing American technology against us, we need
to know exactly how that happened and why. Further, my bill will
provide some clarity to Congress on how these decisions are made.
Every 90 days, the House and the Senate would receive a report on
export control license applications, gaining insight into where our
American-made dual-use technologies are going abroad.
I want nothing more than for the American economy to be strong, open,
and free, and international trade is a crucial part of that vision.
Ultimately, our own free market cannot also be used as a source of our
own downfall by allowing our adversaries to use our goods and
technologies against us.
My bill ensures accountability and trackability when we send dual-use
goods abroad.
In these increasingly dangerous times, there is a need for strong
export controls with adequate oversight, which is why my bill passed
the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a vote of 43-0. I thank Chairman
McCaul for his cosponsorship of the legislation and Ranking Member
Meeks for supporting this legislation in our committee. I urge all of
my colleagues to support this legislation, as it is necessary for our
national security.
Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for
the purpose of closing.
Mr. Speaker, transparency is critical for effective congressional
oversight, and Mr. Jackson's bill will allow Congress greater insight
into the license application decisions and enforcement actions taken by
the Bureau of Industry and Security.
The bill reflects the critical national security role that BIS and
our export controls play in today's world, but placing greater burdens
on BIS while failing to provide the necessary funding to update the 15-
year-old equipment it uses is only doing half the job.
Therefore, it is important that Congress provide BIS with the
resources and technology necessary to effectively implement this bill
and advance its core mandate. I, therefore, encourage my colleagues to
work with the urgency required to help us address the resource issue.
With that in mind, I hope my colleagues will join me and support this
bill. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
I thank Chairman McCaul for his leadership in moving this bill
through committee and to the floor. I also thank my bipartisan
committee colleagues for their unanimous vote to ensure greater
congressional oversight of export controls.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote in favor of H.R. 6614, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from American Samoa (Mrs. Radewagen) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6614, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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