[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 21251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       EFFECTIVE EXPORT CONTROLS

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, as Ranking Member of the Governmental 
Affairs Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation and 
Federal Services, I wish to call attention to an important briefing 
given to Senate staff just prior to the August recess by Administration 
officials from the U.S. Customs Service and the U.S. Census Bureau on 
the new Automated Export System (AES).
  The AES is a joint venture between the U.S. Customs Service and the 
Foreign Trade Division of the U.S. Census Bureau. AES provides for the 
electronic filing of the Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) and 
electronic filing of the outbound manifest. AES is an information 
gateway designed to ensure compliance with and enforcement of laws 
relating to exporting. It will improve the collection of trade 
statistics and improve customer service. Its goal is a paperless 
reporting of export information by the year 2002.
  I believe the AES will become the centerpiece of efforts to improve 
the effectiveness of the United States' export control program.
  Last June Senator Thompson, Chairman of the Governmental Affairs 
Committee, held very important hearings on the findings and 
recommendations of reports issued by the Inspectors General from six 
U.S. agencies involved in the export control process: namely, the 
Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, State, Treasury (U.S. 
Customs), and the Central Intelligence Agency. One of the critical 
recommendations made by several of the Inspectors General was that 
licensing officials should perform ``cumulative effect analysis'' of 
proposed export transactions. The primary tool for this analysis will 
be information gathered in the AES.
  Furthermore, the recent report from the Commission to Assess the 
Organization of the Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of 
Weapons of Mass Destruction, chaired by former CIA Director John 
Deutch, entitled ``Combating Proliferation of Weapons of Mass 
Destruction,'' also highlighted the AES program as a central tool for 
improving the overall performance of our export control program. The 
Deutch Report observed that the AES could be used as a tool to identify 
trends in shipments of otherwise non-strategic items that might be used 
by rogue nations pursuing the development of weapons of mass 
destruction.
  Based upon the Deutch Commission's recommendation, Senator Specter 
introduced a bill, S. 1372, entitled ``Proliferation Prevention 
Enhancement Act of 1999.'' This bill mandates that U.S. companies 
electronically files Shipper's Export Declarations (SEDs) through AES 
for exports of items that are on the U.S. Munitions List of the 
Commerce Control List. I commend my colleague for his efforts to 
improve the overall effectiveness of our export control program which 
is so essential to preserving our nation's security. I am a cosponsor 
of this legislation and urge its support. Our continued oversight of 
exports of dual-use and munitions list items will help ensure that 
exports do not go awry to rogue nations or individuals.

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