Export Reform Bill Introduced by Top House Foreign Affairs Dem

Ranking Member Berman’s bill, the Technology Security Act, would provide the President with authority to regulate the transfer of sensitive U.S. goods, services, software and technological information that could pose a threat to U.S. national security if obtained by hostile governments, terrorist groups or threatening persons.

According to Berman’s press release, H.R. 2004, is the first comprehensive export control legislation to be proposed since 2001. Unlike the original Export Administration Act (EAA)¹, Berman’s bill would define U.S. national security to include strengthening scientific and technological leadership, high-technology manufacturing, and the U.S. defense industrial base.

Key Provisions Would Modernize, Expand, Strengthen Export Controls

According to the press release, the key provisions of the TSA are as follows:

• Broad and flexible authority to act. In contrast to the highly-prescriptive and static EAA, the bill would provide the President with broad and flexible authority to deploy controls to counteract current and future national security threats, including rogue governments, terrorist organizations, and other non-state actors that seek to attack the U.S. and its allies.
• Modernized definition of national security. The bill would modernize the definition of national security to include sustaining U.S. leadership in science, manufacturing and our high-tech workforce, and requires the President to balance traditional security goals with maintaining U.S. academic and manufacturing leadership in applying controls.
• Expanded scope of controls to reflect Internet. In recognition that knowledge of sensitive technology can be as threatening as dual-use goods, the bill would expand the scope of controls to include transfer of information via the Internet.
• Updated scope of threat. The bill would update the scope of threats against which controls can be utilized to include cyber attacks on critical data systems, attacks on U.S. infrastructure and protection of critical scientific and industrial facilities.
• Strengthened oversight of controls. The bill would strengthen the policy-making on controls by establishing a high-level interagency management group, with ongoing responsibility for overall administration, rule-making and oversight of controls. This addresses a long-standing weakness caused by the current ad-hoc policy-making structure.
• Re-enactment of anti-boycott authorization. The bill would re-enact provisions authorizing anti-boycott authority and non-proliferation functions of the U.S. government.

At a May 12, 2011 House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Ranking Member Berman announced that he planned to soon introduce legislation to update and revise the EAA.

House Foreign Affairs Chair Plans to Introduce Her Own EAA Extension, Export Reform Bills

At the same hearing, Committee Chairman Ros-Lehtinen (R) announced her own plans to introduce a short-term EAA extension. She also said she planned to introduce an export reform bill that is more limited than the ongoing Administration export reform initiative launched by the Administration.

(See ITT’s Online Archives or 05/13/11 news, 11051316, for BP summary of hearing.)

¹The old EAA, was last rewritten in 1979 and lapsed from 1994 to 2000 and again in 2001. Emergency Presidential authority has been used to keep export control regulations in effect.

Press release and summary of H.R. 2004 available by emailing documents@brokerpower.com.