BIS Requests More Resources to Identify Emerging, Foundational Tech in 2021 Budget

The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security asked for an 8% boost in funding for the 2021 fiscal year to increase export control compliance and enforcement, bolster initiatives to counter China, and to better identify emerging and foundational technologies. BIS’s request for a $10 million budget increase, submitted to Congress last week, comes as the agency plans to roll out a series of export controls on sensitive technologies (see 1912160032), which will increase its involvement in the Trump administration's effort to sustain the U.S.'s technological advantage over China. BIS specifically asked for just over $1 million and five new positions to help it control emerging and foundational technologies and enforce those controls.

BIS expects its export administration “workload” to grow in 2020 and 2021 but said it is difficult to estimate by how much, given that there are “many factors outside of BIS control.” The agency pointed to the fluid nature of exports, foreign investment, reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., and Section 232 investigations. To help with the increase in workload, BIS said it needs a program management specialist, two statisticians, one general engineer and an electronic engineer to help with export control compliance. BIS uses its engineers in its interagency “sprint groups” (see 1912130055) to help identify slices of emerging technologies to control.

BIS said the program management specialist will create a plan to help BIS “meet the deadlines” related to its export controls, which include deadlines set by comment periods on proposed rules, national security priorities set by the president, technical advisory committee meetings and multilateral regime meetings. BIS has faced a series of delays in releasing its proposed rules for emerging technologies and its upcoming advance notice of proposed rulemaking for foundational technologies (see 2002040057).

The agency said it plans to increase its “export control mission activities” relating to controlling emerging and foundational technologies. “It is imperative that BIS maintain, and increase, the technical skills to define and evaluate these technologies,” BIS said. The agency needs new “analytical and law enforcement tools, analysts, and agents” to counter China’s efforts to acquire U.S. technology, it said. With more special agents, BIS said, it plans to increase the number of investigations into “Chinese acquisition attempts” and “improve data entry of end-use checks” to better monitor its export controls. BIS said “efforts are underway” to improve its end-use checks.

“Without additional Export Control Officers, analysts, special agents, and attorneys,” the agency said, “BIS will be limited in its ability to identify and exploit Chinese networks, or to mitigate their actions via end use checks, informed license reviews, proscribed party designations, and administrative and criminal enforcement sanctions.”

BIS also said it “continues to meet or exceed performance indicators and targets,” adding that more than 93 percent of attendees at BIS seminars rated the events at least a four out of five. BIS also provided a series of its “significant accomplishments” during 2019, placing under that category its Section 232 investigations process, its effort to transfer controls of firearms from the State Department to Commerce (see 2001170030) and its outreach activities.