House Foreign Affairs Committee Advances Export Control Legislation

The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Dec. 13 advanced several bills that would revise U.S. export control regulations and procedures for dual-use technology.

Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said the legislation is needed because the current export control system lacks transparency and fails to protect U.S. national security.

“It is well past time that we modernize the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to stay ahead of our adversaries,” said McCaul, who noted that he recently released a report calling for an export control overhaul to stem the flow of U.S. national security technology to China’s military (see 2312070058).

Among the approved bills is H.R. 6602, to amend the Export Control Reform Act and which would require that export licensing disputes involving commercial satellites, jet engines, emerging or foundational technology, or countries subject to comprehensive U.S. arms embargoes be resolved by a majority vote of the government's Operating Committee, which includes representatives from the Bureau of Industry and Security and the Defense, Energy, and State departments. The disputes are currently resolved by the Operating Committee chair, who is a BIS employee.

Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., who introduced H.R. 6602, said his bill would ensure that each department on the Operating Committee has a say in the disputes (see 2305120032). He agreed to an amendment that would allow the Operating Committee chair to break tie votes.

Another approved bill, H.R. 5613, the Sanctions Lists Harmonization Act, would require an agency that adds an entity to its export control or sanctions list to notify other agencies about its actions. Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., who introduced the bill, said the measure is intended to increase coordination among agencies to “maximize the penalties on these bad actors when appropriate.” Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said he believes such notifications already occur informally but that he supports codifying the practice.

H.R. 6614, the Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act, introduced by Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, would require regular reports to Congress on where licensed dual-use goods are being sent abroad. Lawmakers said the measure would aid congressional oversight. Meeks said he looks forward to marking up legislation in early 2024 to fund implementation of the bill.

H.R. 6606, also to amend the Export Control Reform Act, introduced by Rep. Amata Radewagen, R-American Samoa, would add protecting American trade secrets to the list of responsibilities of U.S. export control agencies. Radewagen said her bill would address “unprecedented espionage by unfriendly states.”

In addition to tackling export controls, the Foreign Affairs Committee approved H.R. 5917, the Strengthening Tools to Counter the Use of Human Shields Act, introduced by Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Brad Sherman, D-Calif., which would renew a law that sanctions terrorist groups that use civilians as human shields. The measure also would cover additional terrorist leaders and give Congress more tools to conduct oversight.

The Foreign Affairs Committee approved the bills by voice vote. It was scheduled to conduct roll call votes on the bills later in the day.