Ros-Lehtinen has an export reform bill too
Yesterday, The Cable brought you the announcement that House Foreign Affairs ranking Democrat Howard Berman (D-CA) was unveiling his new comprehensive legislation to reform the way the U.S. regulates the export of sensitive and dual-use technologies abroad. Today, we bring you the draft version (PDF) of the competing legislation being circulated by committee Chairwoman Ileana ...
Yesterday, The Cable brought you the announcement that House Foreign Affairs ranking Democrat Howard Berman (D-CA) was unveiling his new comprehensive legislation to reform the way the U.S. regulates the export of sensitive and dual-use technologies abroad.
Today, we bring you the draft version (PDF) of the competing legislation being circulated by committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). The draft was obtained by The Cable but has not been finalized or released. A note from committee staff stated that Ros-Lehtinen plans to introduce this bill as early as next week.
"This bill to revise and amend the Export Administration Act of 1979 (EAA), will have a significant positive effect on the protection of U.S. national security," reads a fact sheet (PDF) that Ros-Lehtinen’s staff sent around with the draft legislation. "The EAA has been in lapse since 2001. The bill represents a significant step by the Congress to assist the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Department of Commerce, in achieving its mission of advancing U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic objectives by ensuring an effective export control system and promoting continued U.S. strategic technology leadership."
Read about some of the key provisions after the jump:
- Reauthorizes the EAA: the bill extends the Act through 2015, and provides the Department of Commerce with enhanced enforcement tools in the fight against terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction for three years.
- Increases penalties: the criminal penalty amounts have been increased to $1,000,000 per violation and/or imprisonment for not more than 20 years, for each violation by an individual, and $5,000,000 or up to 10 times the value of the exports involved, whichever is greater, per corporate violation. The civil penalty amounts have been increased to $250,000 for each violation. The increased penalty amounts are commensurate with those under IEEPA.[1]
- Strengthens Foreign Policy Controls on State Sponsors of Terrorism: by adding requirements to section 6(j)(4)(B) relating to nonproliferation and requiring that the government of a country designated as a state sponsor of terrorism must not have sponsored acts of international terrorism for thirty-six months prior to its removal from that list.
- Helps small business and allied interoperability by allowing generic parts and components currently regulated by the Department of State on the United States Munitions List (USML) to be regulated differently than more sensitive defense items while still safeguarding U.S. national security.
- Enhances Congressional oversight over the regulation and enforcement of controls on dual-use exports by requiring the Department of Commerce to provide appropriate information to the Congress and by strengthening current audit and reporting requirements.
- Protects against excessive regulation through expanded Congressional oversight provisions and General Accountability Office
Josh Rogin covers national security and foreign policy and writes the daily Web column The Cable. His column appears bi-weekly in the print edition of The Washington Post. He can be reached for comments or tips at josh.rogin@foreignpolicy.com.
Previously, Josh covered defense and foreign policy as a staff writer for Congressional Quarterly, writing extensively on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, U.S.-Asia relations, defense budgeting and appropriations, and the defense lobbying and contracting industries. Prior to that, he covered military modernization, cyber warfare, space, and missile defense for Federal Computer Week Magazine. He has also served as Pentagon Staff Reporter for the Asahi Shimbun, Japan's leading daily newspaper, in its Washington, D.C., bureau, where he reported on U.S.-Japan relations, Chinese military modernization, the North Korean nuclear crisis, and more.
A graduate of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Josh lived in Yokohama, Japan, and studied at Tokyo's Sophia University. He speaks conversational Japanese and has reported from the region. He has also worked at the House International Relations Committee, the Embassy of Japan, and the Brookings Institution.
Josh's reporting has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, C-Span, CBS, ABC, NPR, WTOP, and several other outlets. He was a 2008-2009 National Press Foundation's Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellow, 2009 military reporting fellow with the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the 2011 recipient of the InterAction Award for Excellence in International Reporting. He hails from Philadelphia and lives in Washington, D.C. Twitter: @joshrogin
More from Foreign Policy
Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.
Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.
It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.
Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.
Sign up for World Brief
FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
