Kamlager-Dove, Huizenga, Meeks, Shreve Celebrate Committee Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Export Controls Enforcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, led the passage of her bipartisan Export Controls Enforcement Act through the House Foreign Affairs Committee. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia Chairman Bill Huizenga (MI-04), House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), and Rep. Jefferson Shreve (IN-06) joined Rep. Kamlager-Dove as co-leads of this legislation.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is responsible for enforcing export controls on dual-use technologies sold abroad. However, BIS currently operates with only 11 Export Control Officers (ECOs) worldwide to monitor compliance and detect illicit diversions. The Export Controls Enforcement Act addresses this shortfall by codifying the ECO program and requiring BIS to staff no fewer than 30 officers globally. In line with the 23% budget increase that BIS received this year, this legislation ensures that the additional resources are directed toward strengthening export enforcement and protecting sensitive U.S. technologies.

Rep. Kamlager-Dove spoke in support of this legislation during yesterday's House Foreign Affairs Committee markup, her remarks can be viewed here.

"California is the number one source of semiconductor manufacturing facilities and jobs in the country and plays a crucial role in advancing U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence," said Rep. Kamlager-Dove. "The U.S. cannot win the AI race if we do not safeguard our technological advantage, and Export Control Officers are the backbone of BIS's ability to enforce the regulations it administers. With BIS's licensing workload doubling since 2010, this legislation just ensures that BIS has the additional staffing needed to protect national security while maintaining our AI leadership. I'm proud that this commonsense bill passed committee with strong bipartisan support and I look forward to voting for it on the floor."

"Without strong enforcement, our export controls are toothless," said Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks. "To tackle the problems of smuggling and evasion, BIS needs more export control agents abroad doing end-use checks on critical US technology. Having only eleven agents abroad is completely insufficient."

"The current enforcement of export controls on sensitive technologies is simply inadequate," said Congressman Bill Huizenga. "To protect our national security and preserve our technological advantage over adversarial nations, I am proud to lead the bipartisan introduction of the Export Control Enforcement Act. Currently, the Bureau of Industry and Security maintains only 11 overseas Export Control Officers. These individuals are responsible for conducting in-person end-use checks on tens of thousands of transactions that occur each year. The Export Control Enforcement Act will increase resources in terms of both manpower and capabilities in order to provide greater oversight of America's most coveted technologies and prevent bad actors from circumventing our export control regime."

"By strengthening our export control enforcement, we're prioritizing our nation's security. Adding additional Export Control Officers will help prevent adversarial nations like China from accessing sensitive U.S. technologies and information. It's vital that we ensure the U.S. maintains our competitive technological edge over our adversaries. I'm glad to see this legislation advance through committee, and I look forward to supporting its passage on the House floor," said Rep. Shreve.

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