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U.S. Response: Proponents of Export-Control Reform Plan to Revisit Issue By William New CongressDaily WASHINGTON — The U.S. House’s failure to reform the country’s export-control regime before the apparent end of its work in the 107th Congress leaves the technology industry back at the drawing board on the high-priority issue, but a key senator already plans to reintroduce a revised version of the Senate-passed export-control bill in the next Congress, his spokesman said Monday (see GSN, Nov. 4). The export reform bill remains one of the highest priorities of Senate Banking member Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), the spokesman said, “and he will continue to work diligently next year to see it passed into law.” Enzi will work with other parties to the debate to make changes before introducing a revised measure, he said. The White House and House leadership tried to clear a minimal bill that would have renewed the 1979 Export Administration Act and ended a standard that restricts computer exports based on the millions of theoretical operations per second that computers perform. EAA governs exports of commercial products with potential military uses. But Representative Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) blocked the effort, sources said. Hunter is expected to assume chairmanship of the House Armed Services Committee in January. The defeat of the bill forces the tech industry to rethink its strategy. “While we’re disappointed, we now feel we can get bipartisan House and Senate leadership and the White House on board to get something done next year,” said Ralph Hellmann, senior vice president for government affairs at the Information Technology Industry Council. “Sadly, there’s an acknowledgement that EAA’s not going to get any easier in the next Congress, and it forces us to find solutions to the MTOPS [issue] that may not be comprehensive.” Following a White House meeting on EAA last week, officials decided to push for a limited bill, according to an industry source. They crafted their first compromise plan, for a short-term renewal of the 1979 EAA and a repeal of the MTOPS, last Tuesday (see GSN, Aug. 6). When it became clear that Hunter would block it, officials proposed a straight renewal of the EAA until next year, but Hunter blocked that as well. Edmund Rice, president of the Coalition for Employment Through Exports, outlined “key decision points” for the issue in the next Congress. He said it must remain a priority for the Bush administration. The position of incoming Senate Banking Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who has opposed export-control reform in the past, and the House Armed Services Committee also are key, Rice said. “We’ll continue to work with Congress on this when they return,” White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said Monday. “There are a number of items of unfinished business” to be taken up when lawmakers return, she said.
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