"I am pleased to join with my colleagues Senator Enzi, Senator Johnson, and Senator Gramm to introduce the Export Administration Act of 2001. The legislation we are introducing today is very similar to the legislation that was reported out of the Senate Banking Committee in the last Congress by a unanimous 20-0 vote.

"The Export Administration Act provides the President authority to control exports for reasons of national security and foreign policy. Let me begin by saying that I believe there is a very strong national interest in Congress reauthorizing the Export Administration Act.

"The EAA has not been reauthorized since 1990 except for temporary extensions in 1993, 1994, and last year. At the end of the last Congress we passed a temporary extension of the EAA that expires on August 20 of this year. Prior to this most recent temporary extension, the authority of the President to impose export controls had been exercised pursuant to the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA). In my view, Congress should put in place a permanent statutory framework for the imposition of export controls. They should not be imposed in effect on a permanent basis pursuant to an emergency economic authority of the President. Just one example of the implications of depending on IEEPA is that the penalties that may be imposed for violations of export controls under IEEPA are significantly less than those imposed under the EAA.

"I believe this legislation is a carefully balanced effort to provide the President authority to control exports for reasons of national security and foreign policy, while also responding to the need of U.S. exporters to compete in the global marketplace.

"Extensive consultation took place with representatives of the previous Administration, including the Commerce Department, the Defense Department, the intelligence agencies and the National Security Council, as well as representatives of the different industry groups. I also understand that during the campaign then-Governor Bush also endorsed this legislation, and we would hope to work closely with the new Administration on this bill.

"I would like to commend Senator Enzi (who was the Chairman of the International Trade and Finance Subcommittee of the Banking Committee in the last Congress), Senator Johnson (who was the ranking member of the Subcommittee) and Senator Gramm, as well as their staffs, for their efforts to develop a bipartisan consensus on this legislation.

"The legislation generally tracks the authorities provided the President under the Export Administration Act which expired in 1990. However a significant effort was made, with the assistance of the Legislative Counsel's Office, to provide these authorities in a more clear and straightforward manner. We believe this will make the statute both easier for the executive branch agencies to administer and for exporters to comply with.

"The bill also makes a number of significant improvements to the EAA. I would like to mention just a few. The legislation provides for the first time a statutory basis for the resolution of interagency disputes over export license applications. The intent is to provide an orderly process for the timely resolution of disputes, while allowing all interested agencies a full opportunity to express their views. This was an issue of great concern to the Administration, the national security community, and industry. I believe we have reached a reasonable resolution of this issue in the bill.

"The bill significantly increases both criminal and civil penalties for violations of the Export Administration Act, reflecting the seriousness of such violations.

"The bill provides new authority to the President to determine that a good has mass market status in the United States and should therefore be decontrolled. The President retains authority to set aside a mass market determination if he determines it would constitute a serious threat to national security and continued export controls would be likely to advance the national security interests of the U.S. This was a provision of great importance to U.S. exporters.

"At the urging of Sen. Enzi, the bill contains a provision that would require the President to establish a system of tiers to which countries would be assigned based on their perceived threat to U.S. national security. The intent is to provide exporters a clear guide as to the licensing requirements of an export of a particular item to a particular country.

"The bill would also require that any foreign company that declined a U.S. request for a post-shipment verification of an export would be denied licenses for future exports. The President would have authority to deny licences to affiliates of the company, and to the country in which the company is located as well.

"On balance, I believe this bill is a very balanced piece of work. It commanded unanimous bipartisan support in the Banking Committee in the last Congress. It is my belief that it will receive broad bipartisan support in the Banking Committee and in the full Senate in this Congress. I believe it will be the first bill the Banking Committee will act on this year, and I would hope we could move it quickly to consideration by the full Senate. Early action by the full Senate would, in turn, give the House more time to act on the bill. I am hopeful that this will be the Congress in which the Export Administration Act is enacted back into law."