International Traffic in Arms Regulations Licensing Reform Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. BAUMGARTNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4215) to require the Secretary of State to promulgate expedited and fixed timelines for the decision-making process to license the export of certain defense articles and defense services, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4215
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``International Traffic in Arms Regulations Licensing Reform Act''. SEC. 2. LIST OF COUNTRIES AND END-USERS TO RECEIVE PRIORITY FOR DIRECT COMMERCIAL SALES.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall develop and maintain a list of countries and end-users with respect to which expedited decision-making for applications for licenses for the export of defense articles and defense services is vital to the national security of the United States, consistent with the requirements of the Arms Export Control Act and other applicable provisions of law.
(b) Submission to Congress.--Not later than 30 days after the development of the list required by subsection (a), and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate an updated copy of the list. SEC. 3. DECISION-MAKING PROCESS FOR APPLICATIONS FOR DIRECT COMMERCIAL SALES.
Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary of State publishes the list required by section 2, the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall initiate a rulemaking process to establish an expedited timeline for the decision-making process with respect to applications to export defense articles or defense services under the Arms Export Control Act to countries or end-users identified by such list and a fixed timeline for decisions for all other applications for such exports. The timelines so established shall provide that, to the maximum extent practicable--
(1) an application to export defense articles or defense services to a listed country or end-user shall be approved, returned, or denied not later than 45 days after the date on which the application is submitted to the Secretary;
(2) an application to export defense articles or defense services to any country or end-user shall be approved, returned, or denied not later than 60 days after the date on which the application is submitted to the Secretary; and
(3) the deadlines described in paragraphs (1) and (2) may be suspended with respect to an application if necessary--
(A) for applicable time periods specified in subsection (b), (c), or (d) of section 36 of such Act, during which Congress may enact a joint resolution prohibiting the approval of such application; or
(B) for such time as may be required to receive a decision from the Secretary of Defense with respect to an application that is subject to approval by the Department of Defense, including technology security and foreign disclosure release determinations. SEC. 4. REPORTS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on a semi-annual basis a report, which may be submitted in classified form, that identifies each application to export defense articles or defense services during the preceding 180-day period with respect to which the time to reach a decision exceeded the applicable deadline described in section 3(1) or 3(2).
(b) Matter To Be Included.--The report required by this section shall also include the following information with respect to each application so identified:
(1) The defense articles or defense services included in the application.
(2) The recipient country, end-user, and any corporate entities involved in the application.
(3) Whether the United States has previously exported similar defense articles or defense services to the recipient country or end-user.
(4) A justification for the delay in reaching a decision with respect to the application.
(5) The anticipated timeline for reaching a decision with respect to the application, if still pending as of the date of the submission of the report.
Mr. Speaker, I introduced the International Traffic in Arms Regulations Licensing Reform Act to improve licensing timelines and processes for direct commercial defense sales.
America's foreign defense sales program is notorious for its slow timelines and opaque process. This lack of clarity about how foreign partners are prioritized causes frustration and confusion among our most important partners and allies. This inefficiency and murkiness force our partners to consider turning to other countries to source their capabilities.
The U.S. is currently the partner of choice for foreign arms sales, but that status is in jeopardy due to internal delays and unnecessary bureaucratic red tape.
The direct commercial sales process presents a more efficient, expedient pathway for our allies and partners to purchase U.S. technology. Direct commercial sales are the future of American defense sales. Direct commercial sales skyrocketed last year and are quickly outpacing other forms of defense sales.
If our direct commercial sales program is going to continue to grow, more must be done to streamline direct commercial sales and incentivize even faster timelines.
This legislation would codify President Trump's April 9 executive order to establish a list of priority partners for certain defense sales and would create a timebound process for approving direct commercial sales cases.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support our defense industrial base and support this commonsense bill.
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Mr. BAUMGARTNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, we must do everything we can to improve our foreign defense sales process to ensure American competitiveness and equip our allies with the highest quality defense materials.
I am proud to sponsor this legislation to streamline the direct commercial sales process, and I urge my colleagues to join me in support of it. This legislation makes America safer and our economy wealthier.
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