Bipartisan Bill Aims to Boost BIS Brainpower
Reps. Jefferson Shreve, R-Ind., and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., introduced a bill Jan. 9 aimed at bolstering the technical staffing of the Bureau of Industry and Security.
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The BIS Strategic Talent Recruitment to Enhance National Guardrails for Technological Handling Act, or BIS Strength Act, would direct the export control agency to annually identify "specific gaps in expertise" that are "difficult to fill through the civil service" and "constrain the bureau’s ability to effectively fulfill [its] mandate," the legislation says. The bill would authorize BIS to go outside the civil service and “appoint 25 highly qualified technical experts and offer competitive compensation, within existing federal pay limits, to attract and retain top-tier talent,” according to a press release issued by Shreve.
Such appointments could generally not exceed five years, the bill says. The head of BIS could grant a one-year extension if "such action is necessary to promote the national security or foreign policy of the United States."
The release says BIS “faces persistent challenges in recruiting and retaining specialized experts, even as adversaries work aggressively to evade export controls and obtain advanced U.S. technology." The bill would strengthen BIS "with the specialized talent it needs to stay ahead of evolving threats, protect America’s technological edge, and defend our national security," Shreve said.
Kamlager-Dove, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, which oversees the bureau, said the “loss of career technical experts at BIS in the last year has significantly undermined BIS’s ability to administer the export controls that help safeguard U.S. national security.” The bill would "open up a new pathway for technical experts to join BIS and ensure that BIS is equipped to work at the cutting edge of new dual-use technologies," she said.
The legislation was referred to the House Foreign Affairs and Oversight and Government Reform committees.
At a South and Central Asia Subcommittee hearing in November, Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, said she’s concerned that recent personnel departures at BIS have caused a “talent drain” at the agency (see 2511200038). Kevin Wolf, former assistant secretary of commerce for export administration at BIS, testified that Congress should help the agency hire more subject-matter experts in AI, semiconductors, chipmaking tools and biotechnology.