I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6828 
To make improvements in the electronic filing of export data, to strengthen 
enforcement authorities under the Export Administration Act of 1979, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2008 
Mr. SHERMAN (for himself, Mr. MANZULLO, and Mr. SMITH of Washington) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To make improvements in the electronic filing of export 
data, to strengthen enforcement authorities under the 
Export Administration Act of 1979, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Export Control Improvements Act’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRONIC FILING OF EXPORT 
DATA 
Sec. 101. Short title. 
Sec. 102. Mandatory electronic filing of export data. 
Sec. 103. Information sharing of Automated Export System data; conferences; 
automated export system licenses and filings. 
Sec. 104. Definitions. 
Sec. 105. Conforming amendments. 
Sec. 106. Authorization of appropriations. 
TITLE II—EXPORT ENFORCEMENT ENHANCEMENT 
Sec. 201. Short title. 
Sec. 202. Declaration of policy. 
Sec. 203. Enforcement. 
Sec. 204. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 205. Termination date. 
Sec. 206. Designation of destinations of diversion concern. 
Sec. 207. Validated end-user program review. 
Sec. 208. Annual report on transfers of militarily sensitive technology to coun-
tries and entities of concern. 
Sec. 209. Definition. 
TITLE 
I—IMPROVEMENTS 
IN 
ELECTRONIC FILING OF EX-
PORT DATA 
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Securing Exports 
Through Coordination and Technology Act’’. 
SEC. 102. MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING OF EXPORT 
DATA. 
Section 1404(b) of the Foreign Relations Authoriza-
tion Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (13 U.S.C. 301 note) is amend-
ed to read as follows:. 
‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.— 
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‘‘(1) FILING THROUGH AES.—The Secretary of 
Commerce shall maintain regulations that require 
that persons who are required to file Shipper’s Ex-
port Declarations under chapter 9 of title 13, United 
States Code, file (either themselves or through their 
intermediaries) such Declarations through the Auto-
mated Export System before the items are exported 
from any United States port, unless the Secretary of 
Commerce, with the concurrence of the Secretary of 
State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the 
Treasury, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
determines that it is appropriate to grant an excep-
tion to this requirement. Such filing of data shall, at 
a minimum, include— 
‘‘(A) the name and address of the principal 
party-in-interest in the United States; 
‘‘(B) the name and address of the foreign 
principal party-in-interest; 
‘‘(C) the name and address of all inter-
mediate consignees; 
‘‘(D) the name and address of the ultimate 
consignee; 
‘‘(E) the commodity classification of each 
item being exported; 
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‘‘(F) when appropriate, the license number 
or regulatory authorization for the export; and 
‘‘(G) a declaration, under penalty of per-
jury under the laws of the United States, that 
the information filed under this paragraph is 
true and correct. 
‘‘(2) MODIFICATIONS
TO
REGULATIONS.—Any 
modifications to the regulations referred to in para-
graph (1) may be made only with the concurrence of 
the heads of the relevant departments and agencies. 
‘‘(3) INTERMEDIARY
DEFINED.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘intermediary’ means a freight for-
warder, a non-vessel operating common carrier 
(NVOCC), an ATA (Admission Temporaire/Tem-
porary Admission) Carnet national guaranteeing as-
sociation and its service providers, or any other simi-
lar entity as determined by the Secretary of Com-
merce, in consultation with the Secretary of Home-
land Security.’’. 
SEC. 103. INFORMATION SHARING OF AUTOMATED EXPORT 
SYSTEM DATA; CONFERENCES; AUTOMATED 
EXPORT SYSTEM LICENSES AND FILINGS. 
Chapter 9 of title 13, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
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(1) by redesignating sections 302 through 307 
as sections 306 through 311, respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after section 301 the following 
new sections: 
‘‘§ 302. Conferences and seminars 
‘‘(a) MANDATORY CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION.— 
The Secretary shall work with the Secretary of State, the 
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
and the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure that appro-
priate personnel of each of their respective departments 
and agencies that are involved in the regulation of exports 
or the enforcement of such regulation are made available, 
subject to the availability of such personnel, to participate 
in fora the purpose of which is to educate exporters about 
laws and regulations of the United States governing ex-
ports and about the Automated Export System in par-
ticular, including through seminars, educational or train-
ing meetings, exhibitions, symposiums, and other similar 
meetings. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT FEES.—The Sec-
retary may collect fees from any individual or other person 
attending or participating in any forum described in sub-
section (a) that is conducted by, or jointly with, the De-
partment of Commerce. The Secretary may use contrac-
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tors to collect such fees. Fees under this subsection may 
be collected in advance of the forum. 
‘‘(c) DISPOSITION OF COLLECTED FEES.—Amounts 
collected under subsection (b) shall be used to pay all or 
part of the cost of fora described in subsection (a), and 
shall be credited to the account from which the costs of 
such fora have been paid or will be paid. 
‘‘(d) BUDGET FOR PARTICIPATING AGENCIES.—In 
the case of any agency that does not have the available 
funds to participate in a forum under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall make such sums available, from fees col-
lected under subsection (b), as are necessary to allow such 
participation by the agency. 
‘‘(e) AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS TO THE PUB-
LIC.—The Secretary shall make available to the public, in-
cluding through its public website, relevant materials pro-
vided for the fora held under subsection (a). 
‘‘§ 303. Automated Export System registrations for fil-
ers 
‘‘(a) REGISTRATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may estab-
lish a registration program for persons to file infor-
mation in the Automated Export System, either on 
behalf of themselves or acting as an intermediary. 
Such registration program may include authorization 
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for individuals to file as well as any corporation, as-
sociation, or partnership that is organized under the 
laws of the United States or of any State, the Dis-
trict of Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, 
or possession of the United States. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS.—The 
Secretary may establish qualification requirements 
for an individual seeking to register under the pro-
gram, except that an individual may be so registered 
only if the individual is a United States citizen, an 
alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to 
the United States, or a national of the United States 
(in the case of a resident of a territory or possession 
of the United States). In assessing the qualification 
of an applicant for registration, the Secretary may 
conduct an examination to determine the applicant’s 
knowledge of the Automated Export System and 
laws, regulations, and procedures related to the ex-
port of goods from the United States, and may re-
quire participation in a continuing education pro-
gram on a periodic basis. The Secretary may also 
obtain information to determine an applicant’s fit-
ness and character to act as an Automated Export 
System filer. An individual who meets the require-
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ments for registration under this paragraph shall be 
issued an Automated Export System registration. 
‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS FOR CORPORATIONS AND 
OTHER BUSINESS ENTITIES.—A corporation, asso-
ciation, or partnership may be registered under this 
subsection only if at least one official of the corpora-
tion or association who is designated by the corpora-
tion or association, or one member of the partner-
ship, who is authorized to act on behalf of the cor-
poration, association, or partnership, as the case 
may be— 
‘‘(A) holds a valid Automated Export Sys-
tem registration under paragraph (2); 
‘‘(B) is responsible for the supervision and 
control of filing Shipper’s Export Declaration 
information in the Automated Export System; 
and 
‘‘(C) is a United States citizen, an alien 
lawfully admitted for permanent residence to 
the United States, or a national of the United 
States (in the case of a resident of a territory 
or possession of the United States). 
The Secretary may establish such other registration 
requirements for corporations, associations, and 
partnerships as the Secretary considers appropriate. 
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A corporation, association, or partnership that meets 
the requirements for registration under this para-
graph shall be issued an Automated Export System 
registration. 
‘‘(4) FEDERAL
MARITIME
COMMISSION
LI-
CENSES.—An ocean transportation intermediary 
(OTI) license issued by the Federal Maritime Com-
mission may be used to satisfy the initial qualifica-
tion requirements of the registration program under 
this subsection, if the Federal Maritime Commission 
maintains sufficient requirements with respect to 
such license, as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(5) LAPSE OF REGISTRATION.—Registrations 
under this subsection shall be granted for a period 
of not less than 3 years, and may be renewed in 
such manner and under such conditions as are es-
tablished by the Secretary. 
‘‘(b) DENIAL, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION
OF 
REGISTRATION.— 
‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—The Secretary may re-
voke or suspend a registration or deny an applica-
tion for registration under subsection (a), which may 
take effect immediately, if the Secretary has reason 
to believe that the registrant or applicant has vio-
lated or will violate any regulations issued under this 
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section or any law or regulation of the United States 
controlling exports. The Secretary may provide rules 
for notifying registrants and registration applicants 
of the process for revoking or suspending a registra-
tion or denying an application, consistent with the 
need to protect national security. 
‘‘(2) PROCEDURES FOR DENIAL, REVOCATION, 
OR SUSPENSION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a registration is re-
voked or suspended or an application is denied 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall send 
the registrant or applicant notice in writing spe-
cifically setting forth the grounds for suspen-
sion, revocation, or denial, shall allow the reg-
istrant or applicant a period of 30 calendar 
days beginning on the date on which the notice 
is received to respond in writing, and shall ad-
vise the registrant or applicant of the right to 
a hearing. A registrant or applicant may re-
quest an extension of time for such response, 
and the Secretary shall grant such extension for 
good cause shown. If no response is filed within 
that 30-day period, or any extension thereof, 
and the Secretary determines that the revoca-
tion, suspension, or denial is still warranted, 
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the revocation, suspension, or denial shall be-
come final. 
‘‘(B) HEARING.—If a timely response is 
received under subparagraph (A) and the reg-
istrant or applicant requests a hearing, a hear-
ing shall be held within 30 calendar days after 
the date on which the request is received, or at 
a later date if the registrant or applicant re-
quests an extension and shows good cause 
therefor. An administrative law judge appointed 
under section 3105 of title 5 shall preside at 
the hearing, which shall be conducted in accord-
ance with regulations issued by the Secretary. 
The administrative law judge shall issue a writ-
ten decision either upholding, reversing, or 
modifying the decision of the Secretary, based 
solely on the record, setting forth the findings 
of fact, and the reasons for the decision. 
‘‘(C) 
SUSPENSION
OF
REGISTRATION 
PENDING APPEAL.—In a case in which a person 
appeals a decision revoking or suspending a 
registration under this subsection, including an 
appeal under subsection (c), the Secretary may 
order that the registration continue to be sus-
pended while the appeal is pending. 
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‘‘(3) SETTLEMENT
AND
COMPROMISE.—The 
Secretary may settle and compromise any proceeding 
that has been instituted under this subsection ac-
cording to the terms and conditions agreed to by the 
parties, including the reduction of any proposed sus-
pension or revocation. 
‘‘(4) LIMITATION OF ACTIONS.—The Secretary 
may revoke or suspend a registration or deny an ap-
plication for registration under this subsection only 
if the appropriate service of written notice is made 
under paragraph (2)(A) within 5 years after the 
date on which the alleged act described in paragraph 
(1) was committed, except that if the alleged act 
consists of fraud, the 5-year period shall begin on 
the date on which the alleged act was discovered. 
‘‘(c) JUDICIAL APPEAL.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A registrant under this sec-
tion, or an applicant for a registration under this 
section, may appeal any decision of the administra-
tive law judge under subsection (b) suspending or 
revoking the registration or denying the application 
by filing in the appropriate United States district 
court, within 60 days after the date on which the de-
cision is issued, a written petition requesting that 
the decision be modified or set aside in whole or in 
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part. A copy of the petition shall be served upon the 
Secretary. In cases involving revocation or suspen-
sion of a registration, the Secretary, after receiving 
the petition, shall file in the court the record upon 
which the decision complained of was entered. 
‘‘(2) FAILURE TO APPEAL.—If an appeal is not 
filed within the time limits specified in paragraph 
(1), the decision of the administrative law judge 
under subsection (b) shall be final and conclusive. 
‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall provide a 
period of at least 90 days for the submission of public 
comments on any regulations issued to carry out this sec-
tion, before such regulations may become effective. 
‘‘§ 304. Blocking prohibited or restricted exports 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, with the concur-
rence of the heads of the appropriate departments and 
agencies, shall issue regulations to ensure that the Auto-
mated Export System will identify the filing of data in 
connection with an export from the United States if the 
country of destination of intended export or the export 
control information, or lack thereof, would result in a vio-
lation of any prohibition or restriction on exports under 
the laws and regulations of the United States. 
‘‘(b) SUFFICIENCY
AND TIMELINESS
OF EXPORT 
CONTROL INFORMATION IN THE AUTOMATED EXPORT 
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SYSTEM.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the en-
actment of the Securing Exports Through Coordination 
and Technology Act, the Secretary, with the concurrence 
of the heads of the relevant departments and agencies and 
in consultation with representatives of affected industries 
and nongovernmental organizations with relevant exper-
tise, shall— 
‘‘(1) ensure on an ongoing basis that changes 
in laws and regulations controlling exports from the 
United States are reflected in the Automated Export 
System upon implementation of those changes; 
‘‘(2) enable on an ongoing basis the classifica-
tion of products to be exported in a manner suffi-
cient to carry out the purposes of this section; and 
‘‘(3) ensure on an ongoing basis that all lists 
maintained by the United States and comprised of 
persons or entities to whom exports are restricted 
are available in a standardized format and contain 
sufficient descriptive information to enable their ef-
fective use by exporters (through the Automated Ex-
port System or otherwise) to screen transactions and 
prevent diversions of exported items for unauthor-
ized destinations, parties, or uses. 
‘‘(c) MINIMUM
REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary, 
with the concurrence of the heads of the relevant depart-
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ments and agencies and in consultation with representa-
tives of affected industries and nongovernmental organiza-
tions with relevant expertise, shall ensure that the Auto-
mated Export System contains at least the following oper-
ational features: 
‘‘(1) The Automated Export System will proc-
ess data filed in connection with an export and will 
alert the filer to export license requirements under 
the laws and regulations of the United States. 
‘‘(2) If the data filed that is associated with the 
export does not satisfy requirements under the ex-
port control laws and regulations of the United 
States, the Automated Export System will issue no-
tices that the transaction cannot be completed, com-
pliance alerts, and other warnings, as appropriate, 
accompanied by references to the applicable authori-
ties. 
‘‘(3) The Automated Export System will retain 
records of actions of users while filing export data. 
‘‘(d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 
be construed to authorize an export solely because the 
Automated Export System accepts the filing of data. 
‘‘§ 305. Fees and charges 
‘‘The Secretary may issue regulations prescribing 
reasonable fees and charges, with particular sensitivity to 
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small businesses, to defray the costs of the Secretary in 
carrying out this chapter.’’. 
SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS. 
Chapter 9 of title 13, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 312. Definitions 
‘‘In this chapter: 
‘‘(1) AUTOMATED EXPORT SYSTEM.—The term 
‘Automated Export System’ means the automated 
and electronic system for filing export information 
established under this chapter. 
‘‘(2) INTERMEDIARY.—The term ‘intermediary’ 
means a freight forwarder, a non-vessel operating 
common carrier (NVOCC), an ATA (Admission 
Temporaire/Temporary Admission) Carnet national 
guaranteeing association and its service providers, or 
any other similar entity as determined by the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Home-
land Security. 
‘‘(3) RELEVANT
DEPARTMENTS
AND
AGEN-
CIES.—The term ‘relevant departments and agen-
cies’ means the Department of State, the Depart-
ment of Defense, the Department of Homeland Se-
curity, and the Department of the Treasury. 
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‘‘(4) SHIPPER’S
EXPORT
DECLARATION.—The 
term ‘Shipper’s Export Declaration’ means the ex-
port information filed under this chapter.’’. 
SEC. 105. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 
(a) COLLECTION AND PUBLICATION.—Section 301 of 
title 13, United States Code, is amended by striking sub-
section (g) and redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 
(g). 
(b) REGULATIONS, ORDERS, ETC.—Section 306 of 
title 13, United States Code, as redesignated by section 
103(1) of this Act, is amended by striking the last sen-
tence and inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall make rules, regu-
lations, and orders, and amendments thereto, in consulta-
tion with the Secretary of Homeland Security.’’. 
(c) CROSS REFERENCES.—Section 309 of title 13, 
United States Code, as redesignated by section 103(1) of 
this Act, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘304’’ and in-
serting ‘‘308’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘304’’ 
and inserting ‘‘308’’; 
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘306’’ 
and inserting ‘‘310’’; and 
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