I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2300
To improve the efficiency and coordination of the Federal Government’s
export promotion activities.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 12, 1995
Mr. BEREUTER (for himself, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, and Mr. KOLBE)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
International Relations, and in addition to the Committee on Banking
and Financial Services, 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 improve the efficiency and coordination of the Federal
Government’s export promotion activities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Export Promotion
Consolidation Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Numerous attempts to better coordinate the
export promotion efforts of the United States Gov-
ernment have been made and have been ongoing
since 1950.
(2) In 1992, the Trade Promotion Coordinating
Committee was created to, among other things,
‘‘prevent unnecessary duplication in Federal export
promotion activities’’ and to ‘‘identify areas of over-
lap and duplication among Federal export promotion
activities and propose means of eliminating them’’.
(3) In its first annual report to the Congress,
the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee made
65 recommendations, yet none of the recommenda-
tions specifically proposed eliminating any export
promotion programs.
(4) In its second annual report to the Congress,
the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee iden-
tified 14 Federal agencies involved in export pro-
motion activities for a total cost of $3,300,000,000.
(5) The Library of Congress has identified over
150 separate export promotion programs in at least
15 different Federal agencies.
(6) In 1993, the United States Information
Agency’s budget for export promotion activities was
nearly 3 times the entire budget of the office of the
United States Trade Representative.
(7) Efforts to date to consolidate United States
export promotion activities have not been sufficient.
SEC. 3. CONSOLIDATION.
(a) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Within 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall
transmit to the Congress a comprehensive plan to consoli-
date Federal nonagricultural export promotion activities.
The plan shall provide for—
(1) the elimination of the overlap and duplica-
tion among all Federal nonagricultural export pro-
motion activities;
(2) a unified budget for Federal nonagricultural
export promotion activities which eliminates funding
for the areas of overlap and duplication identified
under paragraph (1); and
(3) a long-term agenda for developing coopera-
tion between State and Federal programs and activi-
ties designed to stimulate or assist United States
businesses in exporting nonagricultural goods or
services that are products of the United States, in-
cluding sharing of facilities, costs, and cost-sharing
between Federal and State export market research
data.
(b) PLAN ELEMENTS.—The plan under subsection
(a) shall—
(1) place all Federal nonagricultural export pro-
motion activities under a single Government entity;
and
(2) provide clear authority for the entity de-
scribed in paragraph (1) to use the expertise and as-
sistance of other United States Government agen-
cies.
SEC. 4. DEFINITION.
As used in this Act, the term ‘‘Federal non-
agricultural export promotion activities’’—
(1) means all programs or activities of any de-
partment or agency of the Federal Government (in-
cluding, but not limited to, departments and agen-
cies with representatives on the Trade Promotion
Coordinating Committee established under section
2312 of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15
U.S.C. 4727)) that are designed to stimulate or as-
sist United States businesses in exporting non-
agricultural goods or services that are products of
the United States, including trade missions; and
(2) does not include programs or activities of
the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the
Trade and Development Agency, and the Overseas
Private Investment Corporation.
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