PORCUPINE Act

Bill: 119-s-1744
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE]
Introduced: 2025-05-13
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2025-05-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1744 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 13, 2025 Mr. Ricketts (for himself and Mr. Coons ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To amend the Arms Export Control Act to include Taiwan among the list of recipient countries with respect to which shorter certification and reporting periods apply and to expedite licensing for allies transferring military equipment to Taiwan, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Providing Our Regional Companions Upgraded Protection in Nefarious Environments Act or PORCUPINE Act . 2. Modification of certification and reporting requirements under the Arms Export Control Act The Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq. ) is amended— (1) in section 3 ( 22 U.S.C. 2753 )— (A) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting the Government of Taiwan, before or the ; and (B) in subsection (d)— (i) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan ; (ii) in paragraph (3)(A)(i), by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan ; and (iii) in paragraph (5), by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan ; (2) in section 21 ( 22 U.S.C. 2761 )— (A) in subsection (e)(2)(A), by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan ; and (B) in subsection (h)— (i) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking or Israel and inserting Israel, or Taiwan ; and (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking or Israel and inserting Israel, or Taiwan ; (3) in section 36 ( 22 U.S.C. 2776 )— (A) in subsection (b)— (i) in paragraph (1), in the undesignated matter following subparagraph (P), in the second sentence, by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan ; (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan ; and (iii) in paragraph (6), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan ; (B) in subsection (c)— (i) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan ; and (ii) in paragraph (5), by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan ; and (C) in subsection (d)(2)(A), by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan ; (4) in section 62(c)(1) ( 22 U.S.C. 2796a(c)(1) ), by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan ; and (5) in section 63(a)(2) ( 22 U.S.C. 2796b(a)(2) ), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking or New Zealand and inserting New Zealand, or Taiwan . 3. Expedited licensing for allies transferring military equipment to Taiwan (a) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall establish an expedited decision-making process for blanket third party transfers of defense articles and services from North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries, Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Israel, or New Zealand to Taiwan, including transfers and re-transfers of United States origin grant, Foreign Military Sales, and Direct Commercial Sales end-items not covered by an exemption under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations under subchapter M of chapter I of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations. (b) Availability The expedited decision-making process described in subsection (a)— (1) shall be available for classified and unclassified items; and (2) shall, to the extent practicable— (A) require the approval, return, or denial of any licensing application to export defense articles and services that is related to a government-to-government agreement within 15 days after the submission of such application; and (B) require the completion of the review of all other licensing requests not later than 30 days after the submission of such application. (c) Report Not later than 1 year after the date on which the expedited decision-making process under subsection (a) is established, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the implementation and effectiveness of such process, including an assessment of the actions taken to coordinate with North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries, Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Israel, and New Zealand to ensure alignment with the respective export control regulations of such countries.