[House Hearing, 113 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
TO AUTHORIZE THE PRESIDENT TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE AGREEMENT FOR
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA CONCERNING CIVIL USES OF
NUCLEAR ENERGY FOR A PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED MARCH 19, 2016; EXPORT
PROMOTION REFORM ACT; STATE TRADE COORDINATION ACT; AND ORGANIZATION OF
AMERICAN STATES REVITALIZATION AND REFORM ACT OF 2013
=======================================================================
MARKUP
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
H.R. 2449, H.R. 1409, H.R. 1926 and S. 793
__________
JULY 24, 2013
__________
Serial No. 113-49
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/
or
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINING OFFICE
82-146PDF WASHINGTON : 2013
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
DANA ROHRABACHER, California Samoa
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio BRAD SHERMAN, California
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
TED POE, Texas GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MATT SALMON, Arizona THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina KAREN BASS, California
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
MO BROOKS, Alabama DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
TOM COTTON, Arkansas ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
PAUL COOK, California JUAN VARGAS, California
GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III,
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania Massachusetts
STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas AMI BERA, California
RON DeSANTIS, Florida ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
TREY RADEL, Florida GRACE MENG, New York
DOUG COLLINS, Georgia LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
TED S. YOHO, Florida JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
LUKE MESSER, Indiana
Amy Porter, Chief of Staff Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
MARKUP OF
H.R. 2449, To authorize the President to extend the term of the
Agreement for Cooperation between the Government of the United
States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea
Concerning Civil Uses of Nuclear Energy for a period not to
exceed March 19, 2016.......................................... 2
H.R. 1409, To amend the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to further
enhance the promotion of exports of United States goods and
services, and for other purposes............................... 4
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 1409 offered by
the Honorable Edward R. Royce, a Representative in Congress
from the State of California, and chairman, Committee on
Foreign Affairs.............................................. 10
H.R. 1926, To further enhance the promotion of exports of United
States goods and services, and for other purposes.............. 18
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 1926 offered by
the Honorable Edward R. Royce................................ 24
S. 793, To support revitalization and reform of the Organization
of American States, and for other purposes..................... 29
Amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 793 offered by
the Honorable Edward R. Royce................................ 37
Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to S.
793 offered by the Honorable Edward R. Royce................. 45
APPENDIX
Markup notice.................................................... 58
Markup minutes................................................... 59
Markup summary................................................... 61
TO AUTHORIZE THE PRESIDENT TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE AGREEMENT FOR
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA CONCERNING CIVIL USES OF
NUCLEAR ENERGY FOR A PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED MARCH 19, 2016; EXPORT
PROMOTION REFORM ACT; STATE TRADE COORDINATION ACT; AND ORGANIZATION OF
AMERICAN STATES REVITALIZATION AND REFORM ACT OF 2013
----------
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2013
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m., in
room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ed Royce
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
Chairman Royce. The committee will come to order. I will
ask members to take their seats.
And pursuant to notice, we meet today to mark up four
bipartisan measures. As all members were notified on Monday, to
expedite our consideration of these noncontroversial items, we
will take up en bloc the text previously provided to every
member's offices, which you now have before you on your desk.
And so without objection, the following items are
considered as read and will be considered en bloc: H.R. 2449,
authorizing an extension of the agreement between the United
States and South Korea on civil nuclear cooperation; H.R. 1409,
the Export Promotion Reform Act and the bipartisan amendment in
the nature of a substitute offered by the Chair, which also
incorporates the text approved by the Subcommittee on
Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade; H.R. 1926, the State
Trade Coordination Act and the bipartisan amendment in the
nature of a substitute offered by the Chair, which incorporates
the text approved, again, by the Subcommittee on Terrorism,
Nonproliferation, and Trade; and S. 793, the Organization of
American States Revitalization and Reform Act, the bipartisan
amendment in the nature of a substitute offered on behalf of
myself and Mr. Engel, and the brief amendment to that amendment
offered by the Chair.
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Chairman Royce. All members may have 5 days to submit
statements for the record on any of today's measures. And after
recognizing myself and the ranking member for brief opening
remarks, I will be glad to recognize any committee members
seeking recognition to speak on any of these measures.
So today the committee is marking up two export promotion
bills, H.R. 1409 and H.R. 1926, which aim to strengthen the
export promotion activities to help domestic job growth at
little or no net cost. And I would like to thank the chairman
of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade,
Congressman Ted Poe, for his leadership in marking up these
bills last month.
Of the 30 million companies doing business in the United
States today, less than 1 percent export goods or export
services abroad. That is just 1 percent. And this is
significantly lower than all other developed countries.
American businesses provide high-quality goods and services and
can and should be more competitive on the world market. Most
important are trade agreements that knock down trade barriers,
and we can do some other things, too.
And with regard to H.R. 1409, the Export Promotion Reform
Act, I would like to recognize Ranking Member Engel for his
work to strengthen and rationalize U.S. Government efforts to
increase American exports. And I would like to thank him for
collaborating with our colleagues on the Small Business
Committee to help ensure that America's small and medium-sized
businesses benefit from this legislation.
The Export Promotion Act requires the Secretary of Commerce
to assess global markets and deploy foreign commercial officers
where there is the greatest potential for export promotion.
This legislation is about smartly deploying our resources. It
would further require evaluations of those foreign commercial
officers on the basis of the effectiveness of their export
promotion work, and that, of course, would promote
accountability in this.
These are commonsense measures that can help our Government
focus on the activities that have the largest impact on our
economy.
H.R. 1926 is the State Trade Coordination Act. And I would
like to commend Asia Subcommittee Chairman Chabot for his work
to enhance U.S. exports by requiring the integration of State
trade promotion agencies into Federal efforts.
The State Trade Coordination Act would require at least one
representative from the State-based trade promotion agency to
sit on the Department of Commerce's Interagency Export
Promotion Task Force. The act directs the Department to
integrate the strategies of the State trade promotion agencies
into overall Federal trade promotion efforts, and this improved
coordination should result in a more efficient delivery of
services to small businesses, whose efforts to export are often
thwarted by complicated export regulations and ever-changing
tariff and nontariff barriers.
And I would like to note in passing Mr. Yoho's interest in
an additional trade bill that has been referred to the
subcommittee, and that is Representative Tipton's H.R. 1916. We
will give 1916 a careful look moving ahead.
Moving on to H.R. 2449. For more than six decades, the U.S.
and South Korea forged a strong political, military, and
economic alliance. A key part of our relationship is peaceful
nuclear cooperation, especially with regard to energy.
The nuclear cooperation agreement that has been in place
for 40 years will expire in March 2014, but the negotiations
for a new agreement have not yet been completed. To address
this situation I, along with Ranking Member Engel and several
other members of the committee, introduced this bill to extend
the existing agreement for 2 years until March 2016.
This legislation makes no other change to the existing
agreement, but it will ensure that U.S. businesses are able to
continue to supply parts and services to South Korea, and will
enable the negotiators to focus on substance rather than the
clock in striking a long-term agreement.
And then lastly, the Organization of American States
Revitalization and Reform Act, that is Senate bill 793. This
seeks to push the OAS to refocus on its core principles of
promoting democratic governance and institutions and resolving
regional disputes. Over time the OAS has accepted too many
mandates from its member states, resulting in a loss of
institutional focus, which, in turn, has reduced the
organization's effectiveness. This bipartisan bill requires the
Secretary of State to submit a strategy to Congress that
identifies a path toward the adoption of necessary reforms that
prioritize and reinforce the OAS' core competencies.
And I want to commend Ranking Member Engel for his
leadership in helping craft the Royce-Engel amendment in the
nature of a substitute. Our amendment seeks to strengthen the
bill, adding that it is in the interests of the U.S. and,
frankly, in the interests of OAS member states and a modernized
OAS to move toward an assessed fee structure that establishes
that no member state pays more than 50 percent of the
organization's assessed fees.
I now recognize my good friend, the ranking member, for his
remarks.
Mr. Engel. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for holding
this markup and for advancing these important pieces of
legislation.
First, Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to be the lead Democratic
cosponsor of H.R. 2449, your bill to extend the current U.S.-
South Korea civil nuclear cooperation agreement until 2016. The
legislation will provide 2 additional years for our two nations
to complete negotiations on extending the existing agreement,
which is set to expire early next year. This will prevent an
interruption in our peaceful nuclear cooperation which would
have a negative impact on our bilateral relationship and on
U.S. businesses.
This legislation enjoys strong bipartisan support, and I
urge my colleagues to support the measure. You and I traveled
together to South Korea a few months ago, Mr. Chairman, and we
both support and understand how important the bonds are between
our two countries, and this will help to enhance that.
I also urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1409, the Export
Promotion Reform Act. This bill, which I authored, is based on
recommendations from the GAO and numerous outside groups. It
would benefit many of the Nation's 293,000 exporting firms,
including more than 40,000 firms in my home State of New York,
more than 97 percent of which are small- and medium-sized
businesses. And by enhancing export opportunities, it would
lead to the creation of new jobs here in the United States.
Specifically, H.R. 1409 would make three key changes.
Firstly, it would require the Secretary of Commerce to identify
the best opportunities for increased U.S. exports and then
redeploy U.S. commercial service personnel to help our
exporters find customers to deal with foreign customs and other
trade rules and act as advocates with foreign governments.
Secondly, it would strengthen the authority of the Trade
Promotion Coordinating Committee to review annual export
promotion budget submissions and coordinate the export
promotion activities across the government.
And thirdly, it would require our Ambassadors to develop
commercial diplomacy plans aimed at increasing U.S. exports.
I would like to thank Chairman Royce along with
subcommittee Chairman Poe and Ranking Member Sherman for their
work in moving H.R. 1409 forward.
H.R. 1926, introduced by our colleague Congressman Chabot
as the chairman of the Asia Subcommittee, would strengthen the
coordination between State trade development agencies and the
Federal Government. This legislation is complementary to my
export promotion bill, and I look forward to working with
Representative Chabot as our two measures move through the
House and Senate.
Finally, I would like to say a few words about Senate 793,
introduced by Senator Bob Menendez, the chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee and a longtime member of our
committee when he was in the House.
The OAS remains the premier regional forum for the
countries of the Americas to conduct multilateral business. The
bill before us today seeks to support the organization in
particular with respect to democracy promotion and protection
of human rights.
I would like to thank Chairman Royce for working with me to
strengthen the bill. Our amendment would require the State
Department to examine ways to ensure that no OAS member state
pays more than 50 percent of the regular budget, and that
obviously affects the United States.
I believe a modernized OAS would benefit from a more
egalitarian fee structure. This amendment asks the State
Department to lay out a road map to achieve it, and hopefully
opens up that conversation with our fellow member states in the
OAS in the spirit of consensus and partnership.
Again, thank you to Chairman Royce for working in a truly
bipartisan manner on this bill and on the markup as a whole.
And as I said before, it has been a pleasure to work with the
chairman. I think that this committee has shown once again that
it is the most bipartisan committee in the Congress, and I am
very proud of that.
I yield back.
Chairman Royce. I thank my friend for his remarks and for
his contribution to this legislation. And I would ask if any of
the members would like to speak.
At this time I will go to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of
The Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you so much. First, thank you,
Chairman Royce, for convening this markup to consider four
important bills. And I am honored to cosponsor your bill, Mr.
Chairman, to extend the term of the agreement for cooperation
with South Korea concerning civil uses of nuclear energy.
South Korea is one of our strongest allies in the region
and continues to be under the threat of the Pyongyang regime.
It is vital that we send the message to the North Korean
dictatorship that our strong partnership with South Korea will
continue to be strengthened under the ideals of freedom and
democracy.
Second, I would like to thank Ranking Member Engel for
bringing forward his bill to improve our export policies. We
must advance policies that support American manufacturing in
order to bolster private investment and create more jobs in our
Nation. At the same time, we must balance our economic
interests with our national security interests. We must
strengthen our controls so that we can prevent terrorists and
rogue regimes from acquiring our military technologies and
sensitive information.
I am also pleased to be a cosponsor of Mr. Chabot's bill,
seeking to develop a comprehensive plan to integrate the
resources and strategies of State trade promotion agencies into
the overall Federal trade promotion programs. This bill is
crucial in order to develop real and concrete metrics to
improve transparency and accountability with State promotion
agencies.
Lastly, I would like to commend my dear friends Senators
Menendez and Rubio, who, along with Senators Corker and Udall,
brought forth an important bipartisan bill to reform a wasted
agency, which is the Organization of American States.
I remain extremely disappointed that the OAS continues to
fail to live up to its obligations to support the respect for
human rights and uphold democratic principles. The OAS wastes
time attacking our Nation and discussing issues that are of no
relevance to its charter, all the while we in the United States
contribute approximately 60 percent of the this bloated OAS
budget.
For example, 2 weeks ago the OAS met regarding Edward
Snowden and the Evo Morales plane, and the Secretary General
issued a press release stating, and I quote, ``It is very clear
that this is an event that goes beyond the explanations that
have been given here. This incident leaves a wound, and the
best way to heal that wound, to mend that wound, is to know
what really happened, what really took place.'' What a waste.
What about the illegitimate elections in Venezuela? What
about the illegitimate elections in Nicaragua? And are we to
expect a similar statement calling for investigations regarding
the North Korean-flagged ship that left from Cuba to North
Korea with missile equipment in clear violation of several U.N.
Security Council resolutions? And we thank the Government of
Panama for stopping that illicit shipment. What about the
continued human rights abuses against prodemocracy advocates in
Cuba?
The OAS remains silent on all of these important topics,
fails to live up to any of its obligations, and does not hold
accountable any despotic regime that oppresses millions of
people within our hemisphere. So I fully support reforming the
OAS, changing its funding stream by moving the dollars from
assessed contributions to voluntary contributions in order to
strengthen our mission at the U.S. and ensuring that U.S.
taxpayer dollars are put to good use and no longer go to waste,
as they are in the OAS right now.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Royce. I thank the gentlelady.
Mr. Faleomavaega.
Mr. Faleomavaega. Mr. Chairman, thank you.
In the spirit of bipartisanship, I certainly want to
commend you and our ranking member, Mr. Engel, for your
leadership and your sponsorships of this very important
legislation. Specifically, I also want to commend my colleague,
the chairman of our Asia Pacific Subcommittee, Chairman Chabot,
for his authorship of H.R. 1926, to better facilitate our
export capabilities with countries in dealing with the
Department of Commerce.
Certainly, as alluded to earlier by our colleague, Mr.
Engel, Senate bill 793, the chairman of the Foreign Relations
Committee Mr. Menendez, who is a former member of our
committee, I certainly commend him for his initiative and
leadership in trying to make better improvements in the OAS
organization, and I believe these pieces of legislation will go
a long way in helping in the interests of our country.
I thank you, and I yield back.
Chairman Royce. I thank the gentleman.
We go now to Mr. Smith, the chairman of the Africa, Global
Health, Human Rights, and International Organizations
Subcommittee.
On to Mr. Rohrabacher, chairman of the Europe, Eurasia, and
Emerging Threats Subcommittee.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Congratulations, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Royce. Thank you, Mr. Rohrabacher.
Okay. Mr. Sherman, the ranking member on the Terrorism
Subcommittee. Go ahead.
Mr. Sherman. I join with the ranking member's observation
that this is perhaps the most bipartisan committee in Congress
and commend the chairman and the ranking member for that being
the case.
I support the passage of all four bills before us, and I
have cosponsored the two export promotion bills that are on the
agenda today. Both these members came through the Terrorism,
Nonproliferation, and Trade Subcommittee, on which I serve as
ranking member.
Given the very extensive export promotion activities of our
competitors, it is critical that we have effective commercial
diplomacy, and the two export promotion bills move us in that
direction.
I disagree with the chair when he points us in the
direction of more free trade agreements under the policies that
have given us the free trade agreements we have now. Our last
20 years of trade policy have coincided with an ever-worsening
trade deficit. But the chairman and I both agree that we need
export promotion diplomacy, and that the two bills before us
will help achieve that.
In particular, the measure will make a number of changes to
the operation and planning procedures of the multiagency Trade
Promotion Coordination Committee and provide for State trade
promotion agency representation on that committee. The GAO has
recommended our export promotion activities be better organized
across disparate agencies, and these two bills are a good step
in that direction.
I join with the other speakers in support of S. 793
because, among other things, we should not be paying over half
the dues at the OAS while all the other countries in the
Hemisphere pick up less than the other half.
Finally, I would like to discuss H.R. 2449, which would
extend the expiring U.S.-South Korea nuclear cooperation
agreement for 2 years, in effect kicking the can down the road
another 2 years. The two governments have been negotiating a
long-term extension of the agreement. They have failed to reach
accord after 3 years of work. And we certainly wish them
success as they work for the next 2 years, assuming this bill
is able to clear all the other hurdles and become law. But we
do need to give them those additional 2 years. We had joint
hearings with the Asia Subcommittee and the Terrorism,
Nonproliferation, and Trade Subcommittee on June 27, where we
learned the importance of providing this 2-year extension. And
I would like to make two points about our nuclear cooperation
with South Korea.
First, cooperation in commerce with foreign nations can be
sensitive, but especially when it involves nuclear technology.
We have sold reactors to South Korea, we transferred technology
to South Korea, and that allowed them to develop their own
reactors based on American technology.
South Korea now markets its competing reactors abroad. They
have won the contract for the UAE. The two consortia with the
greatest American presence, GE-Hitachi on the one hand and
Westinghouse, which is now owned by Toshiba, would beat on
price. And the reason South Korea was an effective competitor
was because of our transfer of technology.
This highlights a greater concern I have, and that is that
the transfer of technology from Westinghouse to China,
Westinghouse wanted to sell four reactors to China, China
demanded a massive transfer of technology. Now China is
marketing a reactor based on Westinghouse technology. That will
raise substantial nonproliferation concerns that we would not
have if our competitors were our friends, the Japanese, French,
Koreans, and others.
The second point I would like to make is that a long-term
extension, a One-Two-Three agreement with Seoul, the hang-up is
that the South Koreans would like advance consent to reprocess
American-origin spent fuels in a process known as
pyroprocessing. Experts disagree about the proliferation of
pyroprocessing, with some, including the South Korean
Government, arguing that it is not really reprocessing at all
since the plutonium has never fully separated from the other
elements. The United States Government has quite correctly
taken the line that pyroprocessing is, in fact, reprocessing
because it could lead to the separation of weapons-usable
plutonium. South Korea is among our closest allies, but the
administration is quite correct not to yield on this advance
consent point, and I urge them to stay firm on this issue.
And I yield back.
Chairman Royce. I thank the gentleman.
We now go to Judge Poe, chairman of the Terrorism,
Nonproliferation, and Trade Subcommittee.
Mr. Poe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Finding new trading partners and ensuring that American
goods and services reach new markets is a way to help promote
the American economy.
In June, my Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation,
and Trade marked up two job-promoting bills. H.R. 1409 requires
the Commerce Department to conduct an assessment of overseas
markets that would be ideal destinations for U.S. goods and
services. H.R. 1926 helps promote coordination between State
and Federal Governments so that small businesses all around
America can start getting the support and assistance from Uncle
Sam they deserve. I want to thank the ranking member, Mr.
Sherman, for his work on both of these pieces of legislation.
Ninety-five percent of the world's consumers live outside
of the United States. American exports are primed and ready to
take advantage of the global market. I support these bills, and
I urge my colleagues to do the same.
I also support the chairman's bill, H.R. 2449. I cochaired
a hearing on the extension of the civilian nuclear energy
agreement with South Korea in June with Chairman Chabot. The
U.S. and the Republic of Korea partnership is one of the most
valued and meaningful relationships we have with a foreign
country. It is a unique relationship because our Nations have
shed blood together on the same soil. So it is of economic,
political, and historical importance.
H.R. 2449 authorizes the President to extend the term of
the agreement for cooperation between our two countries until
March 19, 2016. My hope is that both of our countries will work
through some of the more complicated challenges and strike an
agreement well before 2016. Ambassador Countryman testified at
our subcommittee hearing that we have made significant progress
since the talks began in 2010, but there is still a lot to be
done. I think given the special nature of the relationship we
have with South Korea, we owe it to ourselves, and really the
Koreans to give us more time to figure this out.
I want to thank the chairman, and I yield back.
Chairman Royce. I thank the gentleman. Other members
seeking recognition?
Mr. Sires.
Mr. Sires. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you,
and I want to thank the ranking member.
I am proud of the fact that I am a member of a committee
that works on a bipartisan basis on some of the most important
issues, and I strongly support the four amendments that are
here.
And certainly I especially want to associate myself with
the words of former Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen regarding the
OAS. Certainly the OAS is very silent when it comes to many of
the abuses in the region, but they are very vocal when it comes
to criticizing this country. So I especially support Senator
Menendez's effort to make sure that 50 percent of the
organization's assessed fees are paid by members, but more than
50 percent. So certainly I thank you for that.
Chairman Royce. We thank the gentleman.
We go now to Mr. Chabot, the chairman of the Asia
Subcommittee.
Mr. Chabot. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to speak very briefly on behalf of H.R. 1926
and thank some of the members who said nice things about the
bill prior to my arrival.
Last year, U.S. international trade totaled $4.9 trillion.
This flow of goods and services supported nearly 10 million
American jobs. In my district, the greater Cincinnati area,
exports reached record levels, topping $20 billion.
As great as some of these numbers seem, there is no
question that we can do better. Currently only 1 percent of all
small businesses participate in the export process, yet these
small firms still make up 97 percent of all exporting firms.
Can you imagine if 2 or 3 percent of small businesses exported?
We would experience tremendous economic growth and job
creation. Therefore, we need to do everything possible to make
the export process simple, straightforward, and accessible to
all businesses.
One thing that is holding America back is the lack of
coordination between the Federal Government and the States. To
date there are over 20 Federal trade agencies and even more
State trade agencies that try to assist businesses through the
export process. While all these different entities are well
intentioned, they quickly add to the complexity of the export
process.
The present lack of coordination between these groups is
creating inefficiencies that ultimately undermine our national
trade goals. This legislation would address those challenges by
facilitating better collaboration between these groups. The
State Trade Coordination Act gives States a voice where they
currently don't have one in crafting our national export
tragedy. Presently States are not represented on the Trade
Promotion Coordinating Committee, which is the primary board in
charge of determining our trade goals. This bill would give
them a seat at the table.
This bill will also better inform the Federal Government's
trade policy by having the Secretary of Commerce work with
States to develop individual State strategies and incorporate
those plans into the Federal strategy. States are one of the
most important actors in our trade discussions because they are
more able to account for their industries and resources than
the Federal Government. They also have a much clearer
understanding of the businesses in their economic landscape. By
including States in our trade discussions, we will facilitate
the selling of more American-made goods that in turn support
more American jobs.
I want to thank the chairman and those involved in this
legislation for considering the bill. I ask for its passage
immediately.
I yield back. Thank you.
Chairman Royce. I thank the gentleman.
Anyone else seeking recognition?
Karen Bass, Congresswoman.
Ms. Bass. Thank you, Chairman Royce and Ranking Member
Engel. Once again, I want to commend you on your leadership and
for moving today's bills through the committee.
While I offer my support to the legislation before the
committee, I did want to make specific reference to H.R. 1409,
the Export Promotion Reform Act, which I look forward to
cosponsoring.
As you are well aware, the Africa Subcommittee on several
occasions addressed the economic opportunities that exist
throughout the African Continent. We know that for more than a
decade now, six of the world's ten fastest-growing economies
have been found in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this fact being
referenced before this very committee by Secretaries of State
Clinton and Kerry, former Assistant Secretary for African
Affairs Johnny Carson and many others, there are only 7 foreign
commercial service officers for sub-Saharan Africa's 48
countries.
For a continent of over 1 billion people, where youth are
not only eager, but hungry to become global consumers, there is
a real need to reevaluate our engagement with Africa. We know
our strengths as a Nation and our private sector's comparative
advantage. More so than any other foreign investors, the added
significance of greater U.S. investment in the continent is
that many American companies have a well-earned reputation not
only for their products and services, but for their commitment
to the training of host-country nationals in management
training programs. This approach helps to address the youth
bulge experienced by many countries on the continent and speaks
to a growing partnership with Africa. And above all, increased
engagement with Africa will create jobs here in America.
Africa's economic growth can be mutually beneficial
opportunity, but only if we fully engage.
Thank you, and I yield back my time.
Chairman Royce. Thank you very much, Congresswoman. Do any
other members seek recognition?
Mr. Kinzinger.
Mr. Kinzinger. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to deeply thank you for taking up 2449 before the
full committee. This is an important measure that I am fully
support of its easy and timely passage.
For 60 years the alliance between the United States and the
Republic of Korea has brought stability, security, and
prosperity to the Korean Peninsula and to the Asian-Pacific
region. Recently the U.S.-Korean Free Trade Agreement has
demonstrated our mutual commitment of shared future economic
growth and prosperity. Trade between our countries totaled
around $100 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow
significantly in the coming years because of liberalized trade
between our two nations.
It is not to say that we don't face our challenges on the
Korean Peninsula and in the wider region. North Korea's nuclear
and ballistic missiles program and its repeated provocations
pose grave threats to the peace and stability of the area. The
international community must continue to insist that North
Korea adheres to its international obligations and commitments.
I would like to briefly discuss an extension of the
existing bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation agreement,
better known as the One-Two-Three. As an original cosponsor of
this bill, I fully support the 2-year extension that has been
agreed to in principle by negotiators from the U.S. and the
Republic of Korea. While substantial progress has been made by
the negotiators, more time is needed to properly complete a new
agreement that recognizes both our countries' status as global
leaders in nuclear energy. I agree with Assistant Secretary
Countryman's testimony that swift passage of this 2-year
extension would give both our countries confidence that
cooperation between our two Nations will continue smoothly. So
I encourage this committee and Congress to work quickly on
passing the 2-year extension.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.
Chairman Royce. Are other members seeking recognition?
Mr. Schneider.
Mr. Schneider. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the time.
I would also like to thank both the chair and ranking
member for working with me to include important language into
H.R. 1926 which will help to enhance promotion of exports from
States like Illinois into the global economy.
The Department of Commerce currently utilizes district
export councils to promote local companies abroad. The
Schneider amendment included in this underlying legislation
will encourage the Department of Commerce to further coordinate
their export promotion activities with State trade promotion
agencies in order to better harmonize resources and efforts to
stimulate global investment in local economies and
manufacturers.
The Schneider amendment will also help promote small
businesses which face particularly high barriers to engaging in
global commerce. The bill requires State trade promotion
agencies to survey how well exports from their States are being
advertised and coordinated with the Department of Commerce.
The amendment also explicitly includes manufacturers,
financial service firms, and veteran-owned businesses in a list
of companies promoted through the State-Federal partnership.
I applaud the efforts of Representative Chabot, Ranking
Member Engel, and Chairman Royce to bring this important
bipartisan legislation before the committee. I urge passage of
this bill, and I yield back my time.
Chairman Royce. Any other members seeking recognition on
the committee?
Without objection, then, and hearing no further requests,
the question occurs on agreeing to the items being considered
en bloc.
Madam Clerk, we are going to take the vote at this time.
All those in favor, say aye.
All those opposed, no.
In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the
items considered en bloc are agreed to.
Without objection, the measures agreed to en bloc, H.R.
2449; H.R. 1409, as amended; H.R. 1926, as amended; and Senate
bill 793, as amended, are ordered favorably reported to the
House, and staff are directed to make technical and conforming
changes.
Again, I want to thank Ranking Member Engel and all of our
committee members for their contributions and their assistance
with today's markup.
This committee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:38 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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