FDD Action Endorses Export Control Legislation Ahead of House Markup

Washington, D.C. — Ahead of a House Foreign Affairs Committee markup on April 22, FDD Action endorsed a bipartisan slate of 15 export control bills under consideration by the Committee. The endorsements reflect FDD Action’s long-standing support of legislative efforts to protect American technological innovation from adversaries like the People’s Republic of China.

“The United States is in a global AI arms race with the Chinese Communist Party. That’s why America’s cutting-edge chips and advanced technology should not power the AI systems that support China’s military and security state, especially at the expense of American innovators,” said Connor Pfeiffer, Senior Director of Government Relations at FDD Action. “FDD Action is proud to endorse the MATCH Act and 14 other export control bills that would strengthen U.S. national security and significantly enhance the protection of advanced American technology. We commend House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY) for holding this markup.”

Last week, FDD Action held a briefing call for congressional staff about why strengthening U.S. export controls is a critical national security priority for Congress. A readout of the call is available on FDD Action’s website.

The full list of bills endorsed by FDD Action is below.

Endorsed Legislation

• Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware Act (MATCH) Act (H.R. 8170), led by Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), closes the allied gap in semiconductor export controls by giving the Netherlands, Japan, and other allied chipmaking tool suppliers 150 days to match U.S. restrictions on exports to Chinese chipmakers. If allies fail to comply, the bill requires the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to extend U.S. jurisdiction over all allied chipmaking tools built with American technology.
• ECRA Statute of Limitations Extension (H.R. 8202), led by Reps. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) and Joaquin Castro (D-TX), extends the Export Control Reform Act of 2018’s statute of limitations from five to ten years for both civil and criminal violations.
• Export Control Enforcement and Enhancement Act (H.R. 8169), led by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), strengthens the Entity List process by establishing an expedited 30-day voting requirement for the End-User Review Committee on proposals to add, remove, or modify entity listings. It also mandates a presumption of denial for export licenses involving entities added under these new expedited procedures.
• Export Controls Enforcement Act (H.R. 4505), led by Reps. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) and Bill Huizenga (R-MI), strengthens enforcement of U.S. export controls by deploying export control officers to U.S. diplomatic posts to conduct inspections, prevent illegal diversion of sensitive technologies, and coordinate with foreign governments.
• BIS Strategic Talent Recruitment to Enhance National Guardrails for Technological Handling (STRENGTH) Act (H.R. 7003), led by Reps. Jefferson Shreve (R-IN) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), authorizes BIS to hire highly qualified technical experts — including semiconductor engineers, AI researchers, and cybersecurity analysts — outside normal civil service rules at competitive pay, filling critical expertise gaps at BIS.
• ECRA Penalty Increase Act (H.R. 5853), led by Rep. Keith Self (R-TX), strengthens deterrence against export control violations by increasing the transaction-based civil penalty cap from 2x to 4x the value of the transaction and raising the flat civil penalty ceiling from $300,000 to $1.2 million per violation.
• Addressing Dangerous Vulnerabilities in Exports and Research to Strategic Adversaries, Regimes, and Industrial Entities of Security Concern (ADVERSARIES) Act (H.R. 6331), led by Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), requires BIS’s Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services to study the “foreign person” loophole that allows Chinese companies to acquire U.S. technology through U.S.-based subsidiaries. It also requires the office to assess the national security risks posed by foreign adversary-controlled connected technologies operating within the United States.
• BIS IT Modernization Act (H.R. 4920), led by Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO) and Thomas Kean (R-NJ), directs BIS to upgrade technology systems with advanced data analytics, AI, and improved data-sharing capabilities to better detect illicit trade, shell companies, and other export control evasion schemes.
• Biological Intellectual Property Protection Act (H.R. 6624), led by Reps. Warren Davidson (R-OH) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), creates a new export control licensing requirement for transfers of synthetic DNA and RNA sequences to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, protecting sensitive U.S. biotechnology data from foreign adversaries seeking to steal American intellectual property for military or strategic purposes.
• Full AI Stack Export Promotion Act (H.R. 6996), led by Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), would facilitate the secure export of the full U.S. AI stack — the chips, software, and infrastructure that power AI systems — to trusted partners through diplomacy and industry consortia.
• Semiconductor Technology Resilience, Integrity, and Defense Enhancement (STRIDE) Act (H.R. 6058), led by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), directs the Secretary of State to engage in diplomacy to align U.S. and allied export controls across the full semiconductor supply chain, including manufacturing equipment, design tools, intellectual property transfers, and technical assistance. It also requires quarterly reporting by the Secretary to Congress on the status of multilateral engagement.
• Stop Stealing Our Chips Act (H.R. 6322), led by Reps. Thomas Kean (R-NJ) and Julie Johnson (D-TX), creates an export control whistleblower incentive program, offering 10-30% of fines collected when information leads to enforcement actions exceeding $1 million. The program will dramatically expand BIS’s ability to detect illicit chip diversion networks.
• Deterring American AI Model Theft Act (H.R. 8283), led by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), addresses the growing crisis of Chinese AI firms conducting “model extraction attacks” against U.S. frontier AI companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. The bill establishes a public “AI Model Extraction Attackers List” and makes perpetrators eligible for Entity Listing and blocking sanctions. It also closes a critical loophole through which China circumvents AI chip export controls by distilling U.S. closed-source models instead of training their own.
• Bureau of Industry and Security License Administration Enhancement Act (H.R. 8284), led by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), addresses multiple systemic challenges in the export control process, including by requiring BIS “is informed” letters to go through interagency review and clarifying the presumption of denial standard. It also reforms Technical Advisory Committees to better serve policymakers and requires a review of the Foundry Due Diligence rule.
• Interagency Coordination in Export Controls Act (H.R. 8036), led by Rep. James Baird (R-IN), allows the Departments of State, Defense, and Energy to directly propose new export control rules for a 30-day interagency vote, enabling faster responses to foreign adversary threats, with initial studies directed at ally exemptions and China’s military-civil fusion strategy.

FDD Action previously endorsed House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast’s AI OVERWATCH Act (H.R. 6875) and Rep. Bill Huizenga’s Chip Security Act (H.R. 3447). Both bills passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this year.

About FDD Action

FDD Action is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization that works directly with policymakers to advocate for a robust U.S. foreign policy — one that strengthens U.S. national security, does damage to America’s adversaries, and supports allies and partners. FDD Action serves as a trusted resource for congressional offices and executive branch policymakers navigating complex national security challenges, leveraging a team with decades of experience on Capitol Hill and in the policy arena.