II
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3218
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 22, 2012
Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Ms. Ayotte) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
A BILL
To improve the coordination of export promotion programs and to facilitate export opportunities for small businesses, and for other purposes.
Short title; table of contents
Short title
This Act may be cited
as the Small Business Export Growth
Act of 2012
.
Table of contents
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—Improved coordination of export promotion programs
Sec. 101. Consolidation of duplicative export promotion activities; information about trade missions and trade fairs.
Sec. 102. Clarification of roles of members of Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee.
Sec. 103. Representative of State agencies on Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee.
Sec. 104. Reports to Congress with respect to activities of Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee.
Sec. 105. Report on improvements to Export.gov as a single window for export information.
Sec. 106. Report on developing a single window for information about export control compliance.
TITLE II—Facilitation of export opportunities for small businesses
Sec. 201. Definitions.
Sec. 202. Promotion of exporting.
Sec. 203. Small business export matchmaking pilot program.
Sec. 204. Export control education.
Sec. 205. Small business inter-agency task force on export financing.
Sec. 206. Availability of State resource guides on Export.gov.
Improved coordination of export promotion programs
Consolidation of duplicative export promotion activities; information about trade missions and trade fairs
In general
Section 2312(b) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(b)) is amended—
in paragraph (4),
by inserting , including by identifying opportunities to consolidate or
co-locate offices of agencies involved in such activities
after
export financing activities
;
in paragraph (5)—
by inserting
, including the use and coordination of electronic databases,
after the appropriate levels and allocation of resources
;
and
by striking
; and
and inserting a semicolon;
by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and
by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
to the maximum extent practicable, provide a detailed listing of current and future Federal and State-led trade missions, trade fairs, and related activities to ensure better delivery of services to United States businesses; and
.
Availability of information
The Secretary of Commerce shall make available the information on Federal and State-led trade missions, trade fairs, and related activities described in paragraph (6) of section 2312(b) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988, as added by subsection (a)(4) of this section, on the website Export.gov or a successor website.
Clarification of roles of members of Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee
Section 2312(c) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(c)) is amended—
by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6) as paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (8), respectively;
by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
with respect to export promotion and export financing activities of each department or agency that is a member of the TPCC—
clearly identify and explain the role of the department or agency; and
describe the goals and objectives of the department or agency and explain the rationale for measuring and reporting on those goals and objectives;
;
in paragraph (5) (as redesignated)—
by inserting
and Congress
after the President
; and
by striking
paragraph (3)
and inserting paragraph (4)
;
in paragraph (6)
(as redesignated), by striking ; and
and inserting a
semicolon;
by inserting after paragraph (6) (as redesignated) the following:
include any recommendations of the Comptroller General of the United States that relate to coordination of the TPCC and departments and agencies that are members of the TPCC; and
; and
in paragraph (8)
(as redesignated), by striking United States National Tourism
Organization
and inserting United States Travel
Association
.
Representative of State agencies on Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee
Section 2312(d) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(d)) is amended—
by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
Representative of State agencies
In addition to the members specified in paragraph (1), there shall be one member of the TPCC that represents State agencies with responsibility for export promotion and export financing.
.
Reports to Congress with respect to activities of Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee
Section 2312(f) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(f)) is amended to read as follows:
Reports to Congress
Reports by TPCC
The chairperson of the TPCC shall prepare and submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than March 30 of each year, a report that—
describes the strategic plan developed by the TPCC pursuant to subsection (c), the implementation of such plan, and any revisions thereto; and
describes the implementation of sections 303 and 304 of the FREEDOM Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5823 and 5824) concerning funding for export promotion activities and the interagency working groups on energy of the TPCC.
Reports by Inspector General of Department of Commerce
In general
The Inspector General of the Department of Commerce shall prepare and submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than March 30 of each year, a report on the extent to which—
the TPCC is successfully carrying out the duties described in subsection (b); and
the strategic plan described in subsection (c) is being implemented successfully.
Consultation
In preparing the report required under subparagraph (A), the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce shall, to the maximum extent practicable, consult with the inspector general of each other Federal department or agency that is a member of the TPCC.
Appropriate congressional committees defined
In this subsection, the term appropriate congressional committees means—
the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Small Business, and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
.
Report on improvements to Export.gov as a single window for export information
In general
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of International Trade of the Small Business Administration shall, after consultation with the entities specified in subsection (b), submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report that includes the recommendations of the Director for improving the experience provided by the website Export.gov (or a successor website) as—
a comprehensive resource for information about exporting articles from the United States; and
a single website for exporters to submit all information required by the Federal Government with respect to the exportation of articles from the United States.
Entities specified
The entities specified in this subsection are—
small business concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)) that are exporters; and
the President's Export Council, State agencies with responsibility for export promotion or export financing, district export councils, and trade associations.
Report on developing a single window for information about export control compliance
In general
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report assessing the benefits of developing a website to serve as—
a comprehensive resource for complying with and information about the export control laws and regulations of the United States; and
a single website for exporters to submit all information required by the Federal Government with respect to export controls.
Appropriate congressional committees defined
In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means—
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives.
Facilitation of export opportunities for small businesses
Definitions
In this title—
the terms Administration and Administrator mean the Small Business Administration and the Administrator thereof, respectively;
the term region of the Administration has the meaning given that term in section 3(u) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(u)); and
the term small business concern has the meaning given that term under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
Promotion of exporting
Section 22(c)(11) of
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(c)(11)) is amended by inserting ,
which shall include conducting not fewer that 1 outreach event each fiscal year
in each State that promotes exporting as a business development opportunity for
small business concerns
before the semicolon.
Small business export matchmaking pilot program
Pilot program established
The Administrator shall establish a pilot program to conduct, in each region of the Administration, matchmaking events that are designed to facilitate contact between small business concerns and potential foreign buyers or international clients.
Program
The Administrator—
shall conduct at least 1 matchmaking event in each region of the Administration each year; and
may hold a matchmaking event in coordination with an outreach event required under section 22(c)(11) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(c)(11)), as amended by section 202 of this Act.
Sunset
The authority of the Administrator under this section shall terminate on September 30, 2015.
Export control education
Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649) is amended—
by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection (m); and
by inserting after subsection (k) the following:
Export control education
The Associate Administrator shall ensure that all programs of the Administration to support exporting by small business concerns place a priority on educating small business concerns about Federal export control regulations.
.
Small business inter-agency task force on export financing
The Administrator, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation shall jointly establish a Small Business Inter-Agency Task Force on Export Financing to—
review and improve Federal export finance programs for small business concerns; and
coordinate the activities of the Federal Government to assist small business concerns seeking to export.
Availability of State resource guides on Export.gov
The Secretary of Commerce shall make available on the website Export.gov (or a successor website) information on the resources relating to export promotion and export financing available in each State—
organized by State; and
including information on State agencies with responsibility for export promotion or export financing and district export councils and trade associations located in the State.