U.S. Congressmen Patrick J. Kennedy, D-RI and Adam Smith, D-WA are seeking to speed up the review process of the sale of U.S. high-powered computers. According to current law, Congressional review of high-powered computer exports must wait six months.
But Kennedy and Smith have sent a letter to Congressman Floyd Spence, R-SC, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee asking for a 30-day review to streamline the process.
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”This current six-month lag in our policy is obsolete and puts our computer industry at a clear disadvantage,” Kennedy said. “We must realize that this industry rolls out a new generation personal computer every three months. To delay product delivery may result in irrecoverable market losses for U.S. companies.”
On June 22, seventy-nine members of Congress sent a letter to President Clinton urging him to relax export controls. Recognizing the need to calibrate the policy, the President proposed a revision to U.S. export controls on computers on July 1, 1999.
The President submitted a report to Congress that justifies and spells out the proposed revisions. Any adjustment of the licensing threshold must wait 180 days before taking effect.
“Changing the review period from six months to one month is not a question of national security, rather it is about eliminating unnecessary red tape,” said Smith. “Right now, Congress spends 30 days to review foreign sales of an F-16 fighter plane, and 45 days to review an entire military installation closure. “I think we can determine whether or not we can export a Macintosh PC in 30 days.”
