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H.R. 4233 · House bill · 119th Congress
This bill expedites review processes for the export of certain defense articles and services to Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and Canada.
Specifically, the bill exempts from certain congressional notification requirements the export or transfer of defense articles or services subject to the defense trade partnership between Australia, the UK, and the United States (AUKUS). (Under current law, exports and transfers of defense articles and services to Australia and the UK are exempt from certain export controls pursuant to AUKUS. Separately, approvals of certain commercial agreements and the export of certain defense articles, services, and equipment are generally subject to congressional notification requirements and a waiting period.) Under the bill, exports and transfers that are exempt from export controls pursuant to AUKUS are also exempt from these congressional notification requirements.
Further, the bill requires the Department of State to periodically review the list of defense articles and services excluded from AUKUS to ensure it includes only items that (1) are required by statute to be included, or (2) require licensing review for national security reasons.
Finally, the bill explicitly states that the existing expedited review process for applications to export certain commercial, advanced-technology defense articles and services to Australia, the UK, and Canada is available to all exports and transfers, including reexports, retransfers, temporary imports, and brokering activity. Such exports and transfers must take place wholly within or between the territory of these countries or the United States.
This Act may be cited as the “AUKUS Reform for Military Optimization and Review Act” or the “ARMOR Act”.
It is the sense of Congress that the President should work with the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia to formulate policy that would address matters of extraterritoriality, which may present inefficiencies in defense repair, maintenance, and sustainment among Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States for defense articles and services not on the excluded technology list.
(a) Expansion of expedited review of export licenses.—
(1) In general.— Section 1344(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (22 U.S.C. 10423(c)) is amended—
(A) by striking “classified and unclassified items, and the process” and inserting “classified and unclassified items, and apply to all exports and transfers (including reexports, retransfers, temporary imports, and brokering activities),wholly within or between the geographic territory of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, or the United States, and the process”; and
(B) in paragraph (1), by striking “Any licensing application to export defense articles and services” and inserting “Any licensing application to transfer, export, reexport, retransfer, temporarily import, or broker defense articles and services wholly within or between the geographic territory of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, or the United States”.
(2) Report.—
(A) In general.— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 15 years, the President shall submit to the Chairpersons and Ranking Members of the appropriate congressional committees, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Majority Leader of the Senate a report with respect to the use of the expedited review process established by section 1344 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (22 U.S.C. 10423), that includes the following:
(i) An update on the progress made toward implementing such expedited review process.
(ii) The number of licenses issued.
(iii) A list of each principal applicant issued a license.
(iv) A list of defense articles and services for which a license was issued.
(B) Appropriate congressional committees defined.— In this paragraph, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(b) Clarification of congressional notification requirement.— Section 38(l)(2) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778(l)(2)) is amended by striking “the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.” and inserting “the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The congressional notification requirements of subsections (c) and (d) of section 36 shall not apply with respect to the export or transfer of defense articles or defense services subject to the exemption described in this paragraph.”
(c) Requirement To review excluded technologies list.—
(1) In general.— The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall review, annually for the covered period, and every 3 years thereafter, Supplement No. 2 to part 126 of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (parts 120–130 of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations)(commonly known at the “Excluded Technologies List”) to ensure inclusion of only those items required by statute, or otherwise determined by such Secretaries, to require continued licensing review for national security reasons.
(2) Covered period defined.— In this subsection, the term “covered period” means the 5-year period beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.