BIS STRENGTH Act to Expand Technical Staffing for Export Controls

Reps. Jefferson Shreve (R-IN) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) on Jan. 9 introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening the technical workforce of the Bureau of Industry and Security, addressing concerns about bureau's capacity to enforce export controls.

The measure, titled the Bureau of Industry and Security Strategic Talent Recruitment to Enhance National Guardrails for Technological Handling Act, or BIS STRENGTH Act, would grant the Commerce Department new authority to recruit and retain highly specialized technical experts to support licensing and enforcement activities.

“Export controls only work if we have the experts to enforce them,” Shreve said in a statement announcing the bill. He argued that adversaries have exploited gaps in U.S. enforcement capacity, adding that “China and other foreign adversaries are racing to acquire advanced American technologies, and BIS must have the technical talent needed to keep pace.”

Under the legislation, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security would be authorized to appoint up to 25 specialized personnel outside traditional civil-service hiring constraints. The bill allows for competitive compensation to attract experts with advanced technical, scientific, and engineering backgrounds critical to evaluating complex technologies subject to export controls.

The bill text states that the intent is to ensure BIS has “the technical expertise necessary to effectively carry out export control, enforcement, and national security responsibilities” as technologies grow more sophisticated and supply chains more opaque.

Kamlager-Dove said the proposal reflects bipartisan concern that staffing shortages undermine enforcement. “Protecting our national security requires that our government agencies are equipped with the right people and the right expertise,” she said, according to the joint release.

The legislation comes amid heightened congressional scrutiny of BIS’s role in restricting technology transfers to China and other countries of concern, and follows recent House action to increase BIS funding through the annual appropriations process. 

January 8, the House advanced a "minibus"  funding FY26 appropriations for  Energy and Water Development, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Interior-Environment programs, which included increased funding for BIS by $44 million. 

The BIS STRENGTH Act has been referred to committee for further consideration.