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119-s-5379119th Congress

BIS STRENGTH Act

Sponsored By: Senator Husted, Jon [R-OH]

Introduced

Summary

Temporary, capped authority for BIS to hire experts outside the civil service. This bill would let the Under Secretary recruit outside specialists to fill hard-to-staff technical gaps that slow BIS’s export-control work.

Show full summary
  • BIS gets a formal process to diagnose and fix skill shortfalls through an annual diagnostic study that identifies where uncommon expertise is missing.
  • The Under Secretary could appoint up to 25 non-civil-service experts at any time for terms up to five years, and set pay up to the senior-level maximum plus locality pay, with a ceiling tied to the Vice President’s total annual compensation.
  • The bill requires annual reports to specified congressional committees on identified gaps, hires, qualifications, and mission impact, and it preserves background checks, ethics rules, and conflict-of-interest protections.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Outside hires for export controls

This bill would let the Under Secretary for Industry and Security hire up to 25 people at the Bureau of Industry and Security from outside the civil service to fill special technical gaps. Each appointment would last up to five years and basic pay could be set up to the senior-level cap plus locality pay, but no appointee could receive more total annual pay than the Vice President. The authority would begin on enactment and end five years later. The Under Secretary would have to do an initial study and yearly studies and report within 180 days and annually to the Senate Banking Committee, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, House Oversight Committee, and House Foreign Affairs Committee about identified gaps, hires, qualifications, responsibilities, and long-term staffing needs. Hires would still require background checks and follow federal ethics and conflict-of-interest rules, and incumbents serving the day before the authority ends could continue without a pay cut while they keep serving.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Husted, Jon [R-OH]

OH • R

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA]

    VA • D

    Sponsored 8/7/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
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