# 119-s-5379: BIS STRENGTH Act

119-s-5379, BIS STRENGTH Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Husted, Jon [R-OH] (R-OH); status introduced (as of 2026-08-27).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5379
- As of: 2026-08-27
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5379
- Congress: 119
- Title: BIS STRENGTH Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-08-07
- Sponsor: Sen. Husted, Jon [R-OH] (R-OH)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-27

## 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. - 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.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] (D-VA), 2026-08-07T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Outside hires for export controls: benefit, low. 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 locali…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-s-5057: Safeguarding Against Fabricated Exploitation Through Artificial Intelligence Act of 2026
- 119-s-1639: American Innovation and Jobs Act
- 119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025
- 119-s-237: Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-5379 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5379)

## Related
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1541)
- [119-s-5057: Safeguarding Against Fabricated Exploitation Through Artificial Intelligence Ac…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5057)
- [119-s-1639: American Innovation and Jobs Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1639)
- [119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1241)
- [119-s-237: Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-237)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5379 (as of 2026-08-27).