BIS asks Congress for major enforcement expansion to bolster export controls

Under Secretary Kessler told the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is requesting a large budget increase to expand enforcement capacity, hire additional specialized staff and equip investigators.

"It's time for BIS to have the resources that it needs to do its job and keep America safe," Under Secretary Kessler said, outlining hiring and overseas staffing goals.

Kessler described concrete personnel targets tied to the requested funding. He said the bureau would be able to hire "almost 200 export enforcement special agents stationed across the United States" and more than double the number of overseas export control officers (ECOs) from 12 to 30. He told lawmakers the budget would also support specialized engineers and technical experts who assist enforcement teams in assessing whether licenses were required for exports that have already occurred.

A number of members pressed Kessler for detail on how the funds would be spent and for performance metrics. Representative Johnson asked for the Commerce Department's formal congressional budget justification and questioned what specific outcomes BIS would commit to achieve with the requested increase. Kessler said the bulk of the increase would fund personnel and that some funds would go to equipment for enforcement officers, naming items such as service vehicles, bulletproof vests and firearms.

Members also flagged workforce strain and turnover. Kessler acknowledged personnel losses but said the agency still has the capacity to operate and that additional resources would let BIS detect and prevent more wrongdoing. He said BIS currently handles thousands of license applications per month and that the agency's enforcement apparatus is small relative to the scope of global trade it must oversee.

Representative Meeks and Representative Johnson separately told Kessler that the committee had not yet received the Commerce Department's detailed budget justification; Kessler said he would follow up if documents remained outstanding. Meeks said the lack of a formal justification made it difficult to vet BIS's request.

Why it matters: BIS enforcement underpins U.S. controls on semiconductors, AI-related products and other technologies that lawmakers identify as critical to national security. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle asked for more detail about how the additional funds would be used and for time lines or metrics tied to the spending.

Kessler urged congressional support for increased resources and emphasized international coordination as essential for effective controls, saying that multilateral alignment prevents foreign backfilling of supply chains that might otherwise undercut U.S. export restrictions.

Looking ahead, Kessler agreed to work with the committee on specifics about hiring authorities and enforcement priorities if Congress provides the requested budget increases.