Senator Hassan Leads Hearing on Strengthening National Security Through Export Control Enforcement

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Chair of the Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight Subcommittee, led a bipartisan U.S. Senate hearing yesterday focused on strengthening the enforcement of export controls, which protect national security and prevent our adversaries from acquiring American-developed technology. This hearing builds on the bipartisan Export Controls Enforcement Improvement Act that Senator Hassan introduced with U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) earlier this week.

"By breaking our export control laws and acquiring sensitive U.S. technologies, our adversaries can grow their military and cyber capabilities," said Senator Hassan. "It's incumbent on Congress to ensure the effectiveness of actions taken by the executive branch, especially as it relates to interagency coordination."

The hearing featured Eun Young Choi, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice; Kevin J. Kurland, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, U.S. Department of Commerce; and James R. Mancuso, Assistant Director, Global Trade and Investigations Division, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

At the hearing, the Department of Commerce announced new export controls on additional Chinese and Emirati companies.

"We continue to aggressively use our entity list to prevent China from getting access to key technologies," said Mr. Kurland. "There are over 800 Chinese companies already on the entity list, in addition to six that we're adding tomorrow, they were announced this morning - four of which are involved with providing AI chips to China's military modernization programs, they're going on the list tomorrow, in addition to two additional parties along with UAE counterparts that were providing components to Russia and Iranian UAV [drone] programs."

Senator Hassan followed up on this later in the hearing, emphasizing the importance of understanding "what these entities are doing - because that obviously informs us on what the next steps are and how we can be helpful."

Senator Hassan also asked Ms. Choi about the Department of Justice's plans to address the support of two United Arab Emirates firms of Russia's and Iran's drone programs. "Is DOJ considering embedding personnel in hotspots for export control evasion like the UAE?" asked Senator Hassan. "And if so, does the strike force need additional resources or authorities to do that?"

Ms. Choi expressed the importance of additional resources for developing relationships with international partners.

The hearing focused on how effective enforcement of export controls can prevent adversaries like China, Iran, and Russia from acquiring advanced technologies for dangerous purposes. In 2022, Russia used Iranian drones that contained American parts to attack Ukraine and kill innocent civilians. There have also been reports of foreign adversaries attempting to gain access to sensitive American technology by purchasing it illegally through third parties. Hassan and witnesses shared the importance of cooperation with our allies and the private sector to strengthen enforcement efforts, as well as the need for additional resources and personnel.

The hearing was part of Senator Hassan's ongoing efforts to strengthen national security by toughening our export controls and sanctions enforcement. Last summer, Senator Hassan introduced a bipartisan bill to sanction illicit purchases of Iranian oil and hold enablers of the regime accountable, and recently, Senator Hassan pressed the Department of Defense on its apparent purchase of sanctioned Russian oil.

You can watch the full hearing here.

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