18 May 2000
(Supporters of 30-day review still have a chance) (490) By Bruce Odessey Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would reduce the period Congress has to review changes in performance thresholds for controls on exports of high-performance computers to about 50 countries. The provision, an amendment to a defense authorization bill, was passed by a 415-8 vote May 18. It would reduce from 180 to 60 days the time Congress has to overturn an administration decision raising the threshold for U.S. exports to a group called Tier III countries, which includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Israel. The House was scheduled to vote on the underlying bill later in the day. The amendment represents a compromise. The computer industry and its supporters wanted a 30-day review, a position also long held by the Clinton administration. They argued that 180 days nearly exceeds the their products' shelf life. Among the opponents to a 30-day review were Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee. They had prevailed in 1997 when Congress passed the existing 180-day requirement; Congress acted following reports that U.S. advanced computers were diverted to China and Russia. Supporters of a 30-day review could prevail in the Senate. Even in the House, supporters could still press also for passage of a stand-alone bill for a 30-day review that was approved 31-0 in April by the House International Relations Committee. For any version to become law it must win final passage in the House and Senate and get the signature of President Clinton. "We have to recognize that the computer industry in this country is constantly re-creating itself," Representative David Dreier, the California Republican who sponsored the bill, said in May 17 debate. "It is not just happening in this country; it is happening throughout the rest of the world," Dreier said. "The current export policy regime structure that we have is really out of step with the changes that have taken place." Representative Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who co-sponsored the 30-day bill, expressed "severe disappointment" with the 60-day compromise. "The current policy is disastrous," Lofgren said. "This amendment that is before us is, in fact, an improvement over current policy, but it is far short of what we could have done." In February President Clinton announced a decision to raise the Tier III threshold on computer exports subject to congressional review from 6,500 million theoretical operations per second (MTOPS) to 12,500. Under the 180-day review that change will not take effect until August. Tier III includes India, Pakistan, China, Vietnam and the countries of the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and Maghreb, and some countries in Central Europe. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)