A legislative proposal, known as the "Enhancing National Frameworks for Overseas Critical Exports Act" (ENFORCE Act), has been introduced by a small congressional group led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas). The proposed legislation aims to update the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA) by granting the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) the authority to impose export controls on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies that could potentially threaten national security.
According to a press release from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, besides McCaul, the bill was also introduced on May 10 by Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.).
The bill's summary reveals that it would provide BIS—the agency responsible for approving or denying the export of goods and technologies with both commercial and military applications—with legal authority to implement "U.S. persons controls" on activities related to covered AI systems or other national security-related emerging technologies. For instance, this legislation could empower BIS to mandate U.S. AI labs to establish security checks before collaborating with AI labs associated with China’s military. It could also necessitate a license for exporting covered AI systems and other technologies.
McCaul said in the press release, "The U.S. government has the tools it needs to keep critical hardware with national security ramifications out of the hands of our adversaries’ militaries." He added, "But we don’t have those same clear tools to keep the software that powers advanced technologies—the AI systems themselves—from them. I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation that will close those loopholes. For far too long, the law has lagged behind technological advances. That stops today."
Krishnamoorthi also voiced his concerns in the press release, saying, "Without action, there is a grave possibility that a future cyber-attack on the American homeland could be enabled by AI technologies. Under current law, our national security community does not have the authority necessary to prevent the Chinese Communist Party, its military, and the companies they directly control, from acquiring AI systems that could aid future cyberattacks against the United States."
