CCRE Applauds House International Relations Committee for Passage of Dreier-Lofgren

Washington, D.C. -- The Computer Coalition for Responsible Exports (CCRE) today applauded the House International Relations Committee for approving important legislation that would help U.S. computer firms sell widely-available products overseas. The Committee approved H.R. 3680, a bill introduced by Reps. David Dreier (R-CA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), which would shorten the congressional waiting period from 180 days to 30 days before new regulations governing computer export controls can take effect.

"The Committee, led by Reps. Ben Gilman (R-NY) and Sam Gejdenson (D-CT), did an outstanding job. This bill will help bring U.S. export control laws into the 21st century," said Rhett Dawson, CCRE Co-Chairman and President of the Information Technology Industry Council. "Waiting six months before changes to computer export controls are made was properly seen by the Committee as an outdated policy."

As a next step, CCRE will be working for approval by the House Armed Services Committee. Current law requires a 180-day waiting period before updates to computer export control regulations can take effect.

"At the rate technology is advancing, the difference between a 30-day and 180-day waiting period could be the difference between winning and losing in important international markets," said Dan Hoydysh, CCRE Co-Chairman and Director of Trade Policy for Unisys. "We are grateful that the House International Relations Committee recognized this fact, and look forward to moving ahead in other committees to pass this important legislation this year."

"It is critical that the House Armed Services Committee follow suit and approve Dreier-Lofgren," said Ken Kay, Executive Director of CCRE. "A 30-day waiting period allows Congress plenty of time to review decisions to update export controls for widely available computers. In fact, Congress currently takes only 30 days to review changes to export controls for tanks, rockets and other weapons systems."

CCRE members include Apple Computer, Inc., Compaq Computer Corporation, Dell Computer Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM Corporation, Intel Corporation, NCR Corporation, SGI, Sun Microsystems, Inc., Unisys Corporation, the American Electronics Association (AEA), the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP), the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI).

For more information about CCRE and the issues surrounding export controls, visit the CCRE website at: www.ccre.net.