Professional and Technical Assistance to Exporting Act
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce.
Professional and Technical Assistance to Exporting Act - Declares the finding of the Congress that the expansion of this Nation's exports is urgently needed to enable the United States to carry out its international responsibilities, to finance imports, to stimulate domestic employment, and to permit the pursuit of policies fostering beneficial interantional trade. Defines the terms used in this Act. Defines the term "international trade specialist" as meaning an individual who has academic training and private professional experience in international trade either in the broad disciplines of trade administration or experience with individual industries and who is employed pursuant to this Act. Establishes within the Department of Commerce and in its field offices an International Trade Specialist Program. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to recruit, train, and assign such personnel to the program as may be necessary to implement the purposes of this Act, except that the number of such personnel shall not exceed three in each field office, and shall not exceed one hundred for the entire program. Provides that each international trade specialist appointed under this Act shall have had at least five years of executive level experience in private industry directly related to exporting products from the United States. Provides that any individual who is or who has been a career employee of the United States shall be ineligible for an appointment under this Act for a period of five years following the date of his separation from employment by the United States. Directs the Secretary to conduct an evaluation of the program carried out under this Act and transmit a report to the Congress not later than three years after the date of enactment of this Act. Requires that such report shall include information on the recruitment, training, and placement of personnel, the export expansion programs under which such personnel operated, data on increased exports in terms of dollar amounts and quantity of shipments, and recommendations with respect to the program's continuation. Authorizes, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act related to such program, the appropriation of an amount not to exceed $3,500,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1975, and not to exceed $3,500,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1976. Requires the Secretary to establish and implement a procedure within the Bureau of the Census of the Department of Commerce to insure that each shipper's export declaration contains the address (including the State) of the exporter. Requires total exports for each State to be compiled in a monthly report for each of the field office areas established under this Act. Authorizes to be appropriated an amount not to exceed $175,000 for each of the fiscal years ending June 30, 1975, and June 30, 1976, for the purpose of a pilot project encompassing the exports of not less than 8 States for not less than 6 months. Requires an evaluation of the measurement program established under this Act to be carried out by the Office of Field Operations, Department of Commerce, in cooperation with its field offices. Requires that, not later than eighteen months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit a report on such evaluation to the Congress including therein information on the implementation of such procedures, an analysis of results, and recommendations as to improvements, or discontinuation of the program. Provides that in order to carry out the purposes of this Act related to such evaluation, there are authorized to be appropriated an amount not to exceed $500,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1976.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 21, 1974. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 21, 1974: Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
WILLIAM BROCK (R-TN) introduced it on March 21, 1974, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 4 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 21, 1974, 19166 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19166 days ago, on March 21, 1974.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers