[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2988 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2988
To amend the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to enhance awareness of
export promotion activities with respect to clean energy and
environmental products and services of the United States, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 21, 2011
Mr. Berman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to enhance awareness of
export promotion activities with respect to clean energy and
environmental products and services of the United States, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Green Export Promotion and Job
Creation Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO EXPORT ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 1988.
(a) In General.--Subtitle C of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988
(15 U.S.C. 4721), relating to export promotion, is amended by adding at
the end the following new section:
``SEC. 2315. PROMOTION OF EXPORTS OF CLEAN AND EFFICIENT ENERGY AND
ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.
``(a) Public Directory for Foreign Buyers.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary of Commerce, acting
through the Under Secretary for International Trade, shall, in
cooperation with the relevant Federal departments and agencies,
establish a directory accessible through a public Web site for
foreign buyers to identify United States manufacturers and
service providers that are prepared to export products and
services in the following areas:
``(A) Clean and efficient energy generation,
distribution, and use.
``(B) Remediation of air and water pollution.
``(C) Water supply.
``(D) Sanitation.
``(E) Solid waste disposal.
``(F) Chemical and hazardous waste treatment and
containment.
``(G) Equipment and services for testing,
monitoring, and analysis with respect to any area
described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (F), or
otherwise with respect to environmental hazards.
``(2) Requirements.--The directory established under
paragraph (1) shall--
``(A) include a mechanism for United States
businesses to register for inclusion in the directory,
and for the United States Government to ascertain the
location in the United States and the legitimacy of
such businesses;
``(B) include a summary of the products and
services provided by each registered United States
business;
``(C) provide contact information for each United
States business in the database;
``(D) be searchable by industry, business name,
product, or service, or by a combination of keywords;
and
``(E) be updated regularly.
``(3) Submission of implementation plan to congress.--Not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
section, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a detailed plan for
establishing and maintaining the directory required by
paragraph (1), including plans for the operation, content,
maintenance, and functionality of the directory. The plan
submitted under this paragraph shall include a detailed
implementation schedule for the directory, and plans for a
public awareness campaign to be conducted by the Secretary to
provide consumer awareness of the directory.
``(4) Date of initial availability.--Not later than 18
months after the date on which the Secretary submits the plan
required by paragraph (3), the Secretary of Commerce shall
establish the directory required by paragraph (1).
``(5) Government promotion.--The Secretary of Commerce
should promote awareness and use of the directory established
under this subsection in the United States and Foreign
Commercial Service and in United States missions and posts
abroad.
``(b) Governmental Database on Foreign Sales Opportunities.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary of Commerce shall, in
cooperation with the relevant Federal departments and agencies,
establish a database accessible only to United States
Government personnel, that identifies potential sales
opportunities abroad for United States manufacturers and
service providers that are prepared to export products and
services in the areas described in subsection (a)(1).
``(2) Requirements.--The database established under
paragraph (1) shall--
``(A) include a mechanism for United States
businesses to subscribe to the database;
``(B) establish a mechanism for United States
Government personnel to enter information regarding
foreign business opportunities described in paragraph
(1) into the database;
``(C) provide a summary of the products or services
desired by each foreign buyer;
``(D) provide information that will allow a
subscriber to the system to contact the foreign buyer
or the person who entered the information into the
database;
``(E) be searchable by location, industry, company
name, product, or service, or by a combination of
keywords;
``(F) be able to transmit regular updates on
potential sales opportunities to database subscribers,
including the ability for subscribers of the system to
be able to customize the type of information they
receive; and
``(G) be updated regularly.
``(c) Monitoring and Evaluation of United States Export Promotion
With Respect to Clean and Efficient Energy and Environmental Products
and Services.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce shall develop
and implement a rigorous system to evaluate the effectiveness
and efficiency of United States export promotion activities
with respect to clean and efficient energy and environmental
products and services.
``(2) Components of system.--In order to avoid duplication,
ensure comprehensive coverage, promote high and uniform
standards, and facilitate comparability of results and the
development of a strong body of evidence, the system required
under paragraph (1) shall include--
``(A) a method of coordinating monitoring and
evaluation activities among all Federal agencies
carrying out United States export promotion activities
with respect to clean and efficient energy and
environmental products and services;
``(B) a survey of business customers that receive
export promotion services from the United States
Government;
``(C) small- and medium-sized businesses that
receive export promotion services from the United
States Government and, of such businesses, those that
export products and services for the first time; and
``(D) a process for consulting with the private
sector and subject matter experts, as appropriate, on
the planning, design, and implementation of evaluation
activities and dissemination of evaluation findings
under this subsection.
``(3) Required actions.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Secretary of Commerce shall establish, through the Trade
Promotion Coordinating Committee, standards for the following
actions with respect to the export promotion activities with
respect to clean and efficient energy and environmental
products and services that are engaged in by any Federal
agency:
``(A) Establishing measurable and meaningful
performance objectives, including--
``(i) exports by small- and medium-sized
businesses;
``(ii) businesses that become first-time
exporters;
``(iii) newly accessed markets; and
``(iv) number of new registrants to receive
export promotion services.
``(B) Establishing criteria for the selection of
programs, projects, and activities to be subject to
various evaluation methodologies, with a particular
emphasis on impact evaluation.
``(C) Establishing or designating an organizational
unit at the Department of Commerce with adequate staff
and resources to oversee and provide technical support
for appropriate evaluation activities.
``(D) Through the Trade Promotion Coordinating
Committee, developing a plan for improving the capacity
of the agency to conduct rigorous and objective program
monitoring and evaluation, including by--
``(i) expanding relevant education and
training opportunities;
``(ii) encouraging the adoption of improved
methodologies for data collection and analysis;
and
``(iii) ensuring that best practices are
shared within and between agencies.
``(E) Establishes a process for applying the
findings and results of monitoring and evaluation
activities, including impact evaluation research, into
future program planning, budgeting, design, and
implementation.
``(F) Establishes a policy for the publication of
program evaluations.
``(G) Develops, in consultation with relevant
stakeholders, as appropriate, an annual evaluation plan
that describes how the agency will meet the
requirements of this section.
``(4) Submission of evaluation plans.--The President shall
ensure that the evaluation plans required by paragraph (3)(G)
are submitted to the appropriate congressional committees each
year along with the annual budget submitted under section 1105
of title 31, United States Code, and are published on a
Government Web site.
``(d) Cooperation With the International Renewable Energy Agency.--
The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State,
shall work with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to
identify countries that have received or are in the process of
receiving assistance from IRENA that improve the deployment and
adoption of renewable energy in such country in order to promote United
States exports in clean and efficient energy and environmental products
and services to that country.
``(e) Report to Congress.--Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the Secretary
of Commerce shall transmit a report to Congress on the implementation
of this section. Such report shall include--
``(1) a description of the activities undertaken during the
preceding year;
``(2) the results of the monitoring and evaluation programs
under subsection (c) during the preceding year; and
``(3) the operations of the public directory established
under subsection (a) and the governmental database established
under subsection (b) during the preceding year.
``(f) GAO Report on Effectiveness of U.S. Export Promotion.--
``(1) Initial report.--Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this section, the Comptroller General
shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees containing--
``(A) a baseline analysis that compares the scope
of effectiveness of United States export promotion
activities with respect to clean and efficient energy
and environmental products and services with those of
other major trade competitors; and
``(B) recommendations on how United States export
promotion activities described in subparagraph (A) can
be strengthened to counteract foreign government
competition.
``(2) Subsequent report.--Not later than two years after
the date of the enactment of this section, the Comptroller
General shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees containing--
``(A) an assessment of the overall effectiveness of
United States export promotion activities with respect
to clean and efficient energy and environmental
products and services and a comparison to the baseline
analysis conducted in paragraph (1);
``(B) an assessment of the ability of the Trade
Promotion Coordinating Committee to coordinate United
States export promotion activities described in
subparagraph (A);
``(C) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the
monitoring and evaluation system established under
subsection (c); and
``(D) recommendations for improving the
coordination and implementation of United States export
promotion activities described in subparagraph (A).
``(g) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `appropriate congressional committees' means
the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs in the Senate; and
``(2) the term `product' includes technology.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents of the Omnibus
Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 2314 the following new item:
``Sec. 2315. Promotion of exports of clean and efficient energy and
environmental products and services.''.
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