HR8289-119

What This Bill Does

The BIS Licensing Efficiency Act of 2026 responds to statutory and regulatory expectations that export license decisions should be transparent, timely, and generally resolved within 30 to 90 days. It states that long BIS license delays create uncertainty for U.S. exporters and domestic manufacturers, can cause lost business to foreign companies, and harm the U.S. economy. The bill adds a licensing timeline requiring the Commerce Secretary to make a licensing decision and notify the applicant within 90 days where possible. If no decision is made within 120 days, Commerce must notify the applicant of application status, the reason for delay, and any additional information needed. It states that licensing officers with relevant subject-matter expertise play an essential role in license reviews. Within 90 days and quarterly thereafter, Commerce must report to congressional committees on license applications and other authorization requests, including total submissions, status categories, approvals, denials, returns without action, average and median processing times, processing times by end-user country, Export Control Classification Number, and transaction type, interagency referrals to State, Defense, and Energy, and applications pending for at least 90 days with reasons for delay. GAO must begin an audit within 90 days and report within one year on whether licensing decisions in the prior calendar year were expeditious and what bottlenecks affected timing.

Who Benefits and How

U.S. exporters benefit from clearer status notices, delay explanations, and processing-time transparency. Domestic manufacturers benefit if faster licensing reduces lost business to foreign competitors. BIS licensing officers benefit from statutory recognition of subject-matter expertise in reviews. Congressional export-control committees benefit from quarterly processing reports and a GAO audit. Export compliance teams benefit from country, ECCN, and transaction-type processing data. GAO auditors benefit from a defined audit mandate on BIS bottlenecks.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Commerce Secretary and BIS licensing staff must track 90-day decisions, issue 120-day delay notices, collect status categories, produce quarterly reports, and explain delays. Interagency reviewers at State, Defense, and Energy face more visibility when applications are referred to them. BIS data staff must calculate average and median processing times by country, ECCN, and transaction type. GAO must start and complete the licensing-process audit. Applicants with incomplete submissions may be asked for additional information. Sensitive license applicants may still face delays but with more formal explanations.

Key Provisions

• States congressional concern that BIS license delays harm exporters, manufacturers, technology leadership, supply chains, and oversight.
• Requires Commerce to make license decisions within 90 days where possible.
• Requires 120-day status notices explaining delay reasons and requested additional information.
• Provides that subject-matter expert licensing officers play an essential role in reviews.
• Requires quarterly reports on application volume, status, outcomes, processing times, referrals, and 90-day delays.
• Requires GAO to audit BIS license review timing and bottlenecks within one year.