Don Manzullo Celebrates Victory in Federal Bureaucracy Fight

One of the things that legislators spend lots of time on is trying to make bureaucracies act rationally.

16th district United States Congressman Don Manzullo reports on a victory for the aircraft manufacturing industry over the State Department below:

Manzullo Hails Administration’s Action to End Confusion for U.S. Aerospace Suppliers, Create Jobs

(WASHINGTON) Congressmen Don Manzullo (R-Egan) today thanked the Administration for its decision to resolve confusion within the government’s export control process that impedes U.S. manufacturers of civil aircraft, parts and components from selling their goods overseas.

The State Department issued a final rule today that confirms the Commerce Department’s authority over Section 17(c) of the Export Administration Act (EAA) of 1979. Manzullo had been working for the past year to convince the Administration to clarify the 17(c) rules.

Since the EAA expired in 2001, the U.S. Department of State, which has jurisdiction over exports of military items, has refused to recognize 17(c).

As a result, manufacturers of American aircraft, parts and components have incurred significant costs trying to interpret State Department regulations that could classify their products, by definition rather than by any performance standard, as military items.

Airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and their first-tier suppliers on down are making their own suppliers contractually liable if their products are classified as military items.

Classification of a product as a military item results in significant licensing and compliance requirements that can affect its use and the operation of any aircraft in which it is installed.

“Thousands of American jobs depend on the ability of the U.S. aerospace industry to assure its customers they are selling essentially commercial, non-sensitive products, and the uncertainty surrounding this interagency dispute threatened those jobs,” said Manzullo, who co-chairs the Export Controls Working Group with Reps. Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).

“Today’s final rule ends the confusion, reduces the liability and makes it easier four American manufacturers to sell their goods overseas and create jobs.”


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