Statement of Robert J. Lieberman Assistant Inspector General Department of Defense Before the Committee on Governmental Affairs United States Senate on Export Control Implementation Issues

摘要

The Office of Inspector General, DoD, strongly supports the enactment of a new Export Administration Act. This vital area deserves a comprehensive statutory framework that clearly prescribes the roles and responsibilities of all interested Departments and Agencies. We urge that legislation in this area provide to the Secretary of Defense the authority to ensure that national security concerns are carefully addressed in the dual-use export control process. The stakes involved in technology transfer decisions are apt to be very high for the applicants, the economy, foreign relations and national security. Therefore the process must provide for clear accountability, as much openness as is possible given that classified matters are often involved, and objectivity. It is vitally important that the process not be perceived as being inherently biased toward the agenda of any particular agency or faction within government. The best safeguard in that respect is a viable interagency dispute resolution process, applicable to all facets of the export control program and explicitly underpinned by a new Export Administration Act.