Promoting Rural Exports Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 295 To establish the Rural Export Center, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 31, 2019 Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. HOEVEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Hous- ing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To establish the Rural Export Center, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Rural Ex- 4 ports Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Rural businesses are often located far from 8 information clusters and major transportation cor- 9 ridors. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S295.IS S295 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 295 IS (2) Because of their location, rural businesses 1 face higher barriers to accessing international mar- 2 kets. 3 (3) A dedicated Rural Export Center within the 4 United States and Foreign Commercial Service pro- 5 viding business- and product-specific support can 6 help companies in the United States looking to ex- 7 port their products. 8 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RURAL EXPORT CENTER. 9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 11 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 12 Commerce and Director General of the United 13 States and Foreign Commercial Service appointed 14 pursuant to section 2301(a)(2) of the Export En- 15 hancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(a)(2)). 16 (2) COMMERCIAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Com- 17 mercial Service’’ means the United States and For- 18 eign Commercial Service established under section 19 2301(a)(1) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 20 (15 U.S.C. 4721(a)(1)). 21 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RURAL EXPORT CEN- 22 TER.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S295.IS S295 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 295 IS Secretary shall establish a Rural Export Center (in 1 this section referred to as the ‘‘Center’’) for the pur- 2 pose of providing businesses located in rural areas in 3 the United States with resources to help those busi- 4 nesses export their products. 5 (2) LOCATION OF THE CENTER.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall be es- 7 tablished at an office of the Commercial Service 8 in the United States in existence before the 9 date of the enactment of this Act. 10 (B) CRITERIA FOR SELECTING LOCA- 11 TION.—In selecting a location for the Center, 12 the Assistant Secretary shall give preference— 13 (i) based on expertise and operations 14 at Commercial Service offices that support 15 rural businesses exporting to new markets 16 before the date of the enactment of this 17 Act; and 18 (ii) to such offices not located in 19 major metropolitan areas. 20 (C) LOCATION OF STAFF.—Any researcher 21 or staff directly supporting the operation of the 22 Center shall be primarily based at the Center. 23 (c) EXPORT CENTER OPERATIONS.— 24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S295.IS S295 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 295 IS (A) provide in-depth, customized, and ac- 1 tionable market research services that— 2 (i) a business may opt into based on 3 need; and 4 (ii) are— 5 (I) focused on actionable and 6 measurable results for a business; 7 (II) business- and product-spe- 8 cific; 9 (III) targeted to not more than 3 10 international markets; 11 (IV) based on high-quality data, 12 including data from international 13 trade association subscription data- 14 bases; and 15 (V) based on market analysis and 16 export services of the Commercial 17 Service available before the date of 18 the enactment of this Act, including 19 the Rural America’s Intelligence Serv- 20 ice for Exporters program; and 21 (B) conduct strategic planning and export 22 support services for rural businesses as needed. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S295.IS S295 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 295 IS (2) MEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESS.—To meas- 1 ure the effectiveness of the Center, the Center shall 2 collect and make available data on— 3 (A) the number of businesses that sign up 4 for market research assistance; 5 (B) the number of export assistance serv- 6 ices a business engages in following the re- 7 search assistance, including— 8 (i) trade shows; 9 (ii) trade missions; and 10 (iii) other services facilitated by the 11 Center; and 12 (C) the total monetary value of exports fa- 13 cilitated by the services provided by the Center. 14 (3) WEBSITE FOR THE CENTER.—The Center 15 shall maintain an internet website that includes— 16 (A) data collected by the Center; 17 (B) best practices for rural businesses be- 18 ginning to evaluate export opportunities; and 19 (C) appropriate contact information for 20 staff at the Center. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Feb 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S295.IS S295 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS