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FEDERALhearing transcript
High Impact

Senate Hearing on 2019 Trade Agency Funding and Tariff Impact

Original title: COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019

January 1, 2017

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The Frame

What this does

The hearing addresses how federal trade agencies are allocating resources between supporting small business exports and managing the administrative burden of processing tariff exemption requests for steel and aluminum.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Small businesses

Small businesses face increased administrative requirements to apply for tariff exemptions and reduced access to agency support for finding new export markets.

Federal trade agencies

These agencies are managing shifting budget priorities and a high volume of tariff-related administrative tasks.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2017.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing to review the 2019 budget requests for the International Trade Administration, the Bureau of Industry and Security, and the U.S. International Trade Commission. Senators and agency officials discussed how these agencies are managing increased workloads related to new trade tariffs and the impact of these policies on American businesses.

Key Facts

  • The Bureau of Industry and Security requested a fiscal year 2019 budget of $120 million, an increase of $7 million over 2018 levels.
  • The administration requested lower funding for the International Trade Administration and the U.S. International Trade Commission for fiscal year 2019 compared to 2018 enacted levels.
  • The Senate subcommittee's proposed 2019 bill includes funding levels for these agencies higher than the President's request.
  • The Bureau of Industry and Security is responsible for investigating import effects on national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1963.
  • Staff at the International Trade Administration and the Bureau of Industry and Security have been reassigned from small business assistance to processing tariff exemption requests.
  • The U.S. International Trade Commission maintains the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
  • The subcommittee discussed the impact of proposed tariffs on approximately $200 billion worth of Chinese products.
  • The hearing addressed concerns regarding the transparency and potential political influence in the steel and aluminum tariff exemption process.

Why It Matters

The hearing addresses how federal trade agencies are allocating resources between supporting small business exports and managing the administrative burden of processing tariff exemption requests for steel and aluminum.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are trade agencies shifting staff away from small business assistance?
According to testimony, staff are being redirected to handle the high volume of tariff exemption requests resulting from recent steel and aluminum tariffs.
What is the role of the Bureau of Industry and Security?
The Bureau manages U.S. export controls, treaty compliance, and investigates the impact of imports on national security.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Lobbying Activity

AARP

$4,110,000

2026

HEALTH ISSUESMEDICARE/MEDICAIDLAW ENFORCEMENT/CRIME/CRIMINAL JUSTICEPHARMACY

P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 8867, Planning for Long-term Aging Needs (PLAN) Act H.R. 5861, Legacy Act of 2025 H.R. 9393, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. H.R. 9396, the Prior Authorization Accountability Act. S. 4916, the Aging with Artificial Intelligence Act. H.R. 8100, Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act. S. 3886, Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act. H.R. 6766/S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. H.R. 7966/S. 4118, Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. S. 2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 H.R. 5575, the Firefighters Assisting Seniors to Emergency Response (FASTER) Act of 2025. H.R. 3954/S. 4641, Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act. H.R.5554/S.2831, Stand Strong for Medicare Act. S. 3439/H.R. 6735, Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act and efforts related to the bill S. 1227/H.R. 2491, Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act S. 668/H.R. 3183, Supporting Access to Falls Education and Prevention and Strengthening Training Efforts and Promoting Safety Initiatives (SAFE STEPS) for Veterans Act of 2025 CMS-1851-P, Hospice Proposed rule. CMS-1843-P, Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed rule. CMS-1844-P, Home Health Proposed rule. No bill number. Health care transparency. No bill number. Discussed use of artificial intelligence and health data technology. No bill number. Discussed health-related policies and activities around the fall respiratory virus season. No bill number. Discussed health insurance affordability proposals. No bill number. Discussed Nursing Home staffing standards, safety, and quality. No bill number. Discussed Nursing home transparency and ownership requirements. No bill number. Discussed home health, hospice, and long-term care. No bill number. Discussed falls prevention. No bill number. Discussed social isolation. No bill number. Discussed HUD Assisted Living Requirements No bill number. Discussed family caregiving. No bill number. Discussed AARP paper on Medicare Caregiver Training Services. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid community engagement interim final rule, including the family caregiver exemption. No bill number. Discussed the paid direct care workforce in long-term care. No bill number. Discussed the unaffordability of long-term care. No bill number. Discussed Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and Medicaid HCBS spousal impoverishment protections. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid fraud and family caregivers, Medicaid self-direction programs. No bill number. Discussed sandwich generation family caregiver hearing and submitted a statement for the record discussing family caregivers and sandwich generation caregivers, programs that support them, AARP caregiving resources, and federal policies to support sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers more broadly. No bill number. Discussed long-term care. No bill number. CMS-2453-NC; Medicaid Program; 2028 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set Submitted comments No bill number. Discussed expanding access to home care. No bill number. Discussed the increasing cost of home care No bill number. Discussed HSA use for telehealth chronic care management services/subscriptions. No bill number. Discussed artificial intelligence and technology

Sponsors

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Resource Reallocation

Federal trade agencies have shifted staff from export promotion to tariff exemption processing, impacting services for small businesses.

Connected Entities

organizationBureau of Industry and SecurityFederal agency managing export controls and national security investigationsMap →
personAshoohAssistant Secretary for Export Administration at the BISMap →
personNazak NikakhtarAssistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis at the ITAMap →
personDavid S. JohansonChairman of the U.S. International Trade CommissionMap →
personJerry MoranChairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related AMap →
organizationInternational Trade AdministrationFederal agency responsible for trade strategy and export promotionMap →
organizationUnited States International Trade CommissionIndependent agency administering trade remedy lawsMap →
personJeanne ShaheenRanking Member of the subcommitteeMap →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance75
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy65
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment20
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz40
    Current news / social attention level

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