Tech Non-Profit Urges OMB to Reverse BIS Funding Cut
The Trump administration should reverse a planned $20 million funding cut for the Bureau of Industry and Security, which will hamper the agency’s ability to enforce export controls and weaken American technology competitiveness, a tech policy non-profit said this week.
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Americans for Responsible Innovation, an advocacy group focusing on policymaking for artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, said BIS “plays an indispensable role in protecting U.S. national security,” and any funding cuts to the agency would be shortsighted.
“Given the gravity of this situation, we urge you to reconsider these reductions and restore full funding to BIS,” the group said in a March 31 letter to Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget. “Adequately resourcing BIS is essential not only to safeguard national security but also to maintain America's global leadership in technology innovation and secure our economic and strategic future.”
The funding cut is part of the Trump administration’s broader cut of programs that lawmakers have said are vital to national security (see 2503270005 and 2503260050). Americans for Responsible Innovation said the work of BIS is “more critical now than ever,” especially because of the “escalating technological competition and security threats” by China and Russia. It also pointed to the importance of export controls in placing restrictions on advanced AI chips, and said BIS also helps “enable essential public-private partnerships, establish influential global technology standards, and strengthen the resilience of U.S. technological infrastructure” against competitors.
It also said the agency’s workload has expanded “dramatically” in recent years, especially as it tries to tackle new controls on AI technology (see 2503200002), and it can’t afford any funding cuts. The group said BIS is “already severely underfunded relative to its mandates” and needs more employees, adding that the agency has just two export control officers for all of China.
“The recent emergency spending cuts exacerbate this issue, slashing more than $20 million from BIS’s already limited budget -- totaling over 10 percent of the agency’s funding,” the non-profit said. “This magnitude of reduction significantly impedes BIS's ability to effectively execute its critical mission, weakening the United States' capacity to address growing national security threats and diminishing our technological edge.”
An OMB spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.