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WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, who represents Bastrop County and serves as chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has introduced legislation to modernize the country’s missile technology export control.
The bill, known as the Missile Technology Control Revision Act, is designed to remove regulatory barriers that the local representative says are hindering defense cooperation with key allies.
“The Chinese Communist Party is working at lightning speed to advance its military apparatus— and it does not play fair,” McCaul said in a statement. “This act empowers the United States and its allies to meet that generational challenge head-on by removing burdensome red tape.”
The legislation proposes changes to the Arms Export Control Act of 1976, aiming to streamline the process of sharing missile- related technologies with allied nations such as Australia and the United Kingdom, according to McCaul. It would allow for expedited defense trade with select countries and end the policy of “presumption of denial” for certain missile technologies with NATO members and other strategic partners.
McCaul argues that the Missile Technology Control Regime, first signed in 1987, has unintentionally hampered U.S. competitiveness and slowed collaboration with countries that adhere to its guidelines.
The lawmaker cited the growing military capabilities of China and Russia as examples of how adversaries continue to export missile technologies with fewer constraints.
