Yesterday, The Cable brought you the announcement that House Foreign Affairs ranking Democrat Howard Berman (D-CA) was unveiling his new comprehensive legislation to reform the way the U.S. regulates the export of sensitive and dual-use technologies abroad.

Today, we bring you the draft version (PDF) of the competing legislation being circulated by committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). The draft was obtained by The Cable but has not been finalized or released. A note from committee staff stated that Ros-Lehtinen plans to introduce this bill as early as next week.

"This bill to revise and amend the Export Administration Act of 1979 (EAA), will have a significant positive effect on the protection of U.S. national security," reads a fact sheet (PDF) that Ros-Lehtinen's staff sent around with the draft legislation. "The EAA has been in lapse since 2001. The bill represents a significant step by the Congress to assist the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Department of Commerce, in achieving its mission of advancing U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic objectives by ensuring an effective export control system and promoting continued U.S. strategic technology leadership."

Read about some of the key provisions after the jump:

• Reauthorizes the EAA:  the bill extends the Act through 2015, and provides the Department of Commerce with enhanced enforcement tools in the fight against terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction for three years. 

• Increases penalties: the criminal penalty amounts have been increased to $1,000,000 per violation and/or imprisonment for not more than 20 years, for each violation by an individual, and $5,000,000 or up to 10 times the value of the exports involved, whichever is greater, per corporate violation. The civil penalty amounts have been increased to $250,000 for each violation. The increased penalty amounts are commensurate with those under IEEPA.[1]

• Strengthens Foreign Policy Controls on State Sponsors of Terrorism: by adding requirements to section 6(j)(4)(B) relating to nonproliferation and requiring that the government of a country designated as a state sponsor of terrorism must not have sponsored acts of international terrorism for thirty-six months prior to its removal from that list.

• Helps small business and allied interoperability by allowing generic parts and components currently regulated by the Department of State on the United States Munitions List (USML) to be regulated differently than more sensitive defense items while still safeguarding U.S. national security.

• Enhances Congressional oversight over the regulation and enforcement of controls on dual-use exports by requiring the Department of Commerce to provide appropriate information to the Congress and by strengthening current audit and reporting requirements.

• Protects against excessive regulation through expanded Congressional oversight provisions and General Accountability Office