Congress·In Progress·H.R. 5853

To amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to increase the civil penalties that may be imposed under such Act.

Export Control: Higher Fines for Illegal Exports

Apr 22·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A house committee

This bill is currently in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. It moved forward on April 21, 2026, when the committee voted to report it to the full House. The bill is actively moving through the legislative process.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Could go either way

This bill has support from key leaders in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, but it still needs to go through the full legislative process and gain support in the Senate.

Key Points

This bill would significantly increase the fines that companies or individuals have to pay if they break rules about exporting goods from the United States.
The maximum fine for a single violation would jump from $300,000 to $1.2 million. If the value of the illegal shipment is very high, the fine could be four times the value of that shipment instead of just two times.
These rules are meant to keep sensitive technology and products out of the hands of foreign adversaries. By making the fines much higher, lawmakers hope to discourage companies from taking risks with national security.
The new, higher fines would only apply to illegal actions that happen after the bill is signed into law. It would not punish people or businesses for things they did in the past.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

3 milestones4 actions

Apr 22, 2026House

Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 44 - 0.

The committee approved this bill and is sending it to the full chamber for a vote. This is a significant step — most bills never get this far.

Apr 22, 2026House

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

Oct 28, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Oct 28, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

To amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to increase the civil penalties that may be imposed under such Act.

Bill NumberHR 5853

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionOrdered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 44 - 0.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(2)

R: 2

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.