Washington, DC -- Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY-05), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Jeffrey Kessler, the Under Secretary for Industry and Security at the Department of Commerce, demanding that the Department of Commerce turn over information required by statute regarding the Administration’s intention to approve the sale of advanced AI chips to China despite the significant military application potential of this technology.
The lawmakers made the request pursuant to the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA). Under ECRA, the Department of Commerce must provide any information obtained in administering the Export Administration Regulations upon the request of the chairman or ranking minority member of the appropriate committee or subcommittee. This includes license applications, as well as license approvals, conditions, and supporting evidence that provide the basis for a licensing decision.
Ranking Members Meeks and Warren underscored that the requested information is essential given the significant national security implications of allowing the sale of advanced chips to China. “In ECRA, Congress stated the policy of the United States is ‘to restrict the export of items which would make a significant contribution to the military potential of any other country,'” wrote the Democratic lawmakers. “Approving licenses for items like NVIDIA’s H200 chips, which the Justice Department recently described as ‘integral to modern military applications,’ would be deeply at odds with the policy that Congress articulated in ECRA.”
The lawmakers continued: “The President directing you to approve licenses of the H200 falls within a deeply concerning pattern that undercuts our nation’s security. Just last month, you approved the export of tens of thousands of advanced AI chips, worth an estimated $1 billion, to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, despite significant concerns about these countries’ human rights records and their close relationships with the PRC.”
The lawmakers request information on the Administration’s decision to allow the export of H200s to China be provided to Congress by January 12, 2026. The lawmakers also called for Under Secretary Kessler to provide a briefing before the lawmakers’ committees before any H200 license is approved for export.