H.R. 8202, a bill to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to provide for a ten-year statute of limitations for export control violations

August 27, 2026

Cost Estimate

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on April 22, 2026

At a GlanceH.R. 8202, a bill to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to provide for a ten-year statute of limitations for export control violationsAs ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on April 22, 2026
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars		2026	2026-2031	2026-2036
Direct Spending (Outlays)		0	0	0
Revenues		0	5	10
Increase or Decrease (-) in the Deficit		0	-5	-10
Spending Subject to Appropriation (Outlays)		0	5	10
Increases net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037?	No	Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply?		Yes
	No	Mandate Effects
Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037?	No	Contains intergovernmental mandate?		No
	No	Contains private-sector mandate?		No
The bill would Extend the statute of limitations for enforcement of civil penalties for export control violations from 5 years to 10 years
Estimated budgetary effects would mainly stem from Increasing collections of civil penalties Investigating and prosecuting additional export control violations
Areas of significant uncertainty include Estimating the number of additional penalties that would be imposed and collected

Bill Summary

H.R. 8202 would amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to permit the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to enforce civil penalties for export control violations up to 10 years after a violation. Under current law, the statute of limitations for civil enforcement of export control violations is 5 years.

Estimated Federal Cost

The estimated budgetary effects of H.R. 8202 are shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within budget function 050 (national defense).

Table 1. Estimated Budgetary Effects of H.R. 8202
	By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033	2034	2035	2036	2026-2031	2026-2036
	Increases in Revenues
Estimated Revenues	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	5	10
	Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation
Estimated Authorization	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	5	10
Estimated Outlays	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	5	10

Basis of Estimate

For this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted in fiscal year 2027.

Revenues

H.R. 8202 would extend the statute of limitations for enforcement of civil penalties under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 from 5 years to 10 years. Such penalties are recorded in the budget as revenues. Most civil penalties that BIS imposes are nonmonetary, such as the temporary denial of export privileges. Also, the statute of limitations infrequently impedes enforcement action by BIS. Thus, CBO anticipates that extending the statute of limitations would increase monetary penalties imposed by a small amount—or 1 percent each year.

Over the 2019-2025 period, BIS collected an annual average of about $70 million in civil penalties for violations of the Export Control Reform Act. CBO estimates that extending the statute of limitations would increase those collections by $10 million over the 2026-2036 period.

Spending Subject to Appropriation

CBO expects that investigating and prosecuting additional export control violations under the longer statute of limitations would increase the workload of BIS by the equivalent of three full-time employees, or about 1 percent of the bureau’s current workforce for enforcement of export controls. Using information from BIS, CBO estimates that annual salary and benefits for each employee would average about $250,000. In total, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 8202 would cost $5 million over the 2026-2031 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.