,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bie  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,january #ca1       
#bjai,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself and   
,mr4 ,hoeven7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1
 and ,urban ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to    
establish the ,rural ,export ,center1   
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,promoting ,rural ,exports ,act of      
#bjai4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds   
the following3 7#a7 ,rural businesses   
are often located far from information  
clusters and major transportation       
corridors4  7#b7 ,because of their      
location1 rural businesses face higher  
barriers to accessing international     
markets4  7#c7 ,a dedicated ,rural      
,export ,center within the ,united      
,states and ,foreign ,commercial        
,service providing business- and        
product-specific support can help       
companies in the ,united ,states looking

 to export their products4  #c4         
,establishment of the ,rural ,export    
,center  7a7 ,definitions ,in this      
section3 7#a7 ,assistant ,secretary ,the
 term ,assistant ,secretary means the   
,assistant ,secretary of ,commerce and  
,director ,general of the ,united       
,states and ,foreign ,commercial        
,service appointed pursuant to section  
#bcja7;a77#b7 of the ,export            
,enhancement ,act of #aihh 7#ae         
,u4,s4,c4 #dgba7;a77#b774  7#b7         
,commercial ,service ,the term          
,commercial ,service means the ,united  
,states and ,foreign ,commercial        
,service established under section      
#bcja7;a77#a7 of the ,export            
,enhancement ,act of #aihh 7#ae         
,u4,s4,c4 #dgba7;a77#a774  7b7          
,establishment of the ,rural ,export    
,center  7#a7 ,in general ,not later    
than #a year after the date of the      
enactment of this ,act1 the ,assistant  
,secretary shall establish a ,rural     
,export ,center 7in this section        

referred to as the ,center7 for the     
purpose of providing businesses located 
in rural areas in the ,united ,states   
with resources to help those businesses 
export their products4  7#b7 ,location  
of the ,center  7,a7 ,in general ,the   
,center shall be established at an      
office of the ,commercial ,service in   
the ,united ,states in existence before 
the date of the enactment of this ,act4 
7,b7 ,criteria for selecting location   
,in selecting a location for the        
,center1 the ,assistant ,secretary shall
 give preference-- 7i7 based on         
expertise and operations at ,commercial 
,service offices that support rural     
businesses exporting to new markets     
before the date of the enactment of this
 ,act2 and  7ii7 to such offices not    
located in major metropolitan areas4    
7,c7 ,location of staff ,any researcher 
or staff directly supporting the        
operation of the ,center shall be       
primarily based at the ,center4  7c7    
,export ,center operations  7#a7 ,in    

general ,the ,center shall-- 7,a7       
provide in-depth1 customized1 and       
actionable market research services     
that--  7i7 a business may opt into     
based on need2 and  7ii7 are--  7,i7    
focused on actionable and measurable    
results for a business2  7,,ii7         
business- and product-specific2  7,,iii7
 targeted to not more than #c           
international markets2  7,,iv7 based on 
high-quality data1 including data from  
international trade association         
subscription databases2 and  7,v7 based 
on market analysis and export services  
of the ,commercial ,service available   
before the date of the enactment of this
 ,act1 including the ,rural ,america's  
,intelligence ,service for ,exporters   
program2 and  7,b7 conduct strategic    
planning and export support services for
 rural businesses as needed4  7#b7      
,measure of effectiveness ,to measure   
the effectiveness of the ,center1 the   
,center shall collect and make available
 data on--  7,a7 the number of          

businesses that sign up for market      
research assistance2  7,b7 the number of
 export assistance services a business  
engages in following the research       
assistance1 including--  7i7 trade      
shows2  7ii7 trade missions2 and  7iii7 
other services facilitated by the       
,center2 and  7,c7 the total monetary   
value of exports facilitated by the     
services provided by the ,center4  7#c7 
,website for the ,center ,the ,center   
shall maintain an internet website that 
includes-- 7,a7 data collected by the   
,center2  7,b7 best practices for rural 
businesses beginning to evaluate export 
opportunities2 and  7,c7 appropriate    
contact information for staff at the    
,center4