,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bdef  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bd1     
#bjbe ,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself1 ,mr4
 ,hoeven1 ,ms4 ,smith1 and ,mr4 ,cramer7
 introduced the following bill2 which   
was read twice and referred to the      
,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and   
,urban ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to         
establish rural export centers1 and for 
other purposes4  #a4  ,short title      
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,promoting ,rural ,exports ,act of      
#bjbe4  #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 ,national   
,rural ,export ,center within the       
,united ,states and ,foreign ,commercial
 ,service1 and regional rural export    
centers1 providing business- and        

product-specific support can help       
companies in the ,united ,states looking
 to export their products4  #c4         
,establishment of rural export centers  
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 ,national ,rural  
,export ,center  7#a7  ,in general  ,not
 later than #ahj days after the date of 
the enactment of this ,act1 the         

,assistant ,secretary shall establish a 
,national ,rural ,export ,center 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 ,national ,rural ,export ,center 
7,a7  ,in general  ,the ,national ,rural
 ,export ,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 ,national ,rural ,export ,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 ,national ,rural ,export ,center 
shall be primarily based at the         
,national ,rural ,export ,center4  7c7  
,establishment of regional rural export 
centers  7#a7  ,in general  ,not later  
than #a year after the date of the      
enactment of this ,act1 the ,assistant  
,secretary shall establish not more than
 #i regional rural export centers for   
the purposes of providing businesses    
located in rural areas within their     
regions with resources to help those    
businesses export their products4  7#b7 
,subordination  ,the programs1          
activities1 and expenditures of the     
regional rural export centers shall be  
subordinate to and delegated by the     
,national ,rural ,export ,center4  7d7  
,export ,center operations  7#a7  ,in   
general  ,the ,national ,rural ,export  
,center and regional rural export       
centers 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 based on high-quality data1     
including data from international trade 
association subscription databases2 and 
7,,iv7 based on market analysis and     
export services of the ,commercial      
,service available before the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 including   
the ,rural ,export ,center ,research    
,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 ,national      
,rural ,export ,center and regional     
rural export centers1 the centers 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 ,commercial ,service2 and  7,c7 the
 total monetary value of exports        
facilitated by the services provided by 
the centers4  7#c7  ,websites  ,the     
,national ,rural ,export ,center and    
each regional rural export 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