American Security Drone Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5125 To ban the Federal procurement of certain drones and other unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 15, 2019 Mr. GALLAGHER (for himself, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. YOHO, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. GREEN of Tennessee, and Ms. SPEIER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To ban the Federal procurement of certain drones and other unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Security 4 Drone Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) COVERED FOREIGN ENTITY.—The term 8 ‘‘covered foreign entity’’ means— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5125.IH H5125 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5125 IH (A) a covered entity (as determined by the 1 Secretary of Commerce); 2 (B) any entity that is subject to extrajudi- 3 cial direction from a foreign government, as de- 4 termined by the Director of National Intel- 5 ligence; 6 (C) any entity the Secretary of Homeland 7 Security, in coordination with the Director of 8 National Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, 9 and the Secretary of State, determines poses a 10 national security risk; 11 (D) any entity subject to influence or con- 12 trol by the Government of the People Republic 13 of China or the Communist Party of the Peo- 14 ple’s Republic of China, as determined by the 15 Secretary of Homeland Security; and 16 (E) any subsidiary or affiliate of an entity 17 described in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 18 (2) COVERED UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.—The 19 term ‘‘covered unmanned aircraft’’ means an un- 20 manned aircraft system and any related services and 21 equipment. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5125.IH H5125 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5125 IH SEC. 3. BAN ON PROCUREMENT OF FOREIGN OFF-THE- 1 SHELF DRONES AND UNMANNED AIRCRAFT 2 SYSTEMS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub- 4 sections (b) and (c), the head of an executive agency may 5 not procure any commercial off-the-shelf drone or covered 6 unmanned aircraft system manufactured or assembled by 7 a covered foreign entity, including any Original Equip- 8 ment Manufacturer flight controllers, radios, data trans- 9 mission devices, cameras, or gimbals manufactured in a 10 covered foreign country or by an entity domiciled in a cov- 11 ered foreign country. 12 (b) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 13 rity and the Secretary of Defense are exempt from the 14 restriction under subsection (a) if the operation or pro- 15 curement— 16 (1) is for the purposes of training, testing, or 17 analysis for— 18 (A) counter-UAS surrogate intelligence; 19 (B) electronic warfare; or 20 (C) information warfare operations; and 21 (2) is required in the national interest of the 22 United States. 23 (c) WAIVER.—The head of an executive agency may 24 waive the prohibition under subsection (a) on a case-by- 25 case basis with the approval of the Secretary of Homeland 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5125.IH H5125 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5125 IH Security or the Secretary of Defense and notification to 1 Congress. 2 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON OPERATION OF FOREIGN COM- 3 MERCIAL OFF-THE-SHELF DRONES AND 4 SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 5 (a) PROHIBITION.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 7 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 8 no Federal department or agency may operate a 9 commercial off-the-shelf drone or covered unmanned 10 aircraft system manufactured or assembled by a cov- 11 ered foreign entity. 12 (2) PHASE-IN PERIOD FOR EXISTING CON- 13 TRACTS.—The prohibition under paragraph (1) shall 14 not apply, during the 1-year period beginning on the 15 date of the enactment of this Act, to commercial off- 16 the-shelf drones and covered unmanned aircraft sys- 17 tems procured through a contract entered into be- 18 fore the date of the enactment of this Act. 19 (b) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 20 rity and the Secretary of Defense are exempt from the 21 restriction under subsection (a) if the operation or pro- 22 curement— 23 (1) is for the purposes of training, testing, or 24 analysis for— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5125.IH H5125 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5125 IH (A) counter-UAS surrogate intelligence; 1 (B) electronic warfare; or 2 (C) information warfare operations; and 3 (2) is required in the national interest of the 4 United States. 5 (c) WAIVER.—The head of an executive agency may 6 waive the prohibition under subsection (a) on a case-by- 7 case basis with the approval of the Secretary of Homeland 8 Security or the Secretary of Defense and notification to 9 Congress. 10 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 11 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 12 Homeland Security shall prescribe regulations to imple- 13 ment this section. 14 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR 15 PURCHASES AND OPERATION OF COMMER- 16 CIAL OFF-THE-SHELF DRONES AND UN- 17 MANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS FROM CHINA. 18 No Federal funds awarded through a contract, grant, 19 or cooperative agreement or otherwise made available may 20 be used to purchase a commercial off-the-shelf drone or 21 covered unmanned aircraft system, or a system to counter 22 unmanned aircraft systems, that is manufactured or as- 23 sembled by a covered foreign entity or in connection with 24 the operation of such a drone or system. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5125.IH H5125 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5125 IH SEC. 6. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT. 1 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact- 2 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 3 States shall submit to Congress a report on the amount 4 of commercial off-the-shelf drones and covered unmanned 5 aircraft systems procured by Federal departments and 6 agencies from covered foreign entities. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5125.IH H5125 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS