Safeguarding the Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1631 To enhance the authority granted to the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice with respect to unmanned aircraft systems and unmanned aircraft, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 16, 2023 Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON, Ms. SINEMA, and Mr. HOEVEN) in- troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To enhance the authority granted to the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice with re- spect to unmanned aircraft systems and unmanned air- craft, 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 ‘‘Safeguarding the 4 Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft 5 Systems Act of 2023’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1631 IS SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND DE- 1 PARTMENT OF JUSTICE UNMANNED AIR- 2 CRAFT SYSTEM DETECTION AND MITIGATION 3 ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY. 4 Subtitle A of title II of the Homeland Security Act 5 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121 et seq.) is amended by striking 6 section 210G (6 U.S.C. 124n) and inserting the following: 7 ‘‘SEC. 210G. PROTECTION OF CERTAIN FACILITIES AND AS- 8 SETS FROM UNMANNED AIRCRAFT. 9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 ‘‘(1) The term ‘air navigation facility’ has the 11 meaning given the term in section 40102(a) of title 12 49, United States Code. 13 ‘‘(2) The term ‘airport’ has the meaning given 14 the term in section 47102 of title 49, United Sates 15 Code. 16 ‘‘(3) The term ‘appropriate committees of Con- 17 gress’ means— 18 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 19 and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on 20 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and 21 the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; 22 and 23 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Homeland Secu- 24 rity, the Committee on Transportation and In- 25 frastructure, the Committee on Oversight and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1631 IS Accountability, the Committee on Energy and 1 Commerce, and the Committee on the Judiciary 2 of the House of Representatives. 3 ‘‘(4) The term ‘budget’, with respect to a fiscal 4 year, means the budget for that fiscal year that is 5 submitted to Congress by the President under sec- 6 tion 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code. 7 ‘‘(5) The term ‘covered facility or asset’ means 8 any facility or asset that— 9 ‘‘(A) is identified as high-risk and a poten- 10 tial target for unlawful unmanned aircraft or 11 unmanned aircraft system activity by the Sec- 12 retary or the Attorney General, or by the chief 13 executive of the jurisdiction in which a State, 14 local, Tribal, or territorial law enforcement 15 agency designated pursuant to subsection (d)(2) 16 operates after review and approval of the Sec- 17 retary or the Attorney General, in coordination 18 with the Secretary of Transportation with re- 19 spect to potentially impacted airspace, through 20 a risk-based assessment for purposes of this 21 section (except that in the case of the missions 22 described in clauses (i)(II) and (iii)(I) of sub- 23 paragraph (C), such missions shall be presumed 24 to be for the protection of a facility or asset 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1631 IS that is assessed to be high-risk and a potential 1 target for unlawful unmanned aircraft or un- 2 manned aircraft system activity); 3 ‘‘(B) is located in the United States; and 4 ‘‘(C) directly relates to 1 or more— 5 ‘‘(i) missions authorized to be per- 6 formed by the Department, consistent with 7 governing statutes, regulations, and orders 8 issued by the Secretary, pertaining to— 9 ‘‘(I) security or protection func- 10 tions of U.S. Customs and Border 11 Protection, including securing or pro- 12 tecting facilities, aircraft, and vessels, 13 whether moored or underway; 14 ‘‘(II) United States Secret Serv- 15 ice protection operations pursuant to 16 sections 3056(a) and 3056A(a) of title 17 18, United States Code, and the Pres- 18 idential Protection Assistance Act of 19 1976 (18 U.S.C. 3056 note); 20 ‘‘(III) protection of facilities pur- 21 suant to section 1315(a) of title 40, 22 United States Code; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1631 IS ‘‘(IV) transportation security 1 functions of the Transportation Secu- 2 rity Administration; or 3 ‘‘(V) the security or protection 4 functions for facilities, assets, and op- 5 erations of Homeland Security Inves- 6 tigations; 7 ‘‘(ii) missions authorized to be per- 8 formed by the Department of Justice, con- 9 sistent with governing statutes, regula- 10 tions, and orders issued by the Attorney 11 General, pertaining to— 12 ‘‘(I) personal protection oper- 13 ations by— 14 ‘‘(aa) the Federal Bureau of 15 Investigation as specified in sec- 16 tion 533 of title 28, United 17 States Code; or 18 ‘‘(bb) the United States 19 Marshals Service as specified in 20 section 566 of title 28, United 21 States Code; 22 ‘‘(II) protection of penal, deten- 23 tion, and correctional facilities and 24 operations conducted by the Federal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1631 IS Bureau of Prisons and prisoner oper- 1 ations and transport conducted by the 2 United States Marshals Service; 3 ‘‘(III) protection of the buildings 4 and grounds leased, owned, or oper- 5 ated by or for the Department of Jus- 6 tice, and the provision of security for 7 Federal courts, as specified in section 8 566 of title 28, United States Code; 9 or 10 ‘‘(IV) protection of an airport or 11 air navigation facility; 12 ‘‘(iii) missions authorized to be per- 13 formed by the Department or the Depart- 14 ment of Justice, acting together or sepa- 15 rately, consistent with governing statutes, 16 regulations, and orders issued by the Sec- 17 retary or the Attorney General, respec- 18 tively, pertaining to— 19 ‘‘(I) protection of National Spe- 20 cial Security Events and Special 21 Event Assessment Rating events; 22 ‘‘(II) the provision of support to 23 a State, local, Tribal, or territorial law 24 enforcement agency, upon request of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1631 IS the chief executive officer of the State 1 or territory, to ensure protection of 2 people and property at mass gath- 3 erings, that is limited to a specified 4 duration and location, within available 5 resources, and without delegating any 6 authority under this section to State, 7 local, Tribal, or territorial law en- 8 forcement; 9 ‘‘(III) protection of an active 10 Federal law enforcement investigation, 11 emergency response, or security func- 12 tion, that is limited to a specified du- 13 ration and location; or 14 ‘‘(IV) the provision of security or 15 protection support to critical infra- 16 structure owners or operators, for 17 static critical infrastructure facilities 18 and assets upon the request of the 19 owner or operator; 20 ‘‘(iv) missions authorized to be per- 21 formed by the United States Coast Guard, 22 including those described in clause (iii) as 23 directed by the Secretary, and as further 24 set forth in section 528 of title 14, United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1631 IS States Code, and consistent with governing 1 statutes, regulations, and orders issued by 2 the Secretary of the Department in which 3 the Coast Guard is operating; and 4 ‘‘(v) responsibilities of State, local, 5 Tribal, and territorial law enforcement 6 agencies designated pursuant to subsection 7 (d)(2) pertaining to— 8 ‘‘(I) protection of National Spe- 9 cial Security Events and Special 10 Event Assessment Rating events or 11 other mass gatherings in the jurisdic- 12 tion of the State, local, Tribal, or ter- 13 ritorial law enforcement agency; 14 ‘‘(II) protection of critical infra- 15 structure assessed by the Secretary as 16 high-risk for unmanned aircraft sys- 17 tems or unmanned aircraft attack or 18 disruption, including airports in the 19 jurisdiction of the State, local, Tribal, 20 or territorial law enforcement agency; 21 ‘‘(III) protection of government 22 buildings, assets, or facilities in the 23 jurisdiction of the State, local, Tribal, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1631 IS or territorial law enforcement agency; 1 or 2 ‘‘(IV) protection of disaster re- 3 sponse in the jurisdiction of the State, 4 local, Tribal, or territorial law en- 5 forcement agency. 6 ‘‘(6) The term ‘critical infrastructure’ has the 7 meaning given the term in section 1016(e) of the 8 Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2001 (42 9 U.S.C. 5195c(e)). 10 ‘‘(7) The terms ‘electronic communication’, 11 ‘intercept’, ‘oral communication’, and ‘wire commu- 12 nication’ have the meanings given those terms in 13 section 2510 of title 18, United States Code. 14 ‘‘(8) The term ‘homeland security or justice 15 budget materials’, with respect to a fiscal year, 16 means the materials submitted to Congress by the 17 Secretary and the Attorney General in support of 18 the budget for that fiscal year. 19 ‘‘(9)(A) The term ‘personnel’ means— 20 ‘‘(i) an officer, employee, or contractor of 21 the Department or the Department of Justice, 22 who is authorized to perform duties that include 23 safety, security, or protection of people, facili- 24 ties, or assets; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1631 IS ‘‘(ii) an employee who— 1 ‘‘(I) is authorized to perform law en- 2 forcement and security functions on behalf 3 of a State, local, Tribal, or territorial law 4 enforcement agency designated under sub- 5 section (d)(2); and 6 ‘‘(II) is trained and certified to per- 7 form those duties, including training spe- 8 cific to countering unmanned aircraft 9 threats and mitigating risks in the national 10 airspace, including with respect to pro- 11 tecting privacy and civil liberties. 12 ‘‘(B) To qualify for use of the authorities de- 13 scribed in subsection (b) or (c), respectively, a con- 14 tractor conducting operations described in those sub- 15 sections shall— 16 ‘‘(i) be directly contracted by the Depart- 17 ment or the Department of Justice; 18 ‘‘(ii) operate at a government-owned or 19 government-leased facility or asset; 20 ‘‘(iii) not conduct inherently governmental 21 functions; 22 ‘‘(iv) be trained to safeguard privacy and 23 civil liberties; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1631 IS ‘‘(v) be trained and certified by the De- 1 partment or the Department of Justice to meet 2 the established guidance and regulations of the 3 Department or the Department of Justice, re- 4 spectively. 5 ‘‘(C) For purposes of subsection (c)(1), the 6 term ‘personnel’ includes any officer, employee, or 7 contractor who is authorized to perform duties that 8 include the safety, security, or protection of people, 9 facilities, or assets, of— 10 ‘‘(i) a State, local, Tribal, or territorial law 11 enforcement agency; and 12 ‘‘(ii) an owner or operator of an airport or 13 critical infrastructure. 14 ‘‘(10) The term ‘risk-based assessment’ means 15 an evaluation of threat information specific to a cov- 16 ered facility or asset and, with respect to potential 17 impacts on the safety and efficiency of the national 18 airspace system and the needs of law enforcement 19 and national security at each covered facility or 20 asset identified by the Secretary or the Attorney 21 General, respectively, of each of the following fac- 22 tors: 23 ‘‘(A) Potential impacts to safety, efficiency, 24 and use of the national airspace system, includ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1631 IS ing potential effects on manned aircraft and un- 1 manned aircraft systems or unmanned aircraft, 2 aviation safety, airport operations, infrastruc- 3 ture, and air navigation services relating to the 4 use of any system or technology for carrying 5 out the actions described in subsection (e)(2). 6 ‘‘(B) Options for mitigating any identified 7 impacts to the national airspace system relating 8 to the use of any system or technology, includ- 9 ing minimizing, when possible, the use of any 10 technology that disrupts the transmission of 11 radio or electronic signals, for carrying out the 12 actions described in subsection (e)(2). 13 ‘‘(C) Potential consequences of the impacts 14 of any actions taken under subsection (e)(2) to 15 the national airspace system and infrastructure 16 if not mitigated. 17 ‘‘(D) The ability to provide reasonable ad- 18 vance notice to aircraft operators consistent 19 with the safety of the national airspace system 20 and the needs of law enforcement and national 21 security. 22 ‘‘(E) The setting and character of any cov- 23 ered facility or asset, including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 May 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1631.IS S1631 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1631 IS ‘‘(i) whether the covered facility or 1 asset is located in a populated area or near 2 other structures; 3 ‘‘(ii) whether the covered facility or 4 asset is open to the public; 5 ‘‘(iii) whether the covered facility or 6 asset is used for nongovernmental func- 7 tions; and 8 ‘‘(iv) any potential for interference 9 with wireless communications or for injury 10 or damage to persons or property. 11 ‘‘(F) The setting, character, duration, and 12 national airspace system impacts of National 13 Special Security Events and Special Event As- 14 sessment Rating events, to the extent not al- 15 ready discu [Text truncated for display. 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