ARM21016 JS2 S.L.C.

S. ll
117TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION

To ban the Federal procurement of certain drones and other unmanned

aircraft systems, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

llllllllll
Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. COTTON, Mrs. BLACK-
BURN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MURPHY, and Mr. HAWLEY) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on llllllllll

A BILL
To ban the Federal procurement of certain drones and other
unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Security

5 Drone Act of 2021’’.
6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act:
8 (1) COVERED FOREIGN ENTITY.—The term
9 ‘‘covered foreign entity’’ means an entity included on
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1 a list developed and maintained by the Federal Ac-
2 quisition Security Council. This list will include enti-
3 ties in the following categories:
4 (A) An entity included on the Consolidated
5 Screening List.
6 (B) Any entity that is subject to
7 extrajudicial direction from a foreign govern-
8 ment, as determined by the Secretary of Home-
9 land Security.
10 (C) Any entity the Secretary of Homeland
11 Security, in coordination with the Director of
12 National Intelligence and the Secretary of De-
13 fense, determines poses a national security risk.
14 (D) Any entity domiciled in the People’s
15 Republic of China or subject to influence or
16 control by the Government of the People Re-
17 public of China or the Communist Party of the
18 People’s Republic of China, as determined by
19 the Secretary of Homeland Security.
20 (E) Any subsidiary or affiliate of an entity
21 described in subparagraphs (A) through (D).
22 (2) COVERED UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—

23 The term ‘‘covered unmanned aircraft system’’ has

24 the meaning given the term ‘‘unmanned aircraft sys-
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1 tem’’ in section 44801 of title 49, United States
2 Code.
3 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PROCUREMENT OF COVERED UN-

4 MANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS FROM COV-

5 ERED FOREIGN ENTITIES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub-

7 sections (b) though (f), the head of an executive agency
8 may not procure any covered unmanned aircraft system
9 that are manufactured or assembled by a covered foreign
10 entity, which includes associated elements (consisting of
11 communication links and the components that control the
12 unmanned aircraft) that are required for the operator to
13 operate safely and efficiently in the national airspace sys-
14 tem. The Federal Acquisition Security Council, in coordi-
15 nation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall develop
16 and update a list of associated elements.
17 (b) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu-
18 rity, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General
19 are exempt from the restriction under subsection (a) if the
20 operation or procurement—
21 (1) is for the sole purposes of research, evalua-
22 tion, training, testing, or analysis for—
23 (A) electronic warfare;
24 (B) information warfare operations;
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1 (C) development of UAS or counter-UAS
2 technology;
3 (D) counterterrorism or counterintelligence
4 activities; or
5 (E) Federal criminal or national security
6 investigations, including forensic examinations;
7 and
8 (2) is required in the national interest of the
9 United States.
10 (c) FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION CENTER
11 OF EXCELLENCE FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
12 EXEMPTION.—The Secretary of Transportation, in con-
13 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, is ex-
14 empt from the restriction under subsection (a) if the oper-
15 ation or procurement is for the sole purposes of research,
16 evaluation, training, testing, or analysis for the Federal
17 Aviation Administration’s Alliance for System Safety of
18 UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) Center of
19 Excellence (COE) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
20 (d) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD
21 EXEMPTION.—The National Transportation Safety Board
22 (NTSB), in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland
23 Security, is exempt from the restriction under subsection
24 (a) if the operation or procurement is necessary for the
25 sole purpose of conducting safety investigations.
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1 (e) NATIONAL OCEANIC ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRA-
2 TION EXEMPTION.—The Administrator of the National
3 Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in con-
4 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, is ex-
5 empt from the restriction under subsection (a) if the oper-
6 ation or procurement is necessary for the sole purpose of
7 marine or atmospheric science or management.
8 (f) WAIVER.—The head of an executive agency may
9 waive the prohibition under subsection (a) on a case-by-
10 case basis—
11 (1) with the approval of the Secretary of Home-
12 land Security or the Secretary of Defense; and
13 (2) upon notification to Congress.
14 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON OPERATION OF COVERED UN-

15 MANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS FROM COV-

16 ERED FOREIGN ENTITIES.

17 (a) PROHIBITION.—
18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that
19 is 2 years after the date of the enactment of this
20 Act, no Federal department or agency may operate
21 a covered unmanned aircraft system manufactured
22 or assembled by a covered foreign entity.
23 (2) APPLICABILITY TO CONTRACTED SERV-

24 ICES.—The prohibition under paragraph (1) applies

25 to any covered unmanned aircraft systems that are
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1 being used by any executive agency through the
2 method of contracting for the services of covered un-
3 manned aircraft systems.
4 (b) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu-
5 rity, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General
6 are exempt from the restriction under subsection (a) if the
7 operation or procurement—
8 (1) is for the sole purposes of research, evalua-
9 tion, training, testing, or analysis for—
10 (A) electronic warfare;
11 (B) information warfare operations;
12 (C) development of UAS or counter-UAS
13 technology;
14 (D) counterterrorism or counterintelligence
15 activities; or
16 (E) Federal criminal or national security
17 investigations, including forensic examinations;
18 and
19 (2) is required in the national interest of the
20 United States.
21 (c) FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION CENTER
22 OF EXCELLENCE FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
23 EXEMPTION.—The Secretary of Transportation, in con-
24 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, is ex-
25 empt from the restriction under subsection (a) if the oper-
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1 ation or procurement is for the sole purposes of research,
2 evaluation, training, testing, or analysis for the Federal
3 Aviation Administration’s Alliance for System Safety of
4 UAE through Research Excellence (ASSURE) Center of
5 Excellence (COE) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
6 (d) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD
7 EXEMPTION.—The National Transportation Safety Board
8 (NTSB), in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland
9 Security, is exempt from the restriction under subsection
10 (a) if the operation or procurement is necessary for the
11 sole purpose of conducting safety investigations.
12 (e) NATIONAL OCEANIC ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRA-
13 TION EXEMPTION.—The Administrator of the National
14 Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in con-
15 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, is ex-
16 empt from the restriction under subsection (a) if the oper-
17 ation or procurement is necessary for the sole purpose of
18 marine or atmospheric science or management.
19 (f) WAIVER.—The head of an executive agency may
20 waive the prohibition under subsection (a) on a case-by-
21 case basis—
22 (1) with the approval of the Secretary of Home-
23 land Security or the Secretary of Defense; and
24 (2) upon notification to Congress.
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1 (g) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.—Not later than
2 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
3 Secretary of Homeland Security shall prescribe regula-
4 tions or guidance to implement this section.
5 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR

6 PURCHASES AND OPERATION OF COVERED

7 UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS FROM COV-

8 ERED FOREIGN ENTITIES.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that is 2

10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, except
11 as provided in subsection (b), no Federal funds awarded
12 through a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement, or
13 otherwise made available may be used—
14 (1) to purchase a covered unmanned aircraft
15 system, or a system to counter unmanned aircraft
16 systems, that is manufactured or assembled by a
17 covered foreign entity; or
18 (2) in connection with the operation of such a
19 drone or unmanned aircraft system.
20 (b) EXEMPTION.—A Federal department or agency
21 is exempt from the restriction under subsection (a) if—
22 (1) the contract, grant or cooperative agree-
23 ment was awarded prior to the date of the enact-
24 ment of this Act; or
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1 (2) the operation or procurement is for the sole
2 purposes of research, evaluation, training, testing, or
3 analysis, as determined by the Secretary of Home-
4 land Security, the Secretary of Defense, or the At-
5 torney General, for—
6 (A) electronic warfare;
7 (B) information warfare operations;
8 (C) development of UAS or counter-UAS
9 technology;
10 (D) counterterrorism or counterintelligence
11 activities; or
12 (E) Federal criminal or national security
13 investigations, including forensic examinations;
14 or
15 (F) the safe integration of UAS in the na-
16 tional airspace (as determined in consultation
17 with the Secretary of Transportation); and
18 (3) is required in the national interest of the
19 United States.
20 (c) WAIVER.—The head of an executive agency may
21 waive the prohibition under subsection (a) on a case-by-
22 case basis—
23 (1) with the approval of the Secretary of Home-
24 land Security or the Secretary of Defense; and
25 (2) upon notification to Congress.
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1 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after
2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisi-
3 tion Regulatory Council shall prescribe regulations or
4 guidance, as necessary, to implement the requirements of
5 this section pertaining to Federal contracts.
6 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON USE OF GOVERNMENT-ISSUED

7 PURCHASE CARDS TO PURCHASE COVERED

8 UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS FROM COV-

9 ERED FOREIGN ENTITIES.

10 Effective immediately, Government-issued Purchase

11 Cards may not be used to procure any covered unmanned
12 aircraft system from a covered foreign entity.
13 SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT OF EXISTING INVENTORIES OF COV-

14 ERED UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS FROM

15 COVERED FOREIGN ENTITIES.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.— Effective immediately, all execu-

17 tive agencies must account for existing inventories of cov-
18 ered unmanned aircraft systems manufactured or assem-
19 bled by a covered foreign entity in their personal property
20 accounting systems, regardless of the original procurement
21 cost, or the purpose of procurement due to the special
22 monitoring and accounting measures necessary to track
23 the items’ capabilities.
24 (b) CLASSIFIED TRACKING.—Due to the sensitive na-
25 ture of missions and operations conducted by the United
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1 States Government, inventory data related to covered un-
2 manned aircraft systems manufactured or assembled by
3 a covered foreign entity may be tracked at a classified
4 level.
5 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—The Department of Defense and
6 Department of Homeland Security may exclude from the
7 full inventory process, covered unmanned aircraft systems
8 that are deemed expendable due to mission risk such as
9 recovery issues or that are one-time-use covered unmanned
10 aircraft due to requirements and low cost.
11 SEC. 8. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT.

12 Not later than 275 days after the date of the enact-
13 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
14 States shall submit to Congress a report on the amount
15 of commercial off-the-shelf drones and covered unmanned
16 aircraft systems procured by Federal departments and
17 agencies from covered foreign entities.
18 SEC. 9. GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLICY FOR PROCUREMENT

19 OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Of-
22 fice of Management and Budget, in coordination with the
23 Department of Homeland Security, Department of Trans-
24 portation, the Department of Justice, and other Depart-
25 ments as determined by the Director of the Office of Man-
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1 agement and Budget, and in consultation with the Na-
2 tional Institute of Standards and Technology, shall estab-
3 lish a government-wide policy for the procurement of
4 UAS—
5 (1) for non-Department of Defense and non-in-
6 telligence community operations; and
7 (2) through grants and cooperative agreements
8 entered into with non-Federal entities.
9 (b) INFORMATION SECURITY.—The policy developed
10 under subsection (a) shall include the following specifica-
11 tions, which to the extent practicable, shall be based on
12 industry standards and technical guidance from the Na-
13 tional Institute of Standards and Technology, to address
14 the risks associated with processing, storing and transmit-
15 ting Federal information in a UAS:
16 (1) Protections to ensure controlled access of
17 UAS.
18 (2) Protecting software, firmware, and hard-
19 ware by ensuring changes to UAS are properly man-
20 aged, including by ensuring UAS can be updated
21 using a secure, controlled, and configurable mecha-
22 nism.
23 (3) Cryptographically securing sensitive col-
24 lected, stored, and transmitted data, including prop-
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1 er handling of privacy data and other controlled un-
2 classified information.
3 (4) Appropriate safeguards necessary to protect
4 sensitive information, including during and after use
5 of UAS.
6 (5) Appropriate data security to ensure that
7 data is not transmitted to or stored in non-approved
8 locations.
9 (6) The ability to opt out of the uploading,
10 downloading, or transmitting of data that is not re-
11 quired by law or regulation and an ability to choose
12 with whom and where information is shared when it
13 is required.
14 (c) REQUIREMENT.—The policy developed under sub-
15 section (a) shall reflect an appropriate risk-based ap-
16 proach to information security related to use of UAS.
17 (d) REVISION OF ACQUISITION REGULATIONS.—Not
18 later than 180 days after the date on which the policy
19 required under subsection (a) is issued—
20 (1) the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council
21 shall revise the Federal Acquisition Regulation, as
22 necessary, to implement the policy; and
23 (2) any Federal department or agency or other
24 Federal entity not subject to, or not subject solely
25 to, the Federal Acquisition Regulation shall revise
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1 applicable policy, guidance, or regulations, as nec-
2 essary, to implement the policy.
3 (e) EXEMPTION.—In developing the policy required
4 under subsection (a), the Director of the Office of Man-
5 agement and Budget shall incorporate an exemption to the
6 policy for the following reasons:
7 (1) In the case of procurement for the purposes
8 of training, testing or analysis for—
9 (A) electronic warfare; or
10 (B) information warfare operations.
11 (2) In the case of researching UAS technology,
12 including testing, evaluation, research, or develop-
13 ment of technology to counter UAS.
14 (3) In the case of a head of the procuring de-
15 partment or agency determining, in writing, that no
16 product that complies with the information security
17 requirements described in subsection (b) is capable
18 of fulfilling mission critical performance require-
19 ments, and such determination—
20 (A) may not be delegated below the level of
21 the Deputy Secretary of the procuring depart-
22 ment or agency;
23 (B) shall specify—
24 (i) the quantity of end items to which
25 the waiver applies, the procurement value
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1 of which may not exceed $50,000 per waiv-
2 er; and
3 (ii) the time period over which the
4 waiver applies, which shall not exceed 3
5 years;
6 (C) shall be reported to the Office of Man-
7 agement and Budget following issuance of such
8 a determination; and
9 (D) not later than 30 days after the date
10 on which the determination is made, shall be
11 provided to the Committee on Homeland Secu-
12 rity and Government Affairs of the Senate and
13 the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the
14 House of Representatives.
15 SEC. 10. STUDY.

16 (a) INDEPENDENT STUDY.—Not later than 3 years

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director
18 of the Office of Management and Budget shall seek to
19 enter into a contract with a federally funded research and
20 development center under which the center will conduct
21 a study of—
22 (1) the current and future unmanned aircraft
23 system global and domestic market;
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1 (2) the ability of the unmanned aircraft system
2 domestic market to keep pace with technological ad-
3 vancements across the industry;
4 (3) the ability of domestically made unmanned
5 aircraft systems to meet the network security and
6 data protection requirements of the national security
7 enterprise;
8 (4) the extent to which unmanned aircraft sys-
9 tem component parts, such as the parts described in
10 section 3, are made domestically; and
11 (5) an assessment of the economic impact, in-
12 cluding cost, of excluding the use of foreign-made
13 UAS for use across the Federal Government.
14 (b) SUBMISSION TO OMB.—Upon completion of the
15 study in subsection (a), the federally funded research and
16 development center shall submit the study to the Director
17 of the Office of Management and Budget.
18 (c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30
19 days after the date on which the Director of the Office
20 of Management and Budget receives the study under sub-
21 section (b), the Director shall submit the study to—
22 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and
23 Governmental Affairs and the Select Committee on
24 Intelligence of the Senate; and
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1 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security and
2 the Committee on Oversight and Government Re-
3 form and the Permanent Select Committee on Intel-
4 ligence of the House of Representatives.
5 SEC. 11. SUNSET.

6 Sections 3, 4, and 5 shall cease to have effect on the

7 date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of
8 this Act.