[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2183 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2183

To direct the Director of the CIA to cease lethal drone operations, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2013

Ms. Lee of California introduced the following bill; which was referred 
 to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees 
 on Intelligence (Permanent Select) and the Judiciary, for a period to 
      be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Director of the CIA to cease lethal drone operations, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Drones Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. DRONES OUT OF CIA.

    (a) The Central Intelligence Agency shall not own, operate, 
command, or control any armed unmanned aerial vehicle or any combat 
aircraft.
    (b) No member of the Armed Forces, and no other employee or 
contractor of the Department of Defense, may carry out any order or 
authorization from any employee or contractor of the Central 
Intelligence Agency to use lethal force.

SEC. 3. REPORT REQUIREMENT AND LEGAL OPINION DISCLOSURE.

    (a) The Department of Defense shall report to Congress on:
            (1) The existence and sufficiency of civilian protection 
        mechanisms in accordance with international law binding to the 
        United States via treaty including the 1949 Geneva Conventions 
        for armed operations using unmanned aerial vehicle operations, 
        including civilian casualty mitigation processes and post-
        strike investigatory procedures.
            (2) The methodology used to distinguish combatants from 
        civilians prior to armed operations and after a strike has 
        occurred.
            (3) The existence and sufficiency of standards for the 
        identification of targets, including the reliability of 
        ``signatures'', and the sufficiency of intelligence sources and 
        analysis where there is limited U.S. ground presence.
            (4) The existence and sufficiency of processes for 
        recognizing the immediate and long-term effects of drones 
        strikes on the organization being targeted and on the country 
        or region in which the strike takes place.
    (b) Legal opinions provide to Congress: Not later than thirty days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and once every three 
months thereafter, the Department of Defense, the Department of 
Justice, and the Central Intelligence Agency shall provide all legal 
opinions providing advice regarding the authority to use lethal force 
to justify operations.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING MORATORIUM ON LETHAL DRONES UNTIL 
              SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE AND LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS USED 
              TO TARGET INDIVIDUALS NOT INVOLVED IN IMMINENT ATTACK 
              AGAINST U.S.

    (a) It is the sense of Congress that a moratorium must be enforced 
against the lethal use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles until the 
Administration has presented and Congress has approved sufficient 
safeguards and sufficient oversight addressing highlighted in section 
3(a)(i).
    (b) Until such safeguards are in place, no funds available for the 
United States Armed Forces or the Central Intelligence Agency may be 
obligated or expended for the purpose of using lethal force against an 
individual unless the individual presents an imminent threat to the 
United States, lethal force is the last resort, and the harm caused to 
civilians or civilian property is proportional and does not violate 
international humanitarian law adopted by the United States via treaty 
including the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
                                 <all>