[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 192 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7650-S7651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4186. Mrs. BLACKBURN submitted an amendment intended to be 
proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be 
proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal 
year 2022 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for 
military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of 
Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, 
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

        At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

     SEC. __. PROHIBITION ON OPERATION OR PROCUREMENT OF CERTAIN 
                   FOREIGN-MADE UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS.

       (a) Prohibition on Agency Operation or Procurement.--Except 
     as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d)(3), the 
     Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security 
     may not operate, provide financial assistance for, or enter 
     into or renew a contract for the procurement of--
       (1) an unmanned aircraft system (referred to in this 
     section as ``UAS'') that--
       (A) is manufactured in a covered foreign country or by a 
     corporation domiciled in a covered foreign country;
       (B) uses flight controllers, radios, data transmission 
     devices, cameras, or gimbals manufactured in a covered 
     foreign country or by a corporation domiciled in a covered 
     foreign country;
       (C) uses a ground control system or operating software 
     developed in a covered foreign country or by a corporation 
     domiciled in a covered foreign country; or
       (D) uses network connectivity or data storage located in a 
     covered foreign country or administered by a corporation 
     domiciled in a covered foreign country;
       (2) a software operating system associated with a UAS that 
     uses network connectivity or data storage located in a 
     covered foreign country or administered by a corporation 
     domiciled in a covered foreign country; or
       (3) a system for the detection or identification of a UAS, 
     which system is manufactured in a covered foreign country or 
     by a corporation domiciled in a covered foreign country.
       (b) Waiver.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense or the Secretary 
     of Homeland Security may waive the prohibition under 
     subsection (a) if the Secretary submits a written 
     certification described in paragraph (2) to--
       (A) in the case of the Secretary of Defense, the Committee 
     on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed 
     Services of the House of Representatives; and
       (B) in the case of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 
     Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
     the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
     House of Representatives.
       (2) Contents.--A certification described in this paragraph 
     shall certify that a UAS, a software operating system 
     associated with a UAS, or a system for the detection or 
     identification of a UAS described in any of subparagraphs (A) 
     through (C) of subsection (a)(1) that is the subject of a 
     waiver under paragraph (1) is required--
       (A) in the national interest of the United States;
       (B) for counter-UAS surrogate research, testing, 
     development, evaluation, or training; or
       (C) for intelligence, electronic warfare, or information 
     warfare operations, testing, analysis, and or training.
       (3) Notice.--The certification described in paragraph (1) 
     shall be submitted to the Committees specified in such 
     paragraph by not later than the date that is 14 days after 
     the date on which a waiver is issued under such paragraph.
       (c) Federal Aviation Administration Center of Excellence 
     for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Exemption.--The restriction 
     under subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to the 
     operation or procurement of a UAS which the Secretary of 
     Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Homeland Security, determines is for the sole purposes of 
     research, evaluation, training, testing, or analysis for the 
     Federal Aviation Administration's Alliance for System Safety 
     of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) Center of 
     Excellence (COE) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
       (d) Effective Dates.--
       (1) In general.--This Act shall take effect on the date 
     that is 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (2) Waiver process.--Not later than 60 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and 
     the Secretary of Homeland Security shall each establish a 
     process by which the head of an office or component of the 
     Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security, 
     respectively, may request a waiver under subsection (b).
       (3) Exception.--Notwithstanding the prohibition under 
     subsection (a), the head of an office or component of the 
     Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security may 
     continue to operate a UAS, a software operating system 
     associated with a UAS, or a system for the detection or 
     identification of a UAS described in any of subparagraphs (1) 
     through (3) of subsection (a) that was in the inventory of 
     such office or component on the day before the effective date 
     of this Act until, the later of--
       (A) the date on which the Secretary of Defense or Secretary 
     of Homeland Security, as the case may be
       (i) grants a waiver relating thereto under subsection (b); 
     or
       (ii) declines to grant such a waiver, or
       (B) 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (e) Drone Origin Security Report to Congress.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the 
     Secretary of Homeland Security shall each submit to the 
     congressional committees described in paragraph (2) a 
     terrorism threat assessment and report that contains 
     information relating to the following:
       (A) The extent to which the Department of Defense or 
     Department of Homeland Security, as the case may be, has 
     previously analyzed the threat that a UAS, a software 
     operating system associated with a UAS, or a system for the 
     detection or identification of a UAS from a covered foreign 
     country operating in the United States poses, and the results 
     of such analysis.
       (B) The number of UAS, software operating systems 
     associated with a UAS, or systems for the detection or 
     identification of a UAS from a covered foreign country in 
     operation by the Department of Defense or Department of 
     Homeland Security, as the case may be, including an 
     identification of the component or office of the Department 
     at issue, as of such date.
       (C) The extent to which information gathered by such a UAS, 
     a software operating system associated with a UAS, or a 
     system for the detection or identification of a UAS

[[Page S7651]]

     from a covered foreign country could be employed to harm the 
     national or economic security of the United States.
       (2) Committees described.--The congressional committees 
     described in this paragraph are--
       (A) in the case of the Secretary of Defense, the Committee 
     on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed 
     Services of the House of Representatives; and
       (B) in the case of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 
     Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
     the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
     House of Representatives.
       (f) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Covered foreign country.--The term ``covered foreign 
     country'' means a country that--
       (A) the intelligence community has identified as a foreign 
     adversary in its most recent Annual Threat Assessment; or
       (B) the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination 
     with the Director of National Intelligence, has identified as 
     a foreign adversary that is not included in such Annual 
     Threat Assessment.
       (2) Intelligence community.--The term ``intelligence 
     community'' has the meaning given such term in section 3(4) 
     of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).
       (3) Unmanned aircraft system; uas.--The terms ``unmanned 
     aircraft system'' and ``UAS'' have the meaning given the term 
     ``unmanned aircraft system'' in section 331 of the FAA 
     Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-95; 49 
     U.S.C. 44802 note).
                                 ______