[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 194 (Thursday, November 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S7987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4489. Mr. RISCH 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 appropriate place in title XII, insert the 
     following:

     SEC. __. AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT TO 
                   PROTECT CIVILIANS IN SAUDI ARABIA AND THE 
                   UNITED ARAB EMIRATES FROM WEAPONIZED UNMANNED 
                   AERIAL SYSTEMS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The Houthis in Yemen have significantly intensified the 
     number of cross-border strikes against the Kingdom of Saudi 
     Arabia since January 2021, using a combination of 
     increasingly sophisticated Unmanned Ariel Vehicles (UAVs) and 
     cruise missiles to target civilian infrastructure, bases, 
     commercial shipping, and major population centers across the 
     Kingdom with unprecedented frequency.
       (2) The United Nations has noted the Houthis have deployed 
     extended long-range UAVs with the capacity to strike deep 
     into Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates since at least 
     January 2018.
       (3) Between January and April 2021, the Houthis launched 
     upward of 150 UAVs into Saudi Arabia, threatening the Kingdom 
     of Saudi Arabia's sovereignty and security, as well as the 
     lives of more than 70,000 United States nationals living 
     there.
       (4) Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarea responded to a 
     realistic peace proposal presented by the Kingdom of Saudi 
     Arabia, in March 2021, by threatening ``to carry out stronger 
     and harsher military attacks in the coming period.''.
       (5) United States Government officials, including Special 
     Envoy Timothy Lenderking, have publically underscored the 
     crucial role the Government of Iran plays in driving this 
     growing and continuous threat that emanates from the Houthis 
     in Yemen.
       (6) According to United States officials and United Nations 
     experts, the Government of Iran, alongside its Lebanese 
     proxy, Hezbollah, are providing sophisticated weapons systems 
     and military training to the Houthis, including technical 
     assistance on the development and employment of UAVs and 
     ballistic missiles.
       (7) The Houthi rebels have also made significant advances 
     in their domestic military industrial capacity in recent 
     years, drawing on Iranian sourced components, including 
     guidance systems to develop several new advanced platforms 
     like the Burkan medium range ballistic missile and the Sammad 
     drone series that have extend the Houthi's reach deep into 
     Saudi Arabia.
       (8) The Houthi's growing arsenal of increasingly 
     sophisticated drones, and ballistic missiles, and cruise 
     missiles pose a direct threat to United States interests, 
     particularly as relates to regional security, the safety of 
     United States nationals, and the trajectory of United 
     Nations-led peace talks.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the United States should improve cooperation with 
     allies and likeminded partners to systematically map out, 
     expose, and disrupt missile and drone procurement networks 
     used by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen;
       (2) the partner countries of the United States in the 
     Arabian Peninsula face urgent and emerging threats from 
     unmanned aerial systems and other unmanned aerial vehicles;
       (3) joint research and development to counter unmanned 
     aerial systems will serve the national security interests of 
     the United States and its partners in the Arabian Peninsula;
       (4) development of counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) 
     technology will reduce the impacts of these attacks, build 
     deterrence, and increase regional stability;
       (5) the United States and partners in the Arabian Peninsula 
     should continue to work together to protect United States 
     citizens and personnel in the Middle East and civilians in 
     the Arabian Peninsula in the face of the threat from unmanned 
     aerial systems; and
       (6) the United States Government should use all leverage at 
     its disposal to pressure the Houthis to de-escalate cross 
     border attacks, cease their offensive in Marib, and 
     meaningfully engage in United Nations-led peace talks.
       (c) Authority to Enter Into Agreement.--
       (1) In general.--The President is authorized to enter into 
     a cooperative project agreement with countries in the Arabian 
     Peninsula under the authority of section 27 of the Arms 
     Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2767) to carry out research on 
     and development, testing, evaluation, and joint production 
     (including follow-on support) of defense articles and defense 
     services to detect, track, and destroy armed unmanned aerial 
     systems that threaten the United States and its partners in 
     the Arabian Peninsula.
       (2) Applicable requirements.--The cooperative project 
     agreement described in paragraph (1)--
       (A) shall provide that any activities carried out pursuant 
     to the agreement are subject to--
       (i) the applicable requirements described in subparagraphs 
     (A), (B), and (C) of section 27(b)(2) of the Arms Export 
     Control Act; and
       (ii) any other applicable requirements of the Arms Export 
     Control Act with respect to the use, transfer, and security 
     of such defense articles and defense services under that Act; 
     and
       (B) shall establish a framework to negotiate the rights to 
     intellectual property developed under the agreement.
       (d) Rule of Construction With Respect to Use of Military 
     Force.--Nothing in this section may be construed as an 
     authorization for the use of military force.
       (e) Arabian Peninsula Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``Arabian Peninsula'' means Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, 
     Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
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