[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 133 (Friday, August 1, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S5395]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3631. Mr. HICKENLOOPER submitted an amendment intended to be 
proposed by him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for 
fiscal year 2026 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 A of title XV, add the following:

     SEC. 1508. STRATEGY ON INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND 
                   RECONNAISSANCE CAPABILITIES TO IMPROVE 
                   SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND ENHANCE DEEP SENSING, 
                   PARTICULARLY IN CONTESTED ENVIRONMENTS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Army shall develop a 
     tactical high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and 
     reconnaissance strategy focused on addressing advancements in 
     foreign adversarial high-altitude systems that offer 
     persistent, low-signature, mass-swarm, and deep-ingress 
     intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
       (b) Elements.--The strategy required by subsection (a) 
     shall include, at a minimum--
       (1) options for streamlining and formalizing investment in 
     novel high-altitude platforms, including tactical 
     stratosphere balloons, across Army organizations, task 
     forces, and commands;
       (2) policy and budgetary changes that could facilitate more 
     rapid adoption of existing technologies and reduce platform 
     costs; and
       (3) plans to assess and leverage investments made by the 
     other military departments, the United States Special 
     Operations Command, Defense agencies and field activities, 
     and the intelligence community.
       (c) Briefing.--Not later than March 1, 2026, the Secretary 
     of the Army shall brief the appropriate committees of 
     Congress on the strategy required by this section and options 
     to deploy capabilities and centralize efforts.
       (d) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this 
     section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
     means--
       (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and
       (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
     Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
     Representatives.
                                 ______