[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S3305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6096. Mr. PADILLA submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2027 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 subtitle D of title I, insert 
     the following:

     SEC. ___. LIMITATION ON DIVESTITURE OF U-2 DRAGON LADY 
                   AIRCRAFT IN FISCAL YEAR 2027.

       (a) Limitation.--
       (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Secretary of the Air Force may not, during fiscal 
     year 2027, retire, divest, transfer, or otherwise remove from 
     the active inventory more than two U-2 Dragon Lady aircraft.
       (2) Prohibition on accelerated divestiture.--The Secretary 
     of the Air Force may not take any action to accelerate the 
     divestiture of U-2 aircraft beyond the limitation established 
     in paragraph (1) during fiscal year 2027, regardless of the 
     operational status of replacement platforms.
       (b) Report Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Air Force 
     shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report 
     that includes the following:
       (1) A detailed transition plan for the divestiture of U-2 
     aircraft, including timelines and milestones.
       (2) A description of the bridging capabilities that will be 
     employed during the transition period to ensure no 
     degradation in operational capability or capacity.
       (3) An independent assessment of intelligence, 
     surveillance, and reconnaissance capability gaps that would 
     result from the retirement of U-2 aircraft prior to full 
     operational capability of replacement systems.
       (c) Active Inventory Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``active inventory'' means aircraft assigned to active flying 
     units, Air Force Reserve units, and Air National Guard units, 
     and aircraft maintained in storage for potential future 
     operational use.
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