[Senate Report 117-279]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 678
117th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session       }                                     {      117-279
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



        PROTECTING THE BORDER FROM UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 4919

            TO REQUIRE AN INTERAGENCY STRATEGY FOR CREATING
             A UNIFIED POSTURE ON COUNTER-UNMANNED AIRCRAFT
              SYSTEMS (C-UAS) CAPABILITIES AND PROTECTIONS
             AT INTERNATIONAL BORDERS OF THE UNITED STATES









[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]








               December 19, 2022.--Ordered to be printed  
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
         Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
            Benjamin J. Schubert, Professional Staff Member
                Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
            Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
       Jeremy H. Hayes, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk

























                                                      Calendar No. 678
117th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session       }                                     {      117-279

======================================================================



 
        PROTECTING THE BORDER FROM UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS ACT

                                _______
                                

               December 19, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 4919]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4919) to require an 
interagency strategy for creating a unified posture on counter-
unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) capabilities and protections 
at international borders of the United States, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment, in the nature of a substitute, and recommends that 
the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                     Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................  1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................  2
III. Legislative History..............................................  3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............  3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................  4
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................  5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............  7

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    S. 4919, the Protecting the Border from Unmanned Aircraft 
Systems Act, requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
to work with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal 
Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Department of Defense 
(DOD) to develop a strategy to guide a unified posture on 
counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) capabilities and 
protections along the international borders of the United 
States. Among other items, the strategy must examine C-UAS 
capabilities along the borders, including covered facilities 
and assets, and efforts to protect civil rights and civil 
liberties during the operation of C-UAS capabilities. The 
strategy must also contain assessments of the training required 
for the successful operation of C-UAS detection and mitigation 
technologies at U.S. borders and the interagency research and 
development efforts of C-UAS technologies. The strategy must be 
submitted to Congress no later than 180 days after the 
enactment of the bill and a report must be submitted no later 
than 180 days and annually until 7 years after enactment that 
describes the resources necessary to carry out the strategy and 
any significant developments relating to the required elements 
of the strategy.

              II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

    The globe is experiencing rapid growth in the use of 
unmanned aircraft system (UAS) technologies and the FAA 
estimates that by 2026, as many as 1.84 million small drones 
could be registered to fly in the U.S.\1\ While the increasing 
availability of UAS will bring substantial benefits to our 
society and economy, their low barrier to entry in the national 
airspace system (NAS) due to their wide availability and ease 
of operation allow them to be potentially misused. As a result, 
nefarious actors could exploit vulnerabilities in traditional 
security measures.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Federal Aviation Administration, FAA Aerospace Forecast Fiscal 
Years 2022-2042 (https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/2022-06/
FY2022_42_FAA_Aerospace_Forecast.pdf) at 54.
    \2\Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 
Testimony Submitted for the Record of Deputy Associate Administrator 
for Security and Hazardous Safety Tonya Coultas, Federal Aviation 
Administration, Hearing on Protecting the Homeland from Unmanned 
Aircraft Systems, 117th Cong. (July 14, 2022) (S. Hrg. 117-XX).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In July 2022, this Committee held a hearing to examine the 
threats posed by UAS to our homeland security, including the 
impacts malicious UAS could have on manned aircraft operations, 
airports, critical infrastructure facilities, and high-profile 
events.\3\ During the hearing, this Committee heard from DHS, 
DOJ, and the FAA about the need for Congress to close gaps in 
current DHS and DOJ C-UAS authorities provided by the 
Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018, which became law in 
the FAA Reauthorization Act.\4\ The Committee also heard about 
challenges that DHS has facing in carrying out its C-UAS 
mission sets, including protecting our international borders 
from malicious drones.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 
Hearing on Protecting the Homeland from Unmanned Aircraft Systems, 
117th Cong. (July 14, 2022) (S. Hrg. 117-XX).
    \4\FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-254, Sec. 1602; 
Id.
    \5\Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 
Testimony Submitted for the Record of Acting Assistant Secretary for 
Counterterrorism, Threat Prevention, and Law Enforcement Samantha 
Vinograd, Department of Homeland Security, Hearing on Protecting the 
Homeland from Unmanned Aircraft Systems, 117th Cong. (July 14, 2022) 
(S. Hrg. 117-XX) at 3-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    According to DHS, transnational criminal organizations 
(TCOs) use UAS to transport narcotics and contraband across 
U.S. borders and conduct hostile surveillance of law 
enforcement.\6\ According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP), more than 8,000 illegal cross border UAS flights were 
detected by the agency between August 2021 and May 2022 at the 
southern border, which is an average of 900 incursions per 
month.\7\ As UAS technologies evolve, so will the threat, and 
CBP further assesses that TCOs will pursue larger UAS with 
increased speed, range, and payload capacity in an effort to 
evade CBP and other law enforcement agencies.\8\ While the 
volume of UAS incursions at the U.S. southern border highlights 
the challenges DHS faces in combatting the cross-border UAS 
threat, much remains unknown about the volume of UAS incursions 
our nation faces at our northern and maritime borders. As DHS 
works to implement the Northern Border Strategy, released in 
2018, DHS must continue to meet its objective of utilizing 
surveillance, detection, and monitoring assets to monitor and, 
if necessary, counter the UAS threat.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\Id.
    \7\Id.
    \8\Id.
    \9\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland 
Security Northern Border Strategy (June 12, 2018) (https://www.dhs.gov/
sites/default/files/publications/18_0612_PLCY_ DHS-Northern-Border-
Strategy.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To ensure DHS can effectively counter the UAS threat posed 
at all U.S. borders, this bill requires DHS, DOJ, the FAA, and 
the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop an interagency 
strategy to combat unauthorized UAS along U.S. international 
borders. This strategy will include assessments of the federal 
government's C-UAS capabilities, privacy protections, 
intelligence tools, training programs, resources, and research 
efforts along U.S. international borders. The bill also 
includes important provisions to increase transparency 
regarding UAS-related threats along the border, encourage more 
robust interagency research and development efforts, and ensure 
the federal government protects the privacy and civil liberties 
of individuals lawfully operating drones along our 
international borders.

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senators Lankford (R-OK) and Sinema (D-AZ) introduced S. 
4919, the Protecting the Border from Unmanned Aircraft Systems 
Act, on September 22, 2022. The bill was referred to the Senate 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 4919 at a business meeting on 
September 28, 2022. During the business meeting, Senators 
Lankford and Sinema offered a substitute amendment that 
clarified that the strategy required by the bill shall examine 
C-UAS capabilities and protections at both covered facilities 
or assets, as defined under 6 U.S.C. 124n(k)(3), along U.S. 
international borders, as well as other border-adjacent 
facilities or assets at which capabilities may be used under 
federal law. The substitute amendment was adopted en bloc by 
voice vote with Senators Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, 
Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Johnson, Paul, Lankford, Romney, 
Scott, and Hawley present for the vote. The Committee ordered 
the bill, as amended, to be favorably reported by voice vote en 
bloc. Senators present for the vote were: Peters, Carper, 
Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Johnson, Paul, 
Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley.

        IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title

    This section designates the name of the bill as the 
``Protecting the Border from Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act.''

Section 2. Interagency strategy for creating a unified posture on 
        Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems capabilities and protections 
        at international borders of the United States

    Subsection (a) defines the terms ``appropriate 
congressional committee'' and ``covered facility or asset.''
    Subsection (b) requires the Secretary of Homeland Security 
to work with the Attorney General, the FAA Administrator, and 
the Secretary of Defense to develop a strategy for creating a 
unified posture on C-UAS capabilities and protections at U.S. 
international borders and border-adjacent facilities or assets 
where capabilities may be used under federal law. The strategy 
required by this section must be developed no later than 180 
days after the enactment of this legislation.
    Subsection (c) requires that the strategy outlined in 
subsection (b) examine: (1) C-UAS capabilities at covered 
facilities or assets along U.S. international borders and 
border-adjacent facilities or assets and their usage to detect 
or mitigate credible threats; (2) an examination of efforts to 
protect privacy and civil liberties in the context of C-UAS 
operations; (3) an examination of intelligence sources and 
methods and relevant due process considerations; (4) an 
assessment of the availability and interoperability of C-UAS 
detection and mitigation technology; (5) an assessment of the 
training required for successful operation of C-UAS detection 
and mitigation technology; (5) an assessment of specific 
methods of operability for deployment and recommendations for 
additional resources needed; and (6) an assessment of 
interagency research and development efforts.
    Subsection (d) requires the Secretary of Homeland Security 
to submit the strategy developed as outlined in subsection (b) 
to Congress no later than 180 days of this bill's enactment.
    Subsection (e) requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
the Attorney General, the FAA Administrator, and the Secretary 
of Defense jointly produce a report that describes the 
resources necessary to carry out the strategy developed 
pursuant to subsection (b) and any significant developments 
related to the elements described in subsection (c). The report 
must be submitted to Congress no later than 180 days after the 
passage of the bill and annually thereafter for 7 years.

                   V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, November 9, 2022.
Hon. Gary C. Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed table summarizing estimated budgetary 
effects and mandates information for some of the legislation 
that has been ordered reported by the Senate Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during the 117th 
Congress.
    If you wish further details, we will be pleased to provide 
them. The CBO staff contact for each estimate is listed on the 
enclosed table.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

           SUMMARY ESTIMATES OF LEGISLATION ORDERED REPORTED

     The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the 
Congressional Budget Office, to the extent practicable, to 
prepare estimates of the budgetary effects of legislation 
ordered reported by Congressional authorizing committees. In 
order to provide the Congress with as much information as 
possible, the attached table summarizes information about the 
estimated direct spending and revenue effects of some of the 
legislation that has been ordered reported by the Senate 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during 
the 117th Congress. The legislation listed in this table 
generally would have small effects, if any, on direct spending 
or revenues, CBO estimates. Where possible, the table also 
provides information about the legislation's estimated effects 
on spending subject to appropriation and on intergovernmental 
and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act.

                                                                      ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS AND MANDATES INFORMATION
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                                           Increases On-
                                                                                                                          Spending Subject   Pay-As-You-       Budget
   Bill          Title         Status        Last Action       Budget Function    Direct Spending,     Revenues, 2023-   to Appropriation,  Go Procedures    Deficits      Mandates     Contact
  Number                                                                              2023-2032             2032             2023-2027          Apply?     Beginning in
                                                                                                                                                               2033?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 4919     Protecting the  Ordered               09/28/22                 750                   0                   0   Not estimated      No             No            No           Jeremy
             Border from     reported                                                                                                                                                  Crimm
             Unmanned
             Aircraft
             Systems Act
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 4919 would require the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Department of Justice, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Department of Defense, to develop a
  unified strategy for countering unmanned aircraft systems at U.S. borders. The bill would also require the agencies to submit joint annual reports to the Congress describing the resources
  needed to implement the strategy. CBO estimates that enacting S. 4919 would not affect direct spending or revenues. CBO has not estimated the discretionary costs of implementing the bill.
  The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

       VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    This legislation would make no change in existing law, 
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of 
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this 
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current 
law.

                                  [all]