[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4515 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4515
To combat foreign terrorist acquisition of unmanned aerial systems, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 11, 2024
Mr. Romney (for himself and Ms. Rosen) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To combat foreign terrorist acquisition of unmanned aerial systems, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Combating Foreign Terrorist Drones
Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Foreign terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda,
the Islamic State, and groups backed by Iran such as the
Houthis, have used unmanned aerial systems to commit violence
and to conduct attacks against members of the Armed Forces and
interests of the United States overseas.
(2) Since its inception in 2014, the Islamic State has used
commercially-available unmanned aerial systems, including
Chinese-manufactured drones.
(3) In 2023, the United Kingdom arrested an individual for
designing a three-dimensional printed drone for the Islamic
State to deliver chemical weapons.
(4) According to public reporting, Iranian-backed terrorist
organizations and proxy militias have further increased the
frequency of unmanned aerial system attacks against the Armed
Forces and interests of the United States in the wake of the
October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel.
(5) On or around October 17, 2023, 21 members of the Armed
Forces sustained injuries from drone and rocket attacks by
Iran-sponsored proxy groups against military bases of the
United States in Syria and Iraq.
(6) On January 28, 2024, three members of the Armed Forces
were killed and more than 40 members of the Armed Forces were
injured in an unmanned aerial system attack, committed by
groups backed by Iran, in Jordan.
(7) In February 2024, the Defense Intelligence Agency
confirmed the use by the Houthis of unmanned aerial systems
from Iran to conduct attacks, including against civilian
targets and maritime infrastructure.
(8) According to United States Central Command, the threat
posed by unmanned aerial systems, ``coupled with'' the ``lack
of dependable, networked capability to counter them is the most
concerning tactical development since the rise'' of improvised
explosive devices in Iraq.
(9) Foreign terrorist organization access to and use of
unmanned aerial systems presents national security threats to
the United States, its personnel, and its interests abroad, and
it is critical that the Department of Defense acts effectively
to interrupt the supply of such systems to foreign terrorist
organizations.
SEC. 3. INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENT OF FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION
ACQUISITION OF UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS.
(a) Intelligence Assessment Required.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense
shall submit to the congressional defense committees an intelligence
assessment of foreign terrorist organization acquisition of unmanned
aerial systems.
(b) Contents.--The assessment required by subsection (a) shall
cover the following:
(1) Methods by which foreign terrorist organizations
acquire unmanned aerial systems, such as through commercial
purchase, diversion, illicit manufacture, trafficking, state-
sponsored supply, or theft or recovery from nation-state
operators.
(2) Identification of suppliers, networks, routes,
production facilities, and other key nodes that facilitate the
acquisition of unmanned aerial systems by foreign terrorist
organizations.
(3) An evaluation of the degree of coordination and
intelligence sharing with allies and partners of the United
States to prevent foreign terrorist organizations from
acquiring unmanned aerial systems.
(4) Recommendations for legislative or administrative
action to limit or combat foreign terrorist organization
acquisition of unmanned aerial systems.
(c) Form.--The assessment submitted pursuant to subsection (a)
shall be submitted in classified form.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``congressional defense committees'' has the
meaning given such term in section 101(a) of title 10, United
States Code.
(2) The term ``foreign terrorist organization'' means any
organization or individual designated as a--
(A) foreign terrorist organization by the Secretary
of State pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); or
(B) specially designated global terrorist under
Executive Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to
blocking property and prohibiting transactions with
persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support
terrorism), or successor order, or section 594.310 of
title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, or successor
regulation.
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