I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2438 

To require an adequate process in preplanned lethal operations that deliberately target citizens of the United States or citizens of strategic treaty 

allies of the United States, to limit the use of cluster munitions generally, 

including when likely to unintentionally harm such citizens, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 19, 2013 

Mr. ISSA (for himself, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. NUNNELEE, and Mr. ENYART) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Select Intelligence (Permanent Select), and Foreign Affairs, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To require an adequate process in preplanned lethal operations that deliberately target citizens of the United 

States or citizens of strategic treaty allies of the United 

States, to limit the use of cluster munitions generally, 

including when likely to unintentionally harm such citizens, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Designating Requirements On Notification of Executive4 ordered Strikes Act of 2013’’ or ‘‘DRONES Act’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—LIMITATIONS ON PREPLANNED LETHAL OPERATIONS 

DELIBERATELY TARGETING UNITED STATES CITIZENS OR 

CITIZENS OF STRATEGIC TREATY ALLIES 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Scope of title. 

Sec. 103. Limitation on preplanned lethal operations targeting United States 

citizens or citizens of strategic treaty allies. 

Sec. 104. Prohibition on preplanned lethal operations inside the territory of the 

United States. 

TITLE II—LIMITATIONS ON USE OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. General limitation on United States use of cluster munitions. 

Sec. 203. Limitation on use of cluster munitions when use is reasonably likely 

to unintentionally harm United States citizens or citizens of 

strategic treaty ally. 

Sec. 204. Cleanup plan. 

Sec. 205. Provision of cluster munitions to foreign nations. 

7 TITLE I—LIMITATIONS ON 

8 PREPLANNED LETHAL OPER9 ATIONS DELIBERATELY TAR10 GETING UNITED STATES CITI11 ZENS OR CITIZENS OF STRA12 TEGIC TREATY ALLIES 

13 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this title: 

15 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT16 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional comVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:47 Jun 25, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2438.IH H2438

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1 mittees’’ means the Committee on the Judiciary, the 

2 Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 

3 Armed Services, the Committee on Appropriations, 

4 and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov5 ernmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

6 on the Judiciary, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 

7 the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee 

8 on Appropriations, and the Committee on Oversight 

9 and Government Reform of the House of Represent10 atives. 

11 (2) PREPLANNED LETHAL OPERATION.—The 

12 term ‘‘preplanned lethal operation’’ does not include, 

13 limit, or restrict actions taken in immediate self de14 fense or immediate defense of others by members of 

15 the Armed Forces, law enforcement officers, or other 

16 persons authorized to use lethal force in the execu17 tion of their duties. 

18 (3) STRATEGIC TREATY ALLY.—The term 

19 ‘‘strategic treaty ally’’ refers to a member nation of 

20 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Japan, the 

21 Republic of South Korea, and any other country 

22 with which the United States has entered into a se23 curity treaty. 


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1 SEC. 102. SCOPE OF TITLE. 

2 (a) COVERED ENTITIES.—This title applies to all 

3 Federal departments and agencies and the Armed Forces. 

4 (b) COVERED PREPLANNED LETHAL OPERATIONS.— 

5 This title only applies to preplanned lethal operations that 

6 deliberately target a citizen of the United States or a cit7 izen of a strategic treaty ally of the United States. 

8 SEC. 103. LIMITATION ON PREPLANNED LETHAL OPER9 ATIONS TARGETING UNITED STATES CITI10 ZENS OR CITIZENS OF STRATEGIC TREATY 

11 ALLIES. 

12 (a) LIMITATION.—A Federal department or agency 

13 or the Armed Forces may not deliberately target a citizen 

14 of the United States or a citizen of a strategic treaty ally 

15 of the United States in a preplanned lethal operation un16 less the preplanned lethal operation is planned and exe17 cuted pursuant to a written determination signed person18 ally by the President— 

19 (1) confirming the status of the targeted citizen 

20 as an enemy combatant; and 

21 (2) authorizing the deliberate lethal targeting of 

22 the citizen based on an articulated need for the use 

23 of such lethal force. 

24 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 

25 30 days after making a determination under subsection 

26 (a), the President shall submit to the appropriate congresVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:33 Jun 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2438.IH H2438

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1 sional committees a report, in classified form if nec2 essary— 

3 (1) certifying that the timing and details of the 

4 preplanned lethal operation were approved personally 

5 by the President; and 

6 (2) describing in detail— 

7 (A) the information used to determine that 

8 the targeted citizen is an enemy combatant; and 

9 (B) the reasons why the use of lethal force 

10 was necessary. 

11 (c) DELEGATION.—The President may not dele12 gate— 

13 (1) the final determination of enemy combatant 

14 status; and 

15 (2) the final approval of timing and details of 

16 the execution of the preplanned lethal operation. 

17 SEC. 104. PROHIBITION ON PREPLANNED LETHAL OPER18 ATIONS INSIDE THE TERRITORY OF THE 

19 UNITED STATES. 

20 Nothing in this title may be construed to authorize 

21 any Federal department or agency or the Armed Forces 

22 to deliberately target a citizen of the United States or a 

23 citizen of a strategic treaty ally in a preplanned lethal op24 eration inside the territory of the United States or any 

25 location under the jurisdiction of the United States. 


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1 TITLE II—LIMITATIONS ON USE 

2 OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS 

3 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this title: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT6 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Rela8 tions, the Committee on Armed Services, and the 

9 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

10 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 

11 Affairs, the Committee on Armed Services, and the 

12 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of 

13 the House of Representatives. 

14 (2) CLUSTER MUNITIONS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘cluster mu16 nitions’’ means conventional munitions that are 

17 designed to disperse or release explosive sub18 munitions each weighing less than 40 pounds. 

19 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term does not in20 clude any of the following: 

21 (i) Munitions or submunitions de22 signed to dispense flares, smoke, pyrotech23 nics or chaff. 

24 (ii) Munitions designed exclusively for 

25 an air defense role. 


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1 (iii) Munitions or submunitions de2 signed to produce electrical or electronic 

3 effects. 

4 (iv) Munitions that, in order to avoid 

5 indiscriminate area effects and risks posed 

6 by unexploded submunitions, have all of 

7 the following characteristics: 

8 (I) The munition contains fewer 

9 than ten explosive submunitions. 

10 (II) Each explosive submunition 

11 is designed to detect and engage a 

12 single target object. 

13 (III) Each explosive submunition 

14 is equipped with an electronic self-de15 struction or deactivation mechanism. 

16 (3) STRATEGIC TREATY ALLY.—The term 

17 ‘‘strategic treaty ally’’ refers to a member nation of 

18 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Japan, the 

19 Republic of South Korea, and any other country 

20 with which the United States has entered into a se21 curity treaty. 

22 SEC. 202. GENERAL LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES USE 

23 OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS. 

24 (a) LIMITATION.—The President, head of any Fed25 eral department or agency, or general officer or flag officer 


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1 of the Armed Forces may not authorize the use of any 

2 cluster munitions unless— 

3 (1) the submunitions of the cluster munitions, 

4 after arming, will not result in more than 1 percent 

5 unexploded ordnance across the range of intended 

6 operational environments; and 

7 (2) the policy applicable to the use of the clus8 ter munitions requires that the cluster munitions— 

9 (A) will only be used against clearly de10 fined military targets; and 

11 (B) will not be used in locations where ci12 vilian noncombatants are known to be present 

13 or in areas normally inhabited by civilian non14 combatants. 

15 (b) PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 

16 (1) LIMITED WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Presi17 dent may waive the limitation imposed by subsection 

18 (a)(1) if, before authorizing the use of cluster muni19 tions in a certain situation, the President certifies 

20 that use of the cluster munitions in such situation 

21 is vital to protect the security of the United States. 

22 (2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later 

23 than 30 days after the date on which the President 

24 makes a certification under paragraph (1), the 

25 President shall submit to the appropriate congresVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:33 Jun 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2438.IH H2438

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1 sional committees a report, in classified form if nec2 essary, describing in detail— 

3 (A) the reasons for the certification; 

4 (B) the steps that were taken or will be 

5 taken to protect civilian noncombatants against 

6 contact with the cluster munitions; and 

7 (C) the failure rate of the cluster muni8 tions and whether the cluster munitions are 

9 fitted with self-destruct or self-deactivation de10 vices. 

11 (3) NO DELEGATION.—The President may not 

12 delegate the authority to make a certification under 

13 paragraph (1). 

14 SEC. 203. LIMITATION ON USE OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS 

15 WHEN USE IS REASONABLY LIKELY TO UNIN16 TENTIONALLY HARM UNITED STATES CITI17 ZENS OR CITIZENS OF STRATEGIC TREATY 

18 ALLY. 

19 (a) LIMITATION.—In addition to the limitation on the 

20 use of cluster munitions applicable under section 202(a), 

21 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Presi22 dent, head of any Federal department or agency, or gen23 eral officer or flag officer of the Armed Forces may not 

24 authorize the use of any cluster munitions if the use of 

25 the cluster munitions is reasonably likely to unintentionVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:33 Jun 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2438.IH H2438

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1 ally harm any citizen of the United States or citizen of 

2 a strategic treaty ally of the United States. 

3 (b) PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 

4 (1) LIMITED WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Presi5 dent may waive the limitation imposed by subsection 

6 (a) if, before authorizing the use of cluster muni7 tions, the President certifies that, notwithstanding 

8 the risk to any citizen of the United States or citizen 

9 of a strategic treaty ally of the United States, use 

10 of the cluster munitions is vital to protect the secu11 rity of the United States. 

12 (2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later 

13 than 30 days after the date on which the President 

14 makes a certification under paragraph (1), the 

15 President shall submit to the appropriate congres16 sional committees a report, in classified form if nec17 essary, describing in detail— 

18 (A) the reasons for the certification; 

19 (B) the steps that were taken or will be 

20 taken to prevent unintentional harm to any cit21 izen of the United States or citizen of a stra22 tegic treaty ally of the United States; and 

23 (C) the failure rate of the cluster muni24 tions and whether the cluster munitions are 


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1 fitted with self-destruct or self-deactivation de2 vices. 

3 (3) NO DELEGATION.—The President may not 

4 delegate the authority to make a certification under 

5 paragraph (1). 

6 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For the purposes of 

7 this section, use of cluster munitions is reasonably likely 

8 to unintentionally harm a United States citizen or a cit9 izen of a strategic treaty ally in any situation in which 

10 any citizen of the United States or any citizen of a stra11 tegic treaty ally is known to be within a two-mile radius 

12 of the area to be targeted with cluster munitions. 

13 SEC. 204. CLEANUP PLAN. 

14 Not later than 90 days after the date on which any 

15 cluster munitions are used by a Federal department or 

16 agency or the Armed Forces consistent with this title, the 

17 President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

18 committees a plan for cleaning up any of the cluster muni19 tions and submunitions that fail to explode and, therefore, 

20 continue to pose a hazard to civilian noncombatants. 

21 SEC. 205. PROVISION OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS TO FOREIGN 

22 NATIONS. 

23 The President, head of any Federal department or 

24 agency, or general officer or flag officer of the Armed 


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1 Forces may not provide any cluster munitions to a foreign 

2 nation, agency, or armed forces unless— 

3 (1) the cluster munitions to be provided will be 

4 used in a combined military operation with the 

5 United States; and 

6 (2) the use of the cluster munitions complies 

7 with the provisions of this title. 

Æ 


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