II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2502 

To ban the Federal procurement of certain drones and other unmanned 

aircraft systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. COTTON, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. RUBIO, 

Mr. MURPHY, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To ban the Federal procurement of certain drones and other 

unmanned aircraft systems, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Security 

5 Drone Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COVERED FOREIGN ENTITY.—the term 

9 ‘‘covered foreign entity’’ means— 


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1 (A) a covered entity (as determined by the 

2 Secretary of Commerce); 

3 (B) any entity that is subject to 

4 extrajudicial direction from a foreign govern5 ment, as determined by the Director of Na6 tional Intelligence; 

7 (C) any entity the Secretary of Homeland 

8 Security, in coordination with the Director of 

9 National Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, 

10 and the Secretary of State, determines poses a 

11 national security risk; 

12 (D) any entity subject to influence or con13 trol by the Government of the People Republic 

14 of China or the Communist Party of the Peo15 ple’s Republic of China, as determined by the 

16 Secretary of Homeland Security; and 

17 (E) any subsidiary or affiliate of an entity 

18 described in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 

19 (2) COVERED UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.—The 

20 term ‘‘covered unmanned aircraft’’ means an un21 manned aircraft system and any related services and 

22 equipment. 


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1 SEC. 3. BAN ON PROCUREMENT OF FOREIGN OFF-THE2 SHELF DRONES AND UNMANNED AIRCRAFT 

3 SYSTEMS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub5 sections (b) and (c), the head of an executive agency may 

6 not procure any commercial off-the-shelf drone or covered 

7 unmanned aircraft system manufactured or assembled by 

8 a covered foreign entity, including any Original Equip9 ment Manufacturer flight controllers, radios, data trans10 mission devices, cameras, or gimbals manufactured in a 

11 covered foreign country or by an entity domiciled in a cov12 ered foreign country. 

13 (b) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu14 rity and the Secretary of Defense are exempt from the 

15 restriction under subsection (a) if the operation or pro16 curement— 

17 (1) is for the purposes of training, testing, or 

18 analysis for— 

19 (A) Counter-UAS surrogate intelligence; 

20 (B) electronic warfare; or 

21 (C) information warfare operations; and 

22 (2) is required in the national interest of the 

23 United States. 

24 (c) WAIVER.—The head of an executive agency may 

25 waive the prohibition under subsection (a) on a case-by26 case basis with the approval of the Secretary of Homeland 


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1 Security or the Secretary of Defense and notification to 

2 Congress. 

3 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON OPERATION OF FOREIGN COM4 MERCIAL OFF-THE-SHELF DRONES AND 

5 SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 

6 (a) PROHIBITION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 

8 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

9 no Federal department or agency may operate a 

10 commercial off-the-shelf drone or covered unmanned 

11 aircraft system manufactured or assembled by a cov12 ered foreign entity. 

13 (2) PHASE-IN PERIOD FOR EXISTING CON14 TRACTS.—The prohibition under paragraph (1) shall 

15 not apply, during the 1-year period beginning on the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, to commercial off17 the-shelf drones and covered unmanned aircraft sys18 tems procured through a contract entered into be19 fore the date of the enactment of this Act. 

20 (b) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu21 rity and the Secretary of Defense are exempt from the 

22 restriction under subsection (a) if the operation or pro23 curement— 

24 (1) is for the purposes of training, testing, or 

25 analysis for— 


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1 (A) Counter-UAS surrogate intelligence; 

2 (B) electronic warfare; or 

3 (C) information warfare operations; and 

4 (2) is required in the national interest of the 

5 United States. 

6 (c) WAIVER.—The head of an executive agency may 

7 waive the prohibition under subsection (a) on a case-by8 case basis with the approval of the Secretary of Homeland 

9 Security or the Secretary of Defense and notification to 

10 Congress. 

11 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

13 Homeland Security shall prescribe regulations to imple14 ment this section. 

15 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR 

16 PURCHASES AND OPERATION OF COMMER17 CIAL OFF-THE-SHELF DRONES AND UN18 MANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS FROM CHINA. 

19 No Federal funds awarded through a contract, grant, 

20 or cooperative agreement or otherwise made available may 

21 be used to purchase a commercial off-the-shelf drone or 

22 covered unmanned aircraft system, or a system to counter 

23 unmanned aircraft systems, that is manufactured or as24 sembled by a covered foreign entity or in connection with 

25 the operation of such a drone or system. 


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1 SEC. 6. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT. 

2 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

4 States shall submit to Congress a report on the amount 

5 of commercial off-the-shelf drones and covered unmanned 

6 aircraft systems procured by Federal departments and 

7 agencies from covered foreign entities. 

Æ 


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