I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5366 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for certain authorized 

actions regarding interdiction of unmanned aircraft, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2018 

Mrs. HARTZLER (for herself, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, and Ms. 

HANABUSA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Homeland Security, 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 amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for certain 

authorized actions regarding interdiction of unmanned 

aircraft, 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 ‘‘Safeguarding Amer5 ica’s Skies Act of 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZED ACTIONS REGARDING INTERDICTION 

2 OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of part I of title 18, 

4 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end of 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 28. AUTHORIZED ACTIONS REGARDING INTERDIC7 TION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro9 vision of this title, except as described in paragraph (1), 

10 the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney 

11 General may, for their respective departments, authorize 

12 officers, employees, and contractors of the department as13 signed with duties that include safety, security, or protec14 tion of personnel, facilities, or assets of the department, 

15 to take such actions described in subsection (b) that are 

16 necessary to mitigate the threat (as defined by the Sec17 retary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, 

18 in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation) that 

19 an unauthorized UAV poses to the safety or security of 

20 a covered facility or asset. In taking such actions, the 

21 agency shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) avoid any infringement of the privacy and 

23 civil rights of the people of the United States and 

24 the freedom of the press consistent with the First 

25 and Fourth Amendments, including with regard to 


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1 the testing of any equipment and the interception or 

2 acquisition of communications; 

3 ‘‘(2) limit the geographic reach and the dura4 tion of such actions to only those areas and time5 frames that are reasonably necessary to address a 

6 reasonable threat; and 

7 ‘‘(3) use reasonable care not to interfere with 

8 non-targeted manned or unmanned aircraft, commu9 nications, equipment, facilities, or services. 

10 ‘‘(b) ACTIONS AUTHORIZED.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—The actions de12 scribed in this subsection are as follows: 

13 ‘‘(A) Detect, identify, monitor, and track, 

14 without prior consent, a UAV, including by 

15 means of interception of or other access to wire, 

16 oral, electronic, or radio communications or sig17 nals transmitted to or by the UAV, to evaluate 

18 whether the UAV poses a reasonable threat to 

19 the safety or security of a covered facility or 

20 asset. 

21 ‘‘(B) Warn the operator of the UAV, in22 cluding by passive or active, and direct or indi23 rect physical, electronic, radio, and electro24 magnetic means. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Redirect, alter control, disable, dis2 rupt, seize, or confiscate, without prior consent, 

3 a UAV that poses a reasonable threat as deter4 mined under subsection (a), including by inter5 cepting, substituting, or disrupting wire, oral, 

6 electronic, or radio communications or signals 

7 transmitted to or by UAV. 

8 ‘‘(D) Use reasonable force to disable, dis9 rupt, damage, or destroy a small unmanned air10 craft, unmanned aircraft system, unmanned air11 craft, or unmanned aircraft’s attached system, 

12 payload, or cargo that poses a reasonable threat 

13 to the safety or security of a covered facility or 

14 asset. 

15 ‘‘(E) Conduct research, testing, training 

16 on, or evaluation of any equipment, including 

17 any electronic equipment, to determine its capa18 bility and utility to enable. 

19 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.—The Sec20 retary of Homeland Security and the Attorney Gen21 eral, in coordination with the Secretary of Transpor22 tation, may make rules and shall issue guidance in 

23 their respective areas to carry out this section. 

24 ‘‘(3) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—The Sec25 retary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, 


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1 and the Secretary of Transportation shall coordinate 

2 and avoid duplication in the development of guid3 ance under this paragraph or otherwise imple4 menting this section. 

5 ‘‘(4) MINIMIZATION OF HARMFUL INTER6 FERENCE.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, 

7 the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Trans8 portation shall also coordinate with the Federal 

9 Communications Commission and the National Tele10 communications and Information Administration to 

11 ensure that all actions taken and guidance and rules 

12 made under this subsection minimize harmful inter13 ference to licensed and unlicensed communications, 

14 devices, and services authorized by the Federal Com15 munications Commission. 

16 ‘‘(5) FINAL RULE REGARDING REMOTE IDENTI17 FICATION AND TRACKING OF UAVS.—Not later than 

18 one year after the effective date of this section the 

19 Secretary of Transportation shall issue a final rule 

20 requiring remote identification and tracking of 

21 UAVs, including UAVs for recreational use, to en22 sure that cooperative aircraft are identified. 

23 ‘‘(c) FORFEITURE.—Any UAV described in sub24 section (a) that is seized by the Federal agency is subject 

25 to forfeiture to the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(d) EXEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE.—Information 

2 pertaining to the technology, procedures, and protocols 

3 used to carry out this section, including any regulations 

4 or guidance issued to carry out this section, shall be ex5 empt from disclosure under section 552(b)(3) of title 5 

6 and exempt from disclosure under State and local law re7 quiring the disclosure of information. 

8 ‘‘(e) PRIVACY PROTECTION.—All actions taken and 

9 guidance and rules made under subsection (b)(2) shall en10 sure that— 

11 ‘‘(1) the interception or acquisition of or access 

12 to communications to or from UAV under this sec13 tion is conducted in a manner consistent with the 

14 Fourth Amendment to the Constitution and applica15 ble provisions of Federal law; 

16 ‘‘(2) communications are intercepted, acquired, 

17 or accessed only to the extent necessary to mitigate 

18 the reasonable threat that an unmanned aircraft 

19 system or unmanned aircraft poses to the safety or 

20 security of a covered facility or asset; 

21 ‘‘(3) records of such communications are main22 tained only for as long as necessary and in no event 

23 for more than 180 days unless the Secretary of 

24 Homeland Security or the Attorney General reason25 ably determine that maintenance of such records— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is necessary to support one or more 

2 safety or security functions of the Department 

3 of Homeland Security or the Department of 

4 Justice, respectively; or 

5 ‘‘(B) is required for a longer period to sup6 port a law enforcement agency or by any other 

7 applicable law or regulation; and 

8 ‘‘(4) such communications are not disclosed 

9 outside the Department of Homeland Security or the 

10 Department of Justice unless the disclosure, subject 

11 to paragraph (a)(1) above— 

12 ‘‘(A) would fulfill a safety or security func13 tion of the Department of Homeland Security 

14 or the Department of Justice; 

15 ‘‘(B) would support the Department of De16 fense, a civilian law enforcement agency, or the 

17 enforcement activities of a regulatory agency of 

18 the Federal Government in connection with a 

19 criminal or civil investigation of, or any regu20 latory action with regard to, an action described 

21 in subsection (b)(1); or 

22 ‘‘(C) is otherwise required by law or regu23 lation. 

24 ‘‘(f) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this section 

25 shall be construed to provide the Secretary of Homeland 


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1 Security or the Attorney General additional authorities be2 yond those described in (b)(1) without authorization by 

3 law. 

4 ‘‘(g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Attorney General 

5 and Secretary of Homeland Security, shall each submit 

6 to Congress, not later than one year after enactment, and 

7 each year thereafter, a report that shall include, at min8 imum— 

9 ‘‘(1) a description of actions taken, guidance 

10 provided, and rules made pursuant to this section, 

11 including a summary of public comments submitted 

12 in relation to such guidance or rules; 

13 ‘‘(2) a description of each Department’s efforts 

14 to address privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties 

15 issues implicated by the actions permitted by this 

16 section and other Federal and State government 

17 policies affecting UAVs; 

18 ‘‘(3) the number of UAVs that have been sub19 ject to each of the actions taken under subsection 

20 (b)(2), broken out by action; 

21 ‘‘(4) actions taken by each Department to in22 form the public of covered facilities and assets au23 thorized by this section; 

24 ‘‘(5) implementation costs; or 


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1 ‘‘(6) a description of any revisions to this sec2 tion that may be desirable. 

3 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) The term ‘cooperative aircraft’ means air5 craft that have an electronic means of identification 

6 aboard in operation. 

7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘covered facility or asset’ means 

8 any facility or asset that— 

9 ‘‘(A) is identified by the Secretary of 

10 Homeland Security or the Attorney General; 

11 ‘‘(B) is located in the United States (in12 cluding the territories and possessions of the 

13 United States): and 

14 ‘‘(C) relates to— 

15 ‘‘(i) the buildings and grounds leased, 

16 owned, or operated by or for the Federal 

17 Government, including Federal Facility 

18 protection operations; 

19 ‘‘(ii) authorized protective operations, 

20 including but not limited to the protection 

21 of Federal jurists, court officers, witnesses, 

22 and other persons; 

23 ‘‘(iii) penal, detention, correctional, 

24 and judicial operations; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) National Security Special 

2 Events, Special Event Assessment Ratings 

3 Events, or other mass gatherings or events 

4 that are reasonably assessed by the De5 partment of Justice to be a potential tar6 get for terrorism or other criminal activity; 

7 ‘‘(v) active Federal law enforcement 

8 investigations; 

9 ‘‘(vi) operations that counter ter10 rorism, narcotics, and transnational crimi11 nal organizations; 

12 ‘‘(vii) securing authorized vessels, 

13 whether moored or underway; 

14 ‘‘(viii) protection operations pursuant 

15 to section 3056; 

16 ‘‘(ix) critical infrastructure; 

17 ‘‘(x) Emergency Response Operations; 

18 ‘‘(xi) National Disaster Areas if it is 

19 determined by the Secretary of Homeland 

20 Security that unauthorized access to the 

21 airspace would restrict recovery efforts; 

22 ‘‘(xii) Natural or Hazardous Disaster 

23 Areas if it is determined by the Secretary 

24 of Homeland Security that unauthorized 


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1 access to the airspace would restrict recov2 ery efforts; and 

3 ‘‘(xiii) other areas identified by the 

4 President. 

5 ‘‘(3) The term ‘UAV’ means a small unmanned 

6 aircraft, unmanned aircraft system, unmanned air7 craft, or unmanned aircraft’s attached system, pay8 load, or cargo. 

9 ‘‘(4) The terms ‘unmanned aircraft’, ‘small un10 manned aircraft’, and ‘unmanned aircraft system’ 

11 have the meanings given those terms in section 331 

12 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 

13 (Public Law 112–95; 49 U.S.C. 40101 note). 

14 ‘‘(5) The terms ‘intercept’ and ‘wire, oral, elec15 tronic, or radio communications’ have the meaning 

16 given those terms in section 2510. 

17 ‘‘(6) The term ‘critical infrastructure’ has the 

18 meaning given that term in section 2339D except 

19 that the Attorney General may, in his or her deter20 mination, amend the definition for purposes of this 

21 section in the issuance of any guidance or rules 

22 made under subsection (b)(2).’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

24 for such chapter is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 

‘‘28. Authorized actions regarding interdiction of unmanned aircraft.’’. 


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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 18, United 

2 States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in section 32, by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(d) Nothing in this section shall apply to any action 

6 lawfully taken under section 28.’’; 

7 (2) in section 1030, by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(k) Nothing in this section shall apply to any action 

10 lawfully taken under section 28.’’; 

11 (3) in section 1362 by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘Nothing in this section shall apply to any action 

14 lawfully taken under section 28.’’; 

15 (4) in section 1367, by adding at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(c) Nothing in this section shall apply to any action 

18 lawfully taken under section 28.’’; 

19 (5) in chapter 119— 

20 (A) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘§ 2523. Exception for interdiction of unmanned air22 craft 

23 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall apply in the case of 

24 any action lawfully taken under section 28.’’; and 


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1 (B) in the table of sections for such chap2 ter, by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘2523. Exception for interdiction of unmanned aircraft.’’; 

3 and 

4 (6) in chapter 206— 

5 (A) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 3128. Exception for interdiction of unmanned air7 craft 

8 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall apply in the case of 

9 any action lawfully taken under section 28.’’; and 

10 (B) in the table of sections for such chap11 ter, by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘3128. Exception for interdiction of unmanned aircraft.’’. 

Æ 


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