II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2836 

To assist the Department of Homeland Security in preventing emerging 

threats from unmanned aircraft and vehicles, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2018 

Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. HOEVEN, Ms. HEITKAMP, 

and Mr. COTTON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To assist the Department of Homeland Security in preventing emerging threats from unmanned aircraft and 

vehicles, 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 ‘‘Preventing Emerging 

5 Threats Act of 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF CERTAIN FACILITIES AND ASSETS 

2 FROM UNMANNED AIRCRAFT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title II of the Home4 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121 et seq.) is amend5 ed by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 210G. Protection of certain facilities and assets 

7 from unmanned aircraft 

8 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding section 46502 of 

9 title 49, United States Code, or any provision of title 18, 

10 United States Code, the Secretary and the Attorney Gen11 eral may, for their respective Departments, take, and may 

12 authorize personnel of the Department of Homeland Secu13 rity or the Department of Justice with assigned duties 

14 that include safety, security, or protection of personnel, 

15 facilities, or assets, to take, such actions described in sub16 section (b)(1) that are necessary to mitigate the threat 

17 (as defined by the Secretary or the Attorney General, in 

18 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation) that an 

19 unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft poses to 

20 the safety or security of a covered facility or asset. 

21 ‘‘(b) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The actions authorized in 

23 subsection (a) are the following: 

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

25 the unmanned aircraft system or unmanned air26 craft, without prior consent, including by means 


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1 of intercept or other access of a wire commu2 nication, an oral communication, or an elec3 tronic communication used to control the un4 manned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft. 

5 ‘‘(B) Warn the operator of the unmanned 

6 aircraft system or unmanned aircraft, including 

7 by passive or active, and direct or indirect phys8 ical, electronic, radio, and electromagnetic 

9 means. 

10 ‘‘(C) Disrupt control of the unmanned air11 craft system or unmanned aircraft, without 

12 prior consent, including by disabling the un13 manned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft 

14 by intercepting, interfering, or causing inter15 ference with wire, oral, electronic, or radio com16 munications used to control the unmanned air17 craft system or unmanned aircraft. 

18 ‘‘(D) Seize or exercise control of the un19 manned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft. 

20 ‘‘(E) Seize or otherwise confiscate the un21 manned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft. 

22 ‘‘(F) Use reasonable force to disable, dam23 age, or destroy the unmanned aircraft system 

24 or unmanned aircraft. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED COORDINATION.—The Sec2 retary and the Attorney General shall develop for 

3 their respective Departments the actions described 

4 in paragraph (1) in coordination with the Secretary 

5 of Transportation. 

6 ‘‘(3) RESEARCH, TESTING, TRAINING, AND

7 EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall conduct re8 search, testing, training on, and evaluation of any 

9 equipment, including any electronic equipment, to 

10 determine its capability and utility to enable any of 

11 the actions described in subsection (b)(1). 

12 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall co13 ordinate with the Administrator of the Federal Avia14 tion Administration when subsection (b)(3) might 

15 affect aviation safety, civilian aviation and aerospace 

16 operations, or aircraft airworthiness. 

17 ‘‘(c) FORFEITURE.—Any unmanned aircraft system 

18 or unmanned aircraft described in subsection (a) that is 

19 seized by the Secretary or the Attorney General is subject 

20 to forfeiture to the United States. 

21 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, the Attor23 ney General, and the Secretary of Transportation 

24 may prescribe regulations and shall issue guidance 


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1 in the respective areas of each Secretary or the At2 torney General to carry out this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) COORDINATION WITH DEPARTMENT

5 OF TRANSPORTATION.—The Secretary and the 

6 Attorney General shall coordinate the develop7 ment of their respective guidance under para8 graph (1) with the Secretary of Transportation. 

9 ‘‘(B) EFFECT ON AVIATION SAFETY.—The 

10 Secretary and the Attorney General shall re11 spectively coordinate with the Secretary of 

12 Transportation and the Administrator of the 

13 Federal Aviation Administration before issuing 

14 any guidance, or otherwise implementing this 

15 section, if such guidance or implementation 

16 might affect aviation safety, civilian aviation 

17 and aerospace operations, aircraft airworthi18 ness, or the use of airspace. 

19 ‘‘(e) PRIVACY PROTECTION.—The regulations pre20 scribed or guidance issued under subsection (d) shall en21 sure that— 

22 ‘‘(1) the interception or acquisition of, or access 

23 to, communications to or from an unmanned aircraft 

24 system under this section is conducted in a manner 

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1 stitution of the United States and applicable provi2 sions of Federal law; 

3 ‘‘(2) communications to or from an unmanned 

4 aircraft system are intercepted, acquired, or accessed 

5 only to the extent necessary to support a function of 

6 the Department of Homeland Security or the De7 partment of Justice; 

8 ‘‘(3) records of such communications are not 

9 maintained for more than 180 days unless the Sec10 retary or the Attorney General determine that main11 tenance of such records— 

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

13 functions of the Department of Homeland Secu14 rity or the Department of Justice, respectively; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(B) is required for a longer period to sup17 port a civilian law enforcement agency or by 

18 any other applicable statute or regulation; and 

19 ‘‘(4) such communications are not disclosed 

20 outside the Department of Homeland Security or the 

21 Department of Justice unless the disclosure— 

22 ‘‘(A) would fulfill a function of the Depart23 ment of Homeland Security or the Department 

24 of Justice, respectively; 


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1 ‘‘(B) would support the Department of De2 fense, another civilian law enforcement agency, 

3 or the activities of a regulatory agency of the 

4 Federal Government in connection with a crimi5 nal or civil investigation of, or any regulatory, 

6 statutory, or other enforcement action arising 

7 out of an action described in subsection (b)(1); 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(C) is otherwise required by law. 

10 ‘‘(f) BUDGET.—The Secretary and the Attorney Gen11 eral shall submit to Congress, as a part of the homeland 

12 security or justice budget materials for each fiscal year 

13 after fiscal year 2018, a consolidated funding display that 

14 identifies the funding source and funding requirements for 

15 the actions described in subsection (b)(1) within the De16 partment of Homeland Security or the Department of 

17 Justice. The funding display shall be in unclassified form, 

18 but may contain a classified annex. 

19 ‘‘(g) SEMIANNUAL BRIEFINGS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On a semiannual basis dur21 ing the 5-year period beginning 6 months after the 

22 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary and 

23 the Attorney General shall, respectively, provide a 

24 briefing to the appropriate congressional committees 

25 on the activities carried out pursuant to this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Each briefing required 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be conducted jointly with 

3 the Secretary of Transportation. 

4 ‘‘(3) CONTENT.—Each briefing required under 

5 paragraph (1) shall include— 

6 ‘‘(A) policies, programs, and procedures to 

7 mitigate or eliminate impacts of such activities 

8 to the National Airspace System; 

9 ‘‘(B) a description of instances where ac10 tions described in subsection (b)(1) have been 

11 taken; 

12 ‘‘(C) how the Secretary and the Attorney 

13 General have informed the public as to the pos14 sible use of authorities under this section; and 

15 ‘‘(D) how the Secretary and the Attorney 

16 General have engaged with Federal, State, and 

17 local law enforcement agencies to implement 

18 and use such authorities. 

19 ‘‘(4) UNCLASSIFIED FORM.—Each briefing re20 quired under paragraph (1) shall be in unclassified 

21 form, consistent with the needs of law enforcement 

22 agencies and national security, but may be accom23 panied by an additional classified briefing. 

24 ‘‘(h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec25 tion may be construed to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) vest in the Secretary or the Attorney Gen2 eral any authority of the Secretary of Transpor3 tation or the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 

4 Administration under title 49, United States Code; 

5 ‘‘(2) vest in the Secretary of Transportation or 

6 the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis7 tration any authority of the Secretary or the Attor8 ney General under this title; 

9 ‘‘(3) vest in the Secretary of Homeland Secu10 rity any authority of the Attorney General under 

11 this title; and 

12 ‘‘(4) vest in the Attorney General any authority 

13 of the Secretary of Homeland Security under this 

14 title. 

15 ‘‘(i) TERMINATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), the authority to carry out this section 

18 with respect to the covered facilities or assets shall 

19 terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date 

20 of enactment of this section. 

21 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION.—The President may extend 

22 by 180 days the termination date described in para23 graph (1) if, not later than 45 days before the ter24 mination date described in paragraph (1), the PresiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 May 17, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2836.IS S2836

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1 dent certifies to Congress that such extension is in 

2 the national security interest of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(j) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this section 

4 shall be construed to provide the Secretary or the Attorney 

5 General with additional authorities beyond those described 

6 in subsections (a), (b)(1), and (k)(3)(C)(iii). 

7 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) The term ‘appropriate congressional com9 mittees’ means— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

11 and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on 

12 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and 

13 the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Homeland Secu16 rity, the Committee on Transportation and In17 frastructure, the Committee on Energy and 

18 Commerce, and the Committee on the Judiciary 

19 of the House of Representatives. 

20 ‘‘(2) The term ‘budget’, with respect to a fiscal 

21 year, means the budget for that fiscal year that is 

22 submitted to Congress by the President under sec23 tion 1105(a) of title 31. 

24 ‘‘(3) The term ‘covered facility or asset’ means 

25 any facility or asset that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is identified by the Secretary or the 

2 Attorney General, in consultation with the Sec3 retary of Transportation with respect to poten4 tially impacted airspace, through a risk-based 

5 assessment for purposes of this section; 

6 ‘‘(B) is located in the United States (in7 cluding the territories and possessions, terri8 torial seas or navigable waters of the United 

9 States); and 

10 ‘‘(C) directly relates to— 

11 ‘‘(i) a mission authorized to be per12 formed by the Department, consistent with 

13 governing statutes, regulations, and orders 

14 issued by the Secretary, relating to— 

15 ‘‘(I) security operations by the 

16 United States Coast Guard and U.S. 

17 Customs and Border Protection, in18 cluding securing facilities, aircraft, 

19 and authorized vessels, whether 

20 moored or underway; 

21 ‘‘(II) United States Secret Serv22 ice protection operations pursuant to 

23 sections 3056 and 3056A of title 18, 

24 United States Code; or 


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1 ‘‘(III) protection of facilities pur2 suant to section 1315 of title 40, 

3 United States Code; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a mission authorized to be per5 formed by the Department of Justice, con6 sistent with governing statutes, regula7 tions, and orders issued by the Attorney 

8 General, relating to— 

9 ‘‘(I) personnel protection oper10 ations by the Federal Bureau of In11 vestigation and the United States 

12 Marshals Service, including the pro13 tection of Federal jurists, court offi14 cers, witnesses and other persons in 

15 the interests of justice, as specified in 

16 section 566(e) of title 28, United 

17 States Code; 

18 ‘‘(II) penal, detention, and cor19 rectional operations conducted by the 

20 Federal Bureau of Prisons considered 

21 to be high-risk or assessed to be a po22 tential target for unlawful unmanned 

23 aircraft activity; or 

24 ‘‘(III) protection of the buildings 

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1 ated by or for the Department of Jus2 tice identified as essential to the func3 tion of the Department of Justice, 

4 and the provision of security for Fed5 eral courts, as specified in section 

6 566(a) of title 28, United States 

7 Code; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) a mission authorized to be per9 formed by the Department of Homeland 

10 Security or the Department of Justice, act11 ing together or separately, consistent with 

12 governing statutes, regulations, and orders 

13 issued by the Secretary or the Attorney 

14 General, respectively, relating to— 

15 ‘‘(I) National Special Security 

16 Events and Special Event Assessment 

17 Rating events; 

18 ‘‘(II) upon the request of a 

19 State’s governor or attorney general, 

20 providing support to State, local, or 

21 tribal law enforcement to ensure pro22 tection of people and property at mass 

23 gatherings, where appropriate and 

24 within available resources; 


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1 ‘‘(III) active Federal law enforce2 ment investigations, emergency re3 sponses, or security operations; or 

4 ‘‘(IV) in the event that either the 

5 Department of Homeland Security or 

6 the Department of Justice has identi7 fied a national security threat against 

8 the United States and the threat 

9 could involve unlawful use of an un10 manned aircraft, responding to such 

11 national security threat. 

12 ‘‘(4) The terms ‘electronic communication’, 

13 ‘intercept’, ‘oral communication’, and ‘wire commu14 nication’ have the meaning given those terms in sec15 tion 2510 of title 18, United States Code. 

16 ‘‘(5) The term ‘homeland security or justice 

17 budget materials’, with respect to a fiscal year, 

18 means the materials submitted to Congress by the 

19 Secretary and the Attorney General in support of 

20 the budget for that fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(6) For purposes of subsection (a), the term 

22 ‘personnel’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) officers and employees of the Depart24 ment of Homeland Security or the Department 

25 of Justice; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) individuals employed by contractors 

2 of the Department of Homeland Security who 

3 are subject to the supervision, control, or direc4 tion of the respective department and are as5 signed by that department to perform the du6 ties described in subsection (a) in accordance 

7 with regulations or guidance established under 

8 subsection (d). 

9 ‘‘(7) The terms ‘unmanned aircraft’ and ‘un10 manned aircraft system’ have the meanings given 

11 those terms in section 331 of the FAA Moderniza12 tion and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 40101 

13 note). 

14 ‘‘(l) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AS15 SESSMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

17 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

18 shall issue an assessment to the appropriate congres19 sional committees, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) an evaluation of the threat from un21 manned aircraft systems to United States crit22 ical infrastructure (as defined in this Act) and 

23 to domestic large hub airports (as defined in 

24 section 40102(a)(29) of title 49, United States 

25 Code); 


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1 ‘‘(B) an evaluation of current Federal and 

2 State, local, or tribal law enforcement authori3 ties to counter the threat identified in subpara4 graph (A), including section 99.7 of title 14, 

5 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

6 thereto; 

7 ‘‘(C) an evaluation of the knowledge of, ef8 ficiency of, and effectiveness of current proce9 dures and resources available to owners of crit10 ical infrastructure and domestic large hub air11 ports when they believe a threat from un12 manned aircraft systems is present and what 

13 additional actions, if any, the Department could 

14 implement under existing authorities to assist 

15 these entities to counter the threat identified in 

16 subparagraph (A); 

17 ‘‘(D) an assessment of what, if any, addi18 tional authorities the Department needs to 

19 counter the threat identified in subparagraph 

20 (A); and 

21 ‘‘(E) an assessment of what, if any, addi22 tional research and development the Depart23 ment needs to counter the threat identified in 

24 subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(2) UNCLASSIFIED FORM.—The report re2 quired under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in 

3 unclassified form, but may contain a classified 

4 annex.’’. 

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

6 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

7 after the item relating to section 210F the following: 

‘‘Sec. 210G. Protection of certain facilities and assets from unmanned aircraft.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY EFFORTS 

9 TO HELP PROTECT INDIVIDUALS FROM VE10 HICULAR TERRORISM. 

11 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘emergency response providers’’ 

13 has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the 

14 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101); and 

15 (2) the term ‘‘vehicular terrorism’’ means an 

16 action that uses automotive transportation to inflict 

17 violence and intimidation on individuals for a polit18 ical purpose. 

19 (b) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security shall— 

22 (1) assess the threat of vehicular terrorism and 

23 activities the Department of Homeland Security is 

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1 viders and the private sector to prevent, mitigate, 

2 and respond to vehicular terrorism; and 

3 (2) based on the assessment conducted under 

4 paragraph (1), brief the Committee on Homeland 

5 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 

6 and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

7 House of Representatives on— 

8 (A) the findings of the assessment; and 

9 (B) a strategy to improve the efforts of the 

10 Department of Homeland Security to support 

11 emergency response providers and the private 

12 sector to prevent, mitigate, and respond to the 

13 threat of vehicular terrorism. 

Æ 


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