I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2183 
To direct the Director of the CIA to cease lethal drone operations, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 23, 2013 
Ms. LEE of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on In-
telligence (Permanent Select) and the Judiciary, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Director of the CIA to cease lethal drone 
operations, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drones Accountability 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DRONES OUT OF CIA. 
(a) The Central Intelligence Agency shall not own, 
operate, command, or control any armed unmanned aerial 
vehicle or any combat aircraft. 
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(b) No member of the Armed Forces, and no other 
employee or contractor of the Department of Defense, may 
carry out any order or authorization from any employee 
or contractor of the Central Intelligence Agency to use le-
thal force. 
SEC. 3. REPORT REQUIREMENT AND LEGAL OPINION DIS-
CLOSURE. 
(a) The Department of Defense shall report to Con-
gress on: 
(1) The existence and sufficiency of civilian pro-
tection mechanisms in accordance with international 
law binding to the United States via treaty including 
the 1949 Geneva Conventions for armed operations 
using unmanned aerial vehicle operations, including 
civilian casualty mitigation processes and post-strike 
investigatory procedures. 
(2) The methodology used to distinguish com-
batants from civilians prior to armed operations and 
after a strike has occurred. 
(3) The existence and sufficiency of standards 
for the identification of targets, including the reli-
ability of ‘‘signatures’’, and the sufficiency of intel-
ligence sources and analysis where there is limited 
U.S. ground presence. 
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(4) The existence and sufficiency of processes 
for recognizing the immediate and long-term effects 
of drones strikes on the organization being targeted 
and on the country or region in which the strike 
takes place. 
(b) Legal opinions provide to Congress: Not later 
than thirty days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and once every three months thereafter, the Depart-
ment of Defense, the Department of Justice, and the Cen-
tral Intelligence Agency shall provide all legal opinions 
providing advice regarding the authority to use lethal force 
to justify operations. 
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING MORATORIUM 
ON LETHAL DRONES UNTIL SAFEGUARDS IN 
PLACE AND LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS 
USED TO TARGET INDIVIDUALS NOT IN-
VOLVED IN IMMINENT ATTACK AGAINST U.S. 
(a) It is the sense of Congress that a moratorium 
must be enforced against the lethal use of armed un-
manned aerial vehicles until the Administration has pre-
sented and Congress has approved sufficient safeguards 
and sufficient oversight addressing highlighted in section 
3(a)(i). 
(b) Until such safeguards are in place, no funds avail-
able for the United States Armed Forces or the Central 
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Intelligence Agency may be obligated or expended for the 
purpose of using lethal force against an individual unless 
the individual presents an imminent threat to the United 
States, lethal force is the last resort, and the harm caused 
to civilians or civilian property is proportional and does 
not violate international humanitarian law adopted by the 
United States via treaty including the 1949 Geneva Con-
ventions. 
Æ 
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