H.R. 4759

119 HR 4759 IH: Ban Military Drones Spying on Civilians Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-07-25
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 4759  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   July 25, 2025   Mr. Gomez  introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary , and in addition to the Committee on  Armed Services , 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 prohibit the use of certain unmanned aircraft vehicles in the United States to conduct surveillance of United States persons engaged in protests or civil disobedience.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Ban Military Drones Spying on Civilians Act  .
2.
Prohibition on availability of funds to use certain unmanned aircraft vehicles in the United States to conduct surveillance of United States persons engaged in protests or civil disobedience
(a)
Prohibition
None of the funds authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2026 or any fiscal year thereafter for the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, or any other executive agency may be used to operate a covered unmanned aircraft vehicle in the United States to conduct surveillance of United States persons engaged in protests or civil disobedience.
(b)
Reports
(1)
Requirement
On an annual basis, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the use of covered unmanned aircraft vehicles in the United States during the period covered by the report.
(2)
Elements
Each report under paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to the period covered by the report, the following:
(A)
A list of each individual instance in which a covered unmanned aircraft vehicle was used—
(i)
for a novel purpose; or
(ii)
for a purpose not authorized by Congress, including with respect to a use by one executive agency for an authorized purpose to assist another executive agency that is not authorized to carry out such purpose.
(B)
With respect to each instance of a use of a covered unmanned aircraft vehicle listed under subparagraph (A)—
(i)
the purpose of such use;
(ii)
a justification for using a covered unmanned aircraft vehicle, including an analysis of why such use was required rather than using alternative means more traditionally used in a civilian context, including helicopters or smaller, lower-altitude civilian unmanned aerial vehicles;
(iii)
the dates and time of such use;
(iv)
the duration of such use;
(v)
the location of such use;
(vi)
the model of covered unmanned aircraft vehicle used;
(vii)
identification of—
(I)
any sensors, cameras, and other monitoring equipment equipped on the covered unmanned aircraft vehicle; and
(II)
any weapons equipped on the covered unmanned aircraft vehicle;
(viii)
a description of the process for approving such use, including both the process of the executive agency and any interagency process; and
(ix)
whether any United States persons were surveilled for any reason, and if so—
(I)
whether the executive agency identified any United States person;
(II)
the number of such United States persons identified;
(III)
the purpose for identifying such United States persons;
(IV)
whether the executive agency disseminated such United States person information to any other executive agency or a non-Federal Government entity; and
(V)
the period that the executive agency will retain such United States person information.
(3)
Form
The reports under paragraph (1) may be submitted in classified form or include a classified annex.
(c)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
The term  appropriate congressional committees  means the following:
(A)
The Committees on Armed Services and Homeland Security of the House of Representatives.
(B)
The Committees on Armed Services and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
(C)
The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
(2)
The term  covered unmanned aircraft vehicle  means any of the following:
(A)
The MQ–9 Reaper, or variants thereof.
(B)
Any unmanned aircraft that—
(i)
uses an airframe initially developed for use by the Armed Forces;
(ii)
is a medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft or a high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft; or
(iii)
is capable of flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet or higher.
(3)
The term  executive agency  has the meaning given that term in section 105 of title 5, United States Code.
(4)
The term  United States person  has the meaning given that term in section 1637 of the Carl Levin and Howard P.  Buck  McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 ( 50 U.S.C. 1708 ).