S.Amdt. 6261

1. Adds SEC. 221. IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO STEERING COMMITTEE ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AND NATIONAL SECURITY at the end of subtitle B of title II

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. 221. IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO STEERING COMMITTEE ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AND NATIONAL SECURITY.

   Inserted: Section 236 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283), is amended--

   Inserted: (1) in subsection (a), by striking "may" and inserting "shall";

   Inserted: (2) by redesignating subsection (e) and (f) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively;

   Inserted: (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:

   Inserted: "(e) Report on Comparative Capabilities of Adversaries With Respect to Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems.--

   Inserted: "(1) In general.--Not later than December 31, 2023, and annually thereafter, the Steering Committee shall submit the appropriate congressional committees a report comparing the capabilities of the United States with the capabilities of adversaries of the United States with respect to weapon systems described in paragraph (3).

   Inserted: "(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall include--

   Inserted: "(A) for each weapon system described in subsection (c)--

   Inserted: "(i) an evaluation of spending by the United States and adversaries on such weapon system;

   Inserted: "(ii) an evaluation of the test infrastructure and workforce supporting such weapon system; and

   Inserted: "(iii) an evaluation of the quantity of such weapon system under development, developed, or deployed;

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   Inserted: "(B) an assessment of the technological progress of the United States and adversaries on lethal fully automated weapon systems technology;

   Inserted: "(C) a description of the timeline for operational deployment of such technology by the United States and adversaries;

   Inserted: "(D) an assessment, conducted in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, of the intent or willingness of adversaries to use such technology; and

   Inserted: "(E) the approval process of the United States for the development and deployment of lethal automated weapon systems.

   Inserted: "(3) Weapon systems described.--The weapon systems described in this subsection are the following:

   Inserted: "(A) Weapon systems with lethal, offensive capabilities that are fully-automated or have the potential to become fully-automated.

   Inserted: "(B) Weapon systems with targeting assist capabilities.

   Inserted: "(C) Automated systems with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.

   Inserted: "(4) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in classified form.

   Inserted: "(5) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In this section, the term 'appropriate congressional committees' means--

   Inserted: "(A) the Committee on Armed Services and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and

   Inserted: "(B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives."; and

   Inserted: (4) in subsection (f), as redesignated by paragraph (2)--

   Inserted: (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and

   Inserted: (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:

   Inserted: "(2) Fully automated; potential to become fully automated.--

   Inserted: "(A) Fully automated.--The term 'fully automated', with respect to a weapon system, means that the weapon system, once activated, can select and engage targets without further intervention by an operator, as defined in Department of Defense Directive 3000.09; or

   Inserted: "(B) Potential to become fully automated.--The term 'potential to become fully automated', with respect to a weapon system, means that the weapon system has the potential to be deployed in a manner that would qualify as an autonomous weapon system under Department of Defense Directive 3000.09.".

   Original wording

   At the end of subtitle B of title II, add the following:

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As printed