S.Amdt. 2888

SA 2888. Mr. KELLY (for himself and Mr. Grassley) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Beginning on page 602, strike line 20 and all that follows
through page 603, line 2, and insert the following:
(2) Referral for investigation and prosecution.--The
Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Attorney
General and the Director of National Intelligence, shall
establish a process for referring for investigation and
prosecution--
(A) a UAS offense with respect to which the Secretary of
Defense may take an action described in section 130i(b)(1) of
title 10, United States Code; or
(B) an offense under section 40B of title 18, United States
Code, as added by subsection (d) of this section.

On page 605, between lines 10 and 11, insert the following:
(d) Drone Offenses.--Part I of title 18, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting after section 40A the following:

``Sec. 40B. Operation of unauthorized aircraft to interfere
with a military installation or military facility

``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `aircraft,' notwithstanding section
31(a)(1), means any device, craft, vehicle, or contrivance
that is--
``(A) invented, used, or designed to navigate, fly, or
travel in the air; or
``(B) used or intended to be used for flight in the air;
``(2) the term `Federal law' includes any form of Federal
law, including any Federal statute, rule, regulation, or
order;
``(3) the term `military facility' means a facility, as
defined in section 2801 of title 10, that is under the
jurisdiction of the Secretary of a military department (as
defined in section 101 of title 10);
``(4) the term `military installation' has the meaning
given the term in section 2801 of title 10; and
``(5) the term `unmanned aircraft' has the meaning given
the term in section 44801 of title 49.
``(b) Offenses.--
``(1) Interference with military installation or military
facility and related offenses.--Except as provided in
subsection (c), it shall be unlawful to operate an unmanned
aircraft and--
``(A) knowingly or recklessly cause the unmanned aircraft
to enter the airspace of, or knowingly or recklessly cause
the takeoff or landing of the unmanned aircraft in, a
military installation or military facility in violation of
Federal law, including all applicable rules, regulations, and
orders of the Federal Aviation Administration;
``(B) knowingly or recklessly use the unmanned aircraft to
interfere with activities at a military installation or
military facility located in the United States, including to
interfere with--
``(i) the duties of a member of the armed forces (as
defined in section 101(a) of title 10) or an official or
civilian employee of the Department of Defense working
therein;
``(ii) a military operation therein; or
``(iii) the use of military equipment located therein; or
``(C) knowingly or recklessly use the unmanned aircraft to
cause damage to a military installation or military facility
located in the United States, including damage to equipment
located therein, in an amount that exceeds $5,000.
``(2) Impairment of identification or lighting.--It shall
be unlawful to operate an unmanned aircraft in violation of
paragraph (1) and, in violation of Federal law, knowingly and
willfully--
``(A) remove, obliterate, tamper with, or alter the
identification number of the unmanned aircraft;
``(B) disable or fail to effect any required identification
transmission or signaling of the unmanned aircraft; or
``(C) disable or obscure any required anti-collision
lighting of the unmanned aircraft or fail to have or
illuminate such lighting as required.
``(c) Exceptions.--
``(1) Government activity.--Subsection (b) shall not apply
to the operation of an unmanned aircraft conducted by a unit
or agency of the United States Government or of a State,
Tribal, or local government (including any individual
conducting such operation pursuant to a contract or other
agreement entered into with the unit or agency) if the
operation is for the purpose of protecting the public safety
and welfare, including firefighting, law enforcement, or
emergency response.
``(2) Authorized property damage.--Subsection (b)(1)(C)
shall not apply to conduct consisting of injury to property,
if engaged in by or with the authorization or consent of the
Department of Defense.
``(d) Penalties.--Any person who violates subsection (b)--
``(1) in the case of a violation of paragraph (1)(A) of
that subsection, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned
for not more than 5 years, or both;
``(2) in the case of a violation of paragraph (1)(B) of
that subsection, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned
for not more than 5 years, or both;
``(3) in the case of a violation of paragraph (1)(C) of
that subsection, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned
for not more than 20 years, or both; and
``(4) in the case of a violation of paragraph (2) of that
subsection, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for
not more than 5 years, or both.
``(e) Inchoate Offenses.--Any person who threatens,
attempts, or conspires to commit an offense under subsection
(b) shall be subject to the same penalty as for a completed
offense.'';
(2) in the chapter analysis for chapter 2, by inserting
after the item relating to section 40A the following:

``40B. Operation of unauthorized aircraft to interfere with a military
installation or military facility.'';
(3) in section 982(a)(6)(A), by inserting ``40B (relating
to operation of unauthorized aircraft to interfere with a
military installation or military facility),'' before
``555''; and
(4) in section 2516(1)(c), by inserting ``section 40B
(relating to operation of unauthorized aircraft to interfere
with a military installation or military facility),'' before
``section 43''.
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