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Department of Energy Drone Defense Act
To exempt the Secretary of Energy of certain prohibitions with respect to an unmanned aircraft system, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill exempts the Department of Energy from certain restrictions on the procurement and operation of unmanned aircraft systems (drones) from covered foreign entities that were established in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024. The exemptions apply to three separate prohibitions: one on procuring covered drones from foreign entities, one on operating such drones, and one on using federal funds for procuring and operating such drones. The bill also grants the Department of Energy an accounting exception related to drone operations. By exempting the Department of Energy from these restrictions, the bill allows the agency to use drones from specified foreign sources that would otherwise be prohibited for other federal agencies. The specific foreign entities and countries covered by these restrictions are defined in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Lee, Susie [D-NV-3] (D-NV)
7 cosponsors
Actions (2)
- May 20, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. · house
- May 20, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 20, 2026
Ms. Lee of Nevada (for herself, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Mr. LaLota, Mr. Jackson of Texas, and Mr. Alford) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
A BILL
To exempt the Secretary of Energy of certain prohibitions with respect to an unmanned aircraft system, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Department of Energy Drone Defense Act”.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF ENERGY WITH RESPECT TO COVERED UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS FROM COVERED FOREIGN ENTITIES.
(a) Exemption From Prohibition on Procurement of Covered Unmanned Aircraft Systems From Covered Foreign Entities.—Section 1823(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31; 137 Stat. 692) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by inserting “Secretary of Energy,” after “Secretary of State,”.
(b) Exemption From Prohibition on Operation of Covered Unmanned Aircraft Systems From Covered Foreign Entities.—Section 1824(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31; 137 Stat. 693) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by inserting “Secretary of Energy,” after “Secretary of State,”.
(c) Exemption From Prohibition on Use of Federal Funds for Procurement and Operation of Covered Unmanned Aircraft Systems From Covered Foreign Entities.—Section 1825(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31; 137 Stat.
694) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting “Secretary of Energy,” after “Secretary of State,”.
(d) Granting Secretary of Energy Accounting Exception.—Section 1827(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31; 137 Stat. 696) is amended by inserting “Department of Energy,” after “Department of Transportation,”. <all>
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