S 4709

Introduced

UNLOCK AUKUS Act

To amend the Arms Export Control Act to modify a limitation relating to exports and transfers of defense articles and services under the AUKUS partnership, and for other purposes.

Introduced Jun 8, 2026

Latest action (Jun 17, 2026) Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

Referred to

Foreign Relations Committee

Policy area

International Affairs

Issues

Foreign Policy

Summary

Amends the Arms Export Control Act to modify limitations on exports and transfers of defense articles and services under the AUKUS partnership
Modifies Section 38(l)(4)(B) of the Arms Export Control Act to exclude certain subclauses from applying to AUKUS defense export restrictions
Allows for greater flexibility in defense technology sharing among AUKUS partners (Australia, United Kingdom, and United States) by carving out specific regulatory limitations

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)

Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE] (R-NE)

9 cosponsors

Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO)
Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (R-TN)
Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE)
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL)
Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA)
Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ)
Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID] (R-ID)
Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL] (R-FL)
Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK] (R-AK)

Actions (3)

Jun 17, 2026 Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably. · senate
Jun 8, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. · senate
Jun 8, 2026 Introduced in Senate

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.

Committee action

What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.

Meetings where this bill was on the agenda

Business meeting to consider S.4726, to promote efforts to bring about stability and security in Sudan, S.3984, to authorize a 2-year extension of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, S.4570, to incentivize, streamline, and sustain United States foreign government partner procurement of United States-origin cyber and digital technologies, S.4259, to promote the development, production, and deployment of secure and resilient Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to enhance United States national security and support the defense and resilience of Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region, S.3018, to permit visiting dignitaries and service members from Taiwan to display the flag of the Republic of China, S.2578, to support United States investment opportunities, to strengthen bilateral collaboration in addressing criminal elements operating in the Brazilian Amazon, S.2252, to require United States foreign assistance commodities to be made available for their intended purposes before they expire, S.3050, to amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended, to modify requirements under that Act relating to exemptions, S.4610, to promote the development and use of geothermal resources in the Pacific, S.3172, to repeal certain Acts that impose sanctions upon Syria, S.3676, to require a sports diplomacy strategy to strategically leverage the major sporting events being hosted in the United States during the next decade to enhance United States soft power, diplomatic relationships, and global leadership, S.4708, to improve the security of the Arctic, S.4009, to provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to forced organ harvesting within the People's Republic of China, S.1542, to support the human rights of Uyghurs and members of other minority groups residing primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, to safeguard their distinct identity, S.3900, to promote human rights, internet freedom and accountability in Iran, S.4709, to amend the Arms Export Control Act to modify a limitation relating to exports and transfers of defense articles and services under the AUKUS partnership, S.4392, to promote United States and allied energy and mineral security, S.4600, to require a South China Sea diplomatic engagement strategy, S.4577, to reassess the United States-Tanzania bilateral relationship, S.4443, to increase cooperation with countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region in order to strengthen energy security and defense capabilities, S.4723, to establish a program to provide assistance to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies in Latin America and the Caribbean to prosecute Chinese organized criminal groups and Chinese government-linked organizations engaged in criminal activity, S.4680, to authorize the Secretary of State to extend limited consular appointments to eight years, with an additional two-year extension for needs of the Foreign Service, S.4665, to require the Secretary of State to submit a strategy to Congress for countering Iranian and Hezbollah influence operations in Latin America, S.3733, to amend the Passport Act of June 4, 1920, to authorize certain public libraries to collect and retain a fee for the execution of a passport application.Foreign Relations CommitteeJun 17, 2026Business meeting

Full text

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 8, 2026

Mr. Ricketts (for himself and Mr. Kaine) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To amend the Arms Export Control Act to modify a limitation relating to exports and transfers of defense articles and services under the AUKUS partnership, 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 “Unlocking Next-Generation Licensing and Opportunities for Collaborative Know-how for AUKUS Act” or the “UNLOCK AUKUS Act”.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF LIMITATION RELATING TO EXPORTS AND TRANSFERS OF DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERVICES UNDER THE AUKUS PARTNERSHIP.

Section 38(l)(4)(B) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778(l)(4)(B)) is amended by inserting “, excluding subclauses (I),

(II), and (III)” after “subsection (j)(1)(C)(ii)”. <all>

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