,,ii  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #aei  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,january #ac1 #bjae 
,mr4 ,mc,cain 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,flake1
 and ,ms4 ,ayotte7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,homeland
 ,security and ,governmental ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to improve the operation of 
the ,department of ,homeland ,security's
 ,unmanned ,aircraft ,system ,program4  
#a4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7    
,illegal border activities ,the term    
illegal border activities means the     
illegal trafficking or smuggling of an  
individual or controlled substances or  
activities to further a ,federal crime  
relating to ,united ,states immigration1
 customs1 controlled substances1        
agriculture1 monetary instruments1 or   
other border controls4  7#b7 ,southern  
border ,the term ,southern border means 
the international border between the    
,united ,states and ,mexico4  7#c7 ,,uas
 ,the term ,,uas means unmanned aircraft

 systems4  #b4 ,persistent surveillance 
along the ,southern border  7a7 ,in     
general ,the ,department of ,homeland   
,security shall fully utilize           
surveillance and detection capabilities 
developed or used by the various        
,federal departments and agencies for   
the purpose of enhancing the functioning
 and operational capability to conduct  
continuous and integrated manned or     
unmanned1 monitoring1 sensing1 or       
surveillance of #ajj percent of         
,southern border mileage or the         
immediate vicinity of the ,southern     
border4  7b7 ,procurement of additional 
unmanned aircraft systems  7#a7 ,in     
general ,the ,secretary of ,homeland    
,security may not procure any additional
 ,,uas until after the ,secretary       
provides ,congress with written         
certification that the ,department of   
,homeland ,security successfully        
operated its current fleet of ,,uas at  
least #bc1jjj hours during the preceding
 calendar year4  7#b7 ,exemption ,the   

limitation set forth in paragraph 7#a7  
shall not apply to the procurement of   
unmanned aircraft that do not weigh more
 than #aej pounds4  7c7 ,use of best    
available radar and surveillance        
technology ,the ,department of ,homeland
 ,security shall use the best available 
radar and surveillance technology-- 7#a7
 to increase awareness of illegal border
 activities along the ,southern border2 
and  7#b7 to identify gaps in           
surveillance capabilities4  #c4 ,report 
to ,congress ,not later than #ij days   
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 and biannually thereafter1 the    
,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall 
submit a report to the ,committee on    
,homeland ,security and ,governmental   
,affairs of the ,senate and the         
,committee on ,homeland ,security of the
 ,house of ,representatives that        
contains1 for the reporting period--    
7#a7 the total number of ,,uas hours    
required to provide persistent          
surveillance along the ,southern border2

  7#b7 the total number of ,,uas flight 
hours planned in support of any ,federal
 or ,state department or agency2  7#c7  
the number of planned ,,uas flight hours
 in support of the goal referred to in  
paragraph 7#a72  7#d7 the number of     
hours in which ,,uas were flown in      
support of the goal referred to in      
paragraph 7#a72  7#e7 the number of     
planned ,,uas flight hours in support of
 the goal referred to in paragraph 7#a7 
that were cancelled before takeoff1     
including the reason for such           
cancellations2  7#f7 performance        
measures regarding-- 7,a7 the number of 
hours flown by the current fleet of     
,,uas operated by the ,department of    
,homeland ,security2  7,b7 the number of
 subjects detected though the use of    
,,uas2  7,c7 the number of apprehensions
 assisted by the use of ,,uas2 and  7,d7
 the number and quantity of illicit drug
 seizures assisted by the use of ,,uas2 
and  7#g7 all accumulated cost          
associated with the ,unmanned ,aircraft 

,system ,program within the ,department 
of ,homeland ,security1 including-- 7,a7
 salaries of pilots2 and  7,b7 costs    
associated with radar and surveillance  
technology4  #d4 ,interagency           
collaboration ,the ,secretary of        
,homeland ,security shall consult with  
the ,secretary of ,defense to identify  
the best practices used by the          
,department of ,defense that could also 
be used by the ,department of ,homeland 
,security to improve the security of the
 ,southern border by enhancing wide     
aerial surveillance and fulfilling the  
requirements set forth in section #b4   
#e4 ,sunset ,this ,act shall be repealed
 on the date that is #e years after the 
date of the enactment of this ,act4