National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Research and Development Act

IB Union Calendar No. 527 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3560 [Report No. 118–630, Part I] To provide for coordinated Federal efforts to accelerate civilian unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility research and development for economic and national security, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 22, 2023 Mr. LUCAS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Accountability, Homeland Security, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned AUGUST 13, 2024 Reported from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] AUGUST 13, 2024 Committees on Oversight and Accountability, Homeland Security, and Trans- portation and Infrastructure discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 22, 2023] VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3560.RH H3560 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3560 RH A BILL To provide for coordinated Federal efforts to accelerate civil- ian unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility research and development for economic and national se- curity, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3560.RH H3560 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3560 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Na- 4 tional Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Research and De- 5 velopment Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Definitions. Sec. 4. Purposes. TITLE I—INTERAGENCY ACTIVITIES Sec. 101. Interagency working group. Sec. 102. Strategic research plan. Sec. 103. Counter-UAS research plan. Sec. 104. National drone technology center. Sec. 105. GAO study on foreign drones. TITLE II—NATIONAL DRONE AND ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY RESEARCH INSTITUTES Sec. 201. National Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Research Institutes. TITLE III—NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES Sec. 301. National Institute of Standards and Technology activities. Sec. 302. National Institute of Standards and Technology manufacturing activi- ties. TITLE IV—NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES Sec. 401. National Science Foundation activities. TITLE V—NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES Sec. 501. National Aeronautics and Space Administration activities. Sec. 502. National student unmanned aircraft systems competition program. TITLE VI—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ACTIVITIES Sec. 601. Department of Energy research activities. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6213 E:\BILLS\H3560.RH H3560 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3560 RH TITLE VII—DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ACTIVITIES Sec. 701. Department of Homeland Security activities. TITLE VIII—NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES Sec. 801. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research and devel- opment. TITLE IX—FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES Sec. 901. Federal Aviation Administration research and development. Sec. 902. Partnerships for research, development, demonstration, and testing. Sec. 903. UAS test ranges and operations. Sec. 904. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 905. Definitions. TITLE X—LIMITATION Sec. 1001. Limitation. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Unmanned aircraft systems have the poten- 3 tial to change and transform sectors of the United 4 States economy. 5 (2) Advanced air mobility aims to transform the 6 way people and goods are transported through new 7 capabilities and applications. 8 (3) Current uses and applications of unmanned 9 aircraft systems and advanced air mobility include 10 agriculture, transportation, law enforcement, public 11 safety, disaster evaluation and response, fire detec- 12 tion, border security, weather forecasting, construc- 13 tion, utility monitoring, and many other uses and 14 applications. 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3560.RH H3560 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3560 RH (4) Research on and development, demonstration, 1 testing, and evaluation of counter-UAS systems and 2 detection systems activities are critical to fully under- 3 stand the capabilities of and threats posed by un- 4 manned aircraft systems. 5 (5) Unmanned aircraft systems and advanced 6 air mobility systems are subject to safety, privacy, cy- 7 bersecurity, and supply chain risks, particularly as 8 most unmanned aircraft systems in the United States 9 are manufactured or assembled from parts manufac- 10 tured in foreign countries. 11 (6) National and homeland security threats 12 posed by unmanned aircraft systems and advanced 13 air mobility systems include criminal and terrorist 14 use for espionage, surveillance, and intelligence gath- 15 ering, smuggling drugs and contraband, and plat- 16 forms to deliver explosives or chemicals, biological, ra- 17 diological or nuclear weapons, and other firearms. 18 (7) The Federal Government has an important 19 role in advancing research, development, voluntary 20 consensus technical standards, and education activi- 21 ties in advanced air mobility and unmanned aircraft 22 systems technologies through coordination and col- 23 laboration between and among State, local, Federal, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3560.RH H3560 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3560 RH and Tribal governments, academia, the private sector, 1 and labor organizations. 2 (8) There is a lack of voluntary consensus tech- 3 nical standards for unmanned aircraft systems and 4 advanced air mobility for academia and the public 5 and private sectors. 6 (9) The United States needs to invest in domestic 7 manufacturing and secure supply chains of un- 8 manned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility 9 systems to meet the demand by the Government and 10 the commercial sectors, to ensure United States high 11 quality domestic manufacturing and supply chain 12 jobs, and to reduce reliance on foreign-made systems. 13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 14 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 15 (1) ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY.—The term ‘‘ad- 16 vanced air mobility’’ means a transportation system 17 that transports people and property by air between 18 two points in the United States using aircraft with 19 advanced technologies, including electric aircraft or 20 electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, in both 21 controlled and uncontrolled airspace. 22 (2) AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘‘agency head’’ 23 means the head of any Executive agency (as defined 24 in section 105 of title 5, United States Code). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3560.RH H3560 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3560 RH (3) COUNTER-UAS SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘counter- 1 UAS system’’ has the meaning given such term in sec- 2 tion 44801(5) of title 49, United States Code. 3 (4) INSTITUTE.—The term ‘‘Institute’’ means a 4 Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Research Institute 5 described in section 201(b). 6 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 7 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean- 8 ing given the term in section 101 of the Higher Edu- 9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001) 10 (6) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.—The term 11 ‘‘Interagency Working Group’’ means the Advanced 12 Air Mobility and Unmanned Aircraft Systems Inter- 13 agency Working Group of the National Science and 14 Technology Council established under section 101 of 15 title 1. 16 (7) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor or- 17 ganization’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 18 tion 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 19 U.S.C. 152(5)), except that such term shall also in- 20 clude— 21 (A) any organization composed of labor or- 22 ganizations, such as a labor union federation or 23 a State or municipal labor body; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3560.RH H3560 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3560 RH (B) any organization which would be in- 1 cluded in the definition for such term under such 2 section 2(5) but for the fact that the organization 3 represents— 4 (i) individuals employed by the United 5 States, any wholly owned Government cor- 6 poration, any Federal Reserve Bank, or any 7 State or political subdivision thereof; 8 (ii) individuals employed by persons 9 subject to the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 10 151 et seq.); or 11 (iii) individuals employed as agricul- 12 tural laborers. 13 (8) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na- 14 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term 15 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 16 U.S.C. 15801). 17 (9) TECHNICAL STANDARD.—The term ‘‘technical 18 standard’’ has the meaning given such term in section 19 12(d)(5) of the National Technology Transfer and Ad- 20 vancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note). 21 (10) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term 22 ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ has the meaning given 23 such term in section 44801(12) of title 49, United 24 States Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3560.RH H3560 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3560 RH SEC. 4. PURPOSES. 1 The purpose of this Act is to ensure United States lead- 2 ership in advanced air mobility and unmanned aircraft 3 systems, and maximize benefits and mitigate risks of such 4 systems by— 5 (1) supporting research, development, demonstra- 6 tion, testing, and transition to operations of secure 7 advanced air mobility systems and unmanned air- 8 craft systems, including research and development to 9 enable integration of such systems into the National 10 Airspace System; 11 (2) improving the interagency planning and co- 12 ordination of Federal research and development of ad- 13 vanced air mobility and unmanned aircraft systems 14 and maximizing the effectiveness of the Federal Gov- 15 ernment’s advanced air mobility and next generation 16 unmanned aircraft systems research and development 17 programs; 18 (3) promoting domestic manufacturing and do- 19 mestic supply chains for unmanned aircraft systems 20 and mitigating supply chain risks; 21 (4) supporting activities to mitigate risks to 22 public safety and national and homeland security, in- 23 cluding through response to disasters; 24 (5) preparing the present and future United 25 States workforce for the integration of advanced air 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3560.RH H3560 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3560 RH mobility and unmanned aircraft systems across sec- 1 tors of the economy, including through support for 2 curriculum development and research opportunities 3 and through partnerships that may include labor or- 4 ganizations and labor-management workforce train- 5 ing organizations; 6 (6) supporting research, development, demonstra- 7 tion, and testing of civilian applications of un- 8 manned aerial systems, including improved safety 9 and sustainability of ground transportation, environ- 10 mental monitoring, and disaster response; 11 (7) promoting research and development collabo- 12 ration among State, local, Tribal, and Federal gov- 13 ernments, National Laboratories, industry, labor or- 14 ganizations, and academic institutions; 15 (8) promoting the development of voluntary con- 16 sensus technical standards and best practices for ad- 17 vanced air mobility and unmanned aircraft systems; 18 and 19 (9) applying lessons learned from unmanned 20 aircraft systems research, development, demonstra- 21 tion, and testing to advanced air mobility systems. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3560.RH H3560 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3560 RH TITLE I—INTERAGENCY 1 ACTIVITIES 2 SEC. 101. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 3 (a) DESIGNATION.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Science and 5 Technology Council shall establish or designate an 6 interagency working group on advanced air mobility 7 and unmanned aircraft systems to coordinate Federal 8 research, development, deployment, testing, and edu- 9 cation activities to enable advanced air mobility and 10 unmanned aircraft systems. 11 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The interagency working 12 group shall be comprised of senior representatives 13 from the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis- 14 tration, the Department of Transportation, the Na- 15 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 16 National Science Foundation, the National Institute 17 of Standards and Technology, Department of Home- 18 land Security, and such other Federal agencies as ap- 19 propriate. 20 (b) DUTIES.—The interagency working group shall— 21 (1) develop the strategic research plan to guide 22 Federal research to enable advanced air mobility and 23 unmanned aircraft systems and oversee implementa- 24 tion of the plan; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3560.RH H3560 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3560 RH (2) oversee the development of— 1 (A) an assessment of the current state of 2 United States competitiveness and leadership in 3 advanced air mobility and unmanned aircraft 4 systems, including the scope and scale of United 5 States investments in relevant research and de- 6 velopment; and 7 (B) strategies to strengthen and secure the 8 domestic supply chain for advanced air mobility 9 systems and unmanned aircraft systems; 10 (3) facilitate communication and outreach op- 11 portunities with academia, industry, professional so- 12 cieties, State, local, Tribal, and Federal governments, 13 and other stakeholders; 14 (4) facilitate partnerships to leverage knowledge 15 and resources from industry, State, local, Tribal, and 16 Federal governments, National Laboratories, Un- [Text truncated for display. 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