DEFENSE Act
Latest action · Feb 20, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 20, 2025
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Disabling Enemy Flight Entry and Neutralizing Suspect Equipment Act or the DEFENSE Act
This bill allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Department of Justice (DOJ) to deputize state or local law enforcement officers to take certain drone countermeasures to protect stadiums and other public gatherings.
Specifically, DHS or DOJ may provide state or local law enforcement officers with the authority to identify, monitor, and track drones; warn drone operators; disrupt or take control of drones; or use reasonable force to disable, damage, and seize or destroy drones deemed to pose a threat.
This authority applies for the purposes of protecting an event, stadium, or venue; certain large public gatherings (e.g., gatherings that are primarily outdoors with an estimated attendance of at least 100,000 people); or other public gatherings protected by specific temporary flight restrictions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Prior to being deputized, a state or local law enforcement officer must complete training in the use of the drone countermeasure authority.
DHS or DOJ, in coordination with the Department of Transportation and the FAA, must exercise oversight over the use of this authority by deputized state or local law enforcement officers.
Finally, the bill limits the equipment authorized for detecting, identifying, monitoring, or tracking drones to systems or technologies that are included on a list of authorized equipment maintained by DHS, in coordination with DOJ, the FAA, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Feb 20, 2025.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NV | Jacky Rosen | Original | Feb 20, 2025 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | Referred Feb 20, 2025 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 20, 2025Introduced in Senate
- Feb 20, 2025Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 119-16 | MASS GATHERING EVENTS: ASSESSING SECURITY COORDINATION AND PREPAREDNESS41 pages | Homeland Security Committee | May 21, 2025 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3207 | DEFENSE Act | Identical bill | May 6, 2025 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General to deputize a State or local law enforcement officer to protect certain events with temporary flight restrictions, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- DEFENSE Act
- Disabling Enemy Flight Entry and Neutralizing Suspect Equipment Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Transportation and Public Works.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 20, 2025Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
