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H.R. 5640 117th Congress House

SAFE Drones Act

Official title: To ban the Federal procurement of certain drones and other unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes.

Introduced: October 20, 2021 Introduced by: Lance Gooden Republican · Texas See on congress.gov
Government Operations and Politics Administrative law and regulatory proceduresAsiaAviation and airportsChina
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Computer security and identity theftCongressional oversightDepartment of Homeland SecurityEconomic performance and conditionsForeign and international corporationsGovernment information and archivesGovernment studies and investigationsHomeland securityIntelligence activities, surveillance, classified informationMilitary procurement, research, weapons developmentPublic contracts and procurement
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This bill died when the 117th Congress ended
It never became law before the 117th Congress (2021–2022) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Oct 20, 2021
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Oct 20, 2021
Introduced in House
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 Latest action October 20, 2021

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Stop Acquiring Foreign Espionage Act of 2021 or the SAFE Drones Act

This bill bans the procurement or use by the federal government of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that are manufactured or assembled by foreign adversaries, with exceptions.

The ban includes associated elements that are required for the operator to operate safely and efficiently in the national airspace system.

The Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Justice are exempt from the restriction under specified circumstances. The bill sets forth further exemptions regarding the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Federal funds may not be used to procure certain UAS from a foreign adversary, with exceptions. All executive agencies must account for existing inventories of UAS manufactured or assembled by a foreign adversary in their personal property accounting systems. Inventory data related to UAS manufactured or assembled by a foreign adversary may be tracked at a classified level.

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall prescribe regulations or guidance to implement this bill's requirements pertaining to federal contracts.

Government-issued purchase cards may not be used to procure any UAS from a foreign adversary.

The Office of Management and Budget shall (1) establish a government-wide policy for the procurement of UAS, taking into account information security; and (2) contract with a federally funded research and development center to study certain UAS-related issues.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • S 73 American Security Drone Act of 2021
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Lobbying activity 1

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5640: SAFE Drones Act. 117th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-5640/
MLA
"H.R. 5640: SAFE Drones Act." 117th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-5640/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5640, 117th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-5640/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5640: SAFE Drones Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-5640/)
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