Text of Senate Amendment 6152

On 2026-06-24, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 6152" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 6152

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S3341-S3342] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 6152. Mr. WYDEN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place in title II, insert the following: SEC. 2___. IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO STEERING COMMITTEE ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AND NATIONAL SECURITY. Section 236 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283), is amended-- (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``may'' and inserting ``shall''; (2) by redesignating subsection (e) and (f) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively; (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following: ``(e) Report on Comparative Capabilities of Adversaries With Respect to Lethal Autonomous and Semi-autonomous Weapon Systems.-- ``(1) In general.--Not later than December 31, 2026, and annually thereafter, the Steering Committee shall submit the appropriate congressional committees a report comparing the capabilities of the United States with the capabilities of adversaries of the United States with respect to weapon systems described in paragraph (3). [[Page S3342]] ``(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall include-- ``(A) for each weapon system described in subsection (c)-- ``(i) an evaluation of spending by the United States and adversaries on such weapon system; ``(ii) an evaluation of the test infrastructure and workforce supporting such weapon system; and ``(iii) an evaluation of the quantity of such weapon system under development, developed, or deployed; ``(B) an assessment of the technological progress of the United States and adversaries on lethal fully automated and semi-autonomous weapon systems technology; ``(C) a description of the timeline for operational deployment of such technology by the United States and adversaries; ``(D) an assessment, conducted in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, of the intent or willingness of adversaries to use such technology; and ``(E) the approval process of the United States for the development and deployment of lethal automated weapon systems. ``(3) Weapon systems described.--The weapon systems described in this subsection are the following: ``(A) Weapon systems that enable lethal, offensive capabilities that are fully-automated or have the potential to become fully-automated. ``(B) Weapon systems that support targeting for lethal action. ``(C) Automated systems with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities that support target recommendations. ``(4) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. ``(5) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In this section, the term `appropriate congressional committees' means-- ``(A) the Committee on Armed Services and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and ``(B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.''; and (4) in subsection (f), as redesignated by paragraph (2)-- (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: ``(2) Fully automated; potential to become fully automated.-- ``(A) Fully automated.--The term `fully automated', with respect to a weapon system, means that the weapon system, once activated, can select and engage targets without further intervention by an operator, as defined in Department of Defense Directive 3000.09; or ``(B) Potential to become fully automated.--The term `potential to become fully automated', with respect to a weapon system, means that the weapon system has the potential to be deployed in a manner that would qualify as an autonomous weapon system under Department of Defense Directive 3000.09.''; and (C) by inserting after paragraph (3), as redesignated by subparagraph (A), the following: ``(4) Semi-autonomous.-- ``(A) In general.--The term `semi-autonomous,' with respect to a weapons system, means that the weapon system, once activated, is intended to only engage individual targets or specific target groups that have been selected by an operator, as defined in Department of Defense Directive 3000.09. ``(B) Inclusions.--Semi-autonomous weapons systems include-- ``(i) weapon systems that employ autonomy for engagement- related functions including-- ``(I) acquiring, tracking, and identifying potential targets; cuing potential targets to operators; ``(II) prioritizing selected targets; timing of when to fire; and ``(III) providing terminal guidance to home in on selected targets if operator control is retained over the decision to select individual targets and specific target groups for engagement; and ``(ii) `fire and forget' or lock-on-after-launch homing munitions that rely on tactics, techniques, and procedures to maximize the probability that the only targets within the acquisition basket of the seeker when the seeker activates are the targets or specific target groups that have been selected by an operator.''. ______