S. 1793 · 119th Congress

Expands and extends the military's authority to counter drone threats through 2030

Official title: COUNTER Act1

Never got a floor vote

§1What it does

Why this matters: A plain-English description of the bill as it was voted on, written by us from the official summary and text.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

This bill would expand the Defense Department's legal authority to counter threats from drones to certain U.S. facilities and assets and move the authority's end date from December 31, 2026, to December 31, 2030.2,3,4 It would require the secretary of defense to delegate the authority to military commanders or other officials, cover more kinds of facilities and activities, such as military property closed to the public and emergency responses limited in time and place, and allow it to be used in support of other federal agencies that counter drones.2 It would also exempt information about the technology and procedures used from public-records disclosure laws and specify that certain federal criminal laws, such as those on wiretapping and computer fraud, do not apply to Defense Department and Coast Guard counter-drone activities outside the United States.2

§2Status

StatusLatest action, May 15, 2025: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.1
IntroducedMay 15, 2025
SponsorSen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR]
Cosponsors39 cosponsors (11 Democratic, 27 Republican, 1 independent)
Official recordS. 1793 on Congress.gov

§3It never got a vote

Why this matters: This bill had wide support from both parties, but it never reached the House or Senate floor, so no member of Congress was ever recorded voting for or against it.

Latest action, May 15, 2025: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.1 How bills die without a vote.

2026 candidates who sponsored or cosponsored it (8)