# 119-s-1793: COUNTER Act

119-s-1793, COUNTER Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR); status introduced (as of 2026-10-03).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1793
- As of: 2026-10-03
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1793
- Congress: 119
- Title: COUNTER Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-05-15
- Sponsor: Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR)
- Cosponsors: 39
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-03

## Summary

**Expands and centralizes U.S. military authority to detect and stop hostile drones.** This bill would widen who can order counter‑UAS actions, authorize remote identification tools, protect operational details from public disclosure, extend key deadlines to 2030, and carve out certain civilian-law limits for DoD and Coast Guard activities abroad. - Military and DoD personnel: Would let the Secretary of Defense delegate counter‑UAS authority to unified combatant commanders or other DoD officials and broaden permitted actions to include remote identification and a wider set of protective and emergency responses. - Federal, state, and local responders: Would authorize DoD and the Coast Guard to support other agencies and assist state or local officials in incidents involving nuclear, radiological, biological, or chemical threats and other emergency responses. - Public, researchers, and drone operators: Would exempt technical procedures and guidance from the Freedom of Information Act and state or local disclosure laws and would codify use of remote‑identification broadcasts as an authorized mitigation tool.

## Cosponsors (39)

- Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC] (R-SC), 2026-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (R-TN), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] (R-AR), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL] (R-AL), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] (R-WV), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME] (R-ME), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] (R-TX), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND] (R-ND), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Justice, James C. [R-WV] (R-WV), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY] (R-WY), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. McConnell, Mitch [R-KY] (R-KY), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS] (R-KS), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE] (R-NE), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV] (D-NV), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO] (R-MO), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL] (R-FL), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] (D-NH), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK] (R-AK), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Young, Todd [R-IN] (R-IN), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mullin, Markwayne [R-OK-2] (R-OK), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI] (R-WI), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-MI] (D-MI), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2025-06-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Husted, Jon [R-OH] (R-OH), 2025-10-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (D-NV), 2025-11-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2025-11-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2025-11-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] (R-NE), 2025-11-05T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Expanded counter‑drone powers for military: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would give the Department of Defense and Coast Guard more authority to detect and stop dangerous drones. The Secretary of Defense would have to delegate counter‑UAS authority to commanders or other DoD officials. The law would expressly allow using remote identification broadca…
- Limits public access to counter‑drone info: cost, low. If enacted, the bill would exempt information about the technology, procedures, protocols, regulations, and guidance used for counter‑UAS actions from public disclosure under FOIA and from state or local disclosure laws. The exemption would take effect upon enactment and apply to the specified cate…
- New deadlines for counter‑drone rules: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would change several dates and a cross‑reference in the counter‑UAS law. It would replace "March 1, 2018" with "January 1, 2026." It would extend a December 31, 2026 deadline to December 31, 2030, lengthen a 180‑day interval to one year, and move a November 15, 2026 date to Nov…
- Overseas carve‑out for drone actions: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would say certain federal criminal and aviation laws do not apply to DoD or Coast Guard counter‑UAS actions that are conducted outside the United States. The listed laws include 18 U.S.C. sections 32, 1030, and 1367; chapters 119 and 206 of title 18; and 49 U.S.C. section 46502…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-sres-585: A resolution honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
- 119-sres-255: A resolution honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of former United States Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond of Missouri.
- 119-sres-159: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable John Bennett Johnston, Jr., former Senator for the State of Louisiana.
- 119-sres-148: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Alan K. Simpson, former Senator for the State of Wyoming.
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.

## Sources
- [119-s-1793 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1793)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-sres-585: A resolution honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Ben Nighthorse Camp…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-585)
- [119-sres-255: A resolution honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of former United State…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-255)
- [119-sres-159: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable John Bennett Johnston, Jr., for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-159)
- [119-sres-148: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Alan K. Simpson, former Senator…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-148)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1793 (as of 2026-10-03).