Human Authority over Autonomous Weapons Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9729 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9729

   To amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of
   Defense to ensure that the use of autonomous weapons systems and
artificial intelligence-enabled systems by the Armed Forces is subject
 to appropriate levels of human command responsibility, and for other
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2026

  Mr. Beyer (for himself, Mr. Barrett, Ms. Jacobs, and Mrs. Foushee)
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
                             Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of
   Defense to ensure that the use of autonomous weapons systems and
artificial intelligence-enabled systems by the Armed Forces is subject
 to appropriate levels of human command responsibility, and for other
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Human Authority over Autonomous
Weapons Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR HUMAN OVERSIGHT OF USE OF AUTONOMOUS AND
              ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-ENABLED WEAPON SYSTEMS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 3 of title 10, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 130f the following new section:
``Sec. 130g. Human oversight of use of autonomous and artificial
              intelligence-enabled weapons systems
    ``(a) Requirement.--Except as provided by subsection (b), the
Secretary shall require that any use of force by the Armed Forces
involving an autonomous weapons system or artificial intelligence-
enabled system is subject to human command responsibility. The
Secretary shall establish procedures to--
            ``(1) identify each human commander or operator responsible
        for authorizing, supervising, and terminating any such use of
        force;
            ``(2) ensure human oversight, approval, or a human-in-the-
        loop for any decision to use such a system for an intentionally
        lethal purpose; and
            ``(3) for any such use of force during the five-year period
        beginning on the date of the enactment of this section, ensure
        that a commander or operator using such a system verifies any
        target of such system using a secondary source or data that is
        not exclusively generated by artificial intelligence.
    ``(b) Limitation.--The requirement and procedures under subsection
(a) shall not apply with respect to--
            ``(1) a United States missile defense system; or
            ``(2) any other defense system designed to intercept,
        deflect, or engage missiles, munitions, or other weapons when
        such weapons are used against the United States or the Armed
        Forces of the United States.
    ``(c) Rule of Construction.--The requirement and procedures under
subsection (a) are in addition to, and shall not be construed to
replace, the guidance established pursuant to Department of Defense
Directive 3000.09 titled `Autonomy in Weapon Systems' (or any successor
regulation).
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `artificial intelligence' has the meaning
        given that term in section 5002 of the National Artificial
        Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401; Public Law
        116-283).
            ``(2) The term `autonomous weapon system'--
                    ``(A) means a weapon system that, once activated,
                can select and engage targets without further
                intervention by an operator; and
                    ``(B) includes any operator-supervised autonomous
                weapon system that is designed to allow operators to
                override operation of the weapon system, but can select
                and engage targets without further operator input after
                activation.''.
    (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives
a report on the implementation of section 130g of title 10, United
States Code, as added by subsection (a). Such report shall include--
            (1) the procedures established by the Secretary pursuant to
        subsection (a) of such section; and
            (2) a description of the extent to which the use of force
        by the Armed Forces has been prevented or delayed by reason of
        such procedures or the requirements of such section.
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