GOP committee leaders object to DHS proposal on drones

Republican leaders on the U.S. House Homeland Security and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees blasted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) proposal to allow counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) equipment to operate near airports.

This includes equipment that could be capable of shooting down drones.

Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) wrote to DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf in a Nov. 14 letter to voice their objections.

They said that under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Congress should provide only limited authority to DHS to take action against drones in certain circumstances in highly secure or sensitive government-controlled areas. They say the DHS’s proposed plan goes far beyond the authority it was given.

“The National Airspace System hosts over 44,000 flights carrying 2.7 million passengers each day, with many of our airports in or near densely populated communities. The only federal agency that fully understands the incredible complexity of this system, in its totality, is the Federal Aviation Administration,” Graves and Rogers said.

“Nobody wants drones to cause disruptions at our airports, but to hastily hand over authority to shoot down drones to an agency that doesn’t have the critical knowledge or experience of how our airspace system functions is irresponsible and dangerous,” the congressmen said.