Airport Alert: Senate Committee Approves C-UAS Bill

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee held a brief business meeting on August 3 to consider more than three dozen legislative items and three nominations, including S. 4687, Safeguarding the Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act of 2022. This bill was approved by voice vote. 

On July 29, Committee Chair Gary Peters (D-MI) and Ranking Member Ron Johnson (R-WI), along with Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced this bipartisan legislation designed to enhance the nation's ability to counter the threat posed by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Key provisions include:

• Renewing and expanding existing authorities, originally included in the Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018 which are set to expire on October 4, to provide the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice with the necessary tools to counter UAS effectively. Renewal of these authorities will also permit the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to continue its C-UAS drone detection test beds at Miami and Los Angeles International Airports.
• Authorizing DHS and DOJ to use existing authorities to protect critical infrastructure and authorizing TSA to proactively protect transportation infrastructure from drone threats.
• Permitting state and local law enforcement and critical infrastructure owners and operators to use drone detection technology that has been approved by DHS.  
• Creating a five-year pilot program, with up to 12 participants per year, to encourage coordination between state, local, and federal law enforcement to detect, identify, monitor, track, or mitigate UAS threats in various scenarios.  
• Requiring DHS to develop a database of security-related UAS incidents that occur inside the United States. 

This bill contains many items included in the White House's legislative proposal released in April to close the gaps in existing policy and law that inhibit federal departments, agencies, and others from defending against the growing UAS threat in the United States. That legislative proposal accompanied the White House's Domestic Counter-UAS National Action Plan. The bill approved today did not include the White House's legislative recommendations for the Departments of Defense or State, Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

Since release of the National Action Plan and legislative text in April, AAAE has been actively engaged in discussions on Capitol Hill and with the Administration. We have made it clear that AAAE strongly opposes any effort to require airports to either invest in UAS detection or mitigation technology or be responsible for protecting airports from drone threats. AAAE also wants to ensure that airports can use detection-only systems that they have procured in the past few years without any additional mandates.

What's Next?

It is unclear when this bill will be considered by the full Senate. Additionally, there is no companion bill yet introduced in the House of Representatives. As a result, the administration may need to find an alternate path to renew C-UAS authorities for DHS and DOJ before they expire in early October.