Washington, DC – Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO), Chair of the Aviation Subcommittee Rick Larsen (D-WA), and Ranking Member Garret Graves (R-LA) sent a letter to Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Elaine Chao, Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Daniel Elwell, and Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought expressing concerns with the delay in the FAA’s issuing of a rule requiring remote identification for unmanned aircraft systems, or drones.
Requiring drones to equip with remote identification technologies is increasingly critical to public safety as the use and number of drones in U.S. airspace continues to grow. Congress made modifications to the law in last year’s FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 to ensure the agency could move forward on its remote identification rule, and although the FAA initiated the rulemaking process more than one year ago, the publishing date has been delayed. Until this rule is finalized, airspace users and people and property on the ground remain at risk.
In their letter, the Members wrote: “…we believe failure to complete this effort poses serious risks to the National Airspace System, its users, and the Nation’s most critical and sensitive facilities and assets. Delays also stifle innovation, preventing the U.S. commercial UAS industry from reaching its full potential.”
A full copy of the letter can be found here.
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