Chairman Mike Gallagher of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has introduced legislation designed to protect the United States from acquiring drones that could potentially jeopardize national security.
The American Security Drone Act of 2023 primarily addresses drones produced by foreign companies, including those from the People's Republic of China. It restricts the use of federal funds for procurement and prohibits federal agencies from utilizing drones manufactured by PRC companies. Additionally, it mandates the "Comptroller General of the United States to submit a report to Congress outlining the quantity of foreign commercial off-the-shelf drones and covered unmanned aircraft systems", according to a press release from the Select Committee on the CCP.
“The American Security Drone Act helps protect against any vulnerabilities posed by our government agencies’ reliance on foreign-manufactured drone technology and will encourage growth in the U.S. drone industry in the face of unfair and predatory competition from the People’s Republic of China," said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the CCP.
Furthermore, "Countering CCP Drones Act," was introduced in Sep., aiming at adding Chinese drone company DJI to FCC's Covered List which already included other CCP-affiliated firms like Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hangzhou, and Dahua. DJI is a Chinese company that controls over 50% of drone sales in the U.S., raising persistent national security concerns. The inclusion would effectively prohibit DJI technologies from utilizing U.S "communications infrastructure", according to a press release from New York Rep. Elise Stefanik's office.
The FCC's list consists mainly of "communications equipment and services (Covered List) that pose an unacceptable risk to U.S national security or security and safety of United States persons". This list undergoes regular updates based on current information with its recent update released in Sep., 2022 as per Federal Communications Commision.
“The Chinese Communist Party consistently weaponizes its near monopoly on the drone market against the good guys; restricting drone exports to Ukraine while Hamas uses them to perpetrate brutal terrorist attacks,” said Chairman Gallagher. “This bill would prohibit the federal government from using American taxpayer dollars to purchase this equipment from countries like China, supporting the PRC’s malign behavior and posing a serious national security threat to the US and our allies. It is imperative that Congress pass this bipartisan bill to protect U.S. interests and our national security supply-chain," said Chairman Gallagher.
