Sen. Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.) announced Monday that he will move this week to advance a drone bill that would give local governments more powers to address growing concerns about drone sightings.
After reports of drones flying over New Jersey and New York, particularly near military research facilities and President Trump's Bedminster golf course, lawmakers are wondering who is flying the suspected drones. They are calling for more transparency from the Biden administration about whether the planes are flying or why the government is not flying them. Do something about them.
Schumer called on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to “quickly deploy” drone-detection tools that New York and New Jersey can use to respond to mysterious drone sightings that began several weeks ago. .
Speaking on the Senate floor Monday, Schumer said, “I will be on the Senate floor this week to push for the passage of legislation that would give local officials more power to respond quickly.” “The reports of recent weeks have caused untold anxiety and confusion for millions of people living in the Northeast. Thankfully, we have no reason to believe these drone sightings pose a national security threat. “However, they can still have devastating effects if they fly,” particularly over restricted airspace near airports and bases. ”
Schumer requests 360-degree radar system in New York, New Jersey to detect drones
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is pushing for legislation to give local authorities the power to quickly respond to potential drone calls. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
He went on to say that while there are no shortage of reports of possible drone activity, there are few answers as to where some of the drones came from or who was operating them.
Schumer added that local officials lack the resources and authority to get to the root cause of the problem.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.Y.) listens to questions from reporters during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on May 15, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Schumer asked for the Senate's help in passing the bill and urged the Department of Homeland Security to take all necessary steps to deploy as many drone detection resources as possible.
One of those technologies is the Robin Radar System. its websitesays, “Whether it's birds, bats or drones, our 360-degree radar system records thousands of observations, scanning them every second to accurately track and classify them.”
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Photo taken on Sunday, December 8, 2024 in the Bayshore neighborhood of Toms River. Photo of what appears to be a large drone hovering over the area at high altitude in New Jersey. The drone appeared to be well above the 400 feet height allowed by FAA regulations. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)
Schumer said systems like Robin would greatly help local authorities collect real data about where drones are coming from.
“I would like to see a swarm of technology systems like ROBIN deployed throughout the New York City metropolitan area,” he said. “Therefore, it is necessary for the Department of Homeland Security to take action.”
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The House Intelligence Committee is scheduled to receive a classified briefing on drone activity Tuesday afternoon, a person familiar with the matter told Punchbowl News. The news agency also reported that Biden administration officials from the FBI, Department of Defense, CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence will hold a press conference.
Fox News Digital's Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
