Statement of Support for DeFazio Amendment to Reform Section 336

Statement of Commercial Drone Alliance in Support of Ranking Member DeFazio’s Amendment to Reform Section 336 April 23, 2018—Commercial drone (or “UAS”) use in the U.S. is growing at an exponential rate. To promote the continued growth of the UAS industry, the Commercial Drone Alliance believes that basic ‘rules of the road’ are necessary for all UAS operators in the national airspace system. The FAA must be allowed to require registration, remote identification, and tracking of all UAS in the sky. This step is necessary to enable the FAA to move forward with rulemakings to allow operations over people, beyond visual line of sight, and other expanded operations that will facilitate the expansion of the commercial drone industry, while also providing a solution to safety, security, and privacy concerns.

The Alliance therefore strongly supports Amendment #136 offered by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member DeFazio, which enables the FAA to impose safety regulations on all drone operators. This reform is critical to ensure the safety and security of the national airspace. Other amendments that have been offered to reform Section 336 do not achieve the same safety, security and pro-innovation effect.

The Alliance recognizes that there are different categories of users and aircraft in the UAS community, and we encourage the FAA to take those differences into account in adopting regulations. We remain ready to work with lawmakers and other industry stakeholders to find a solution that unleashes the potential of the drone industry in a safe and secure way.