Senate Judiciary hearing urges reauthorization, expansion of federal counter‑drone authorities

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, opened a hearing saying Congress must act before existing counter‑drone authorities lapse, noting that "these authorities have been extended temporarily 8 times since they were originally signed into law in 2018," and that "Congress must ensure that these authorities don't lapse."

The central message from three federal witnesses was direct: reauthorize the 2018 Preventing Emerging Threats Act and expand its reach so trained state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement — and certain federal components now outside the statute’s explicit list — can use advanced detection and, where appropriate, mitigation tools. "Under that authority and with the necessary coordination and approvals, the FBI has conducted 80 missions, detecting over 1,200 UAS in violation of federal law," said Michael Torphy, supervisory special agent and unit chief in the FBI's critical incident response group. Steve Willoughby, acting director of DHS’s counter‑UAS program office, told senators that "in the last 6 months of 2024, over 27,000 drones were detected within 500 meters of The US southern border, operating nearly 60,000 unique flights." Christopher Hardy, chief of the Office of Law and Policy in the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, told the committee, "We must retain our existing authority."

Why it matters: witnesses and senators said the technology is proliferating quickly and is now used for routine commerce and criminal activity alike. Torphy and Willoughby described uses that range from illicit smuggling into the United States and into prisons, to hostile surveillance of critical infrastructure and mass gatherings, and to interference with emergency response and…