Tony Gonzalez Presses FAA Administrator Rocheleau About UAS Drones ‘Falling Out Of The Sky’

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During Wednesday’s House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-TX) questioned Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau about drone oversight.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Gonzales.

00:02Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Minister, for testifying today.

00:07I want to talk about safety.

00:08We often talk about aircrafts falling out of the sky, which is important,

00:12or getting clipped as you're taxiing.

00:14But I'm worried about these increased amounts of unmanned aircraft systems,

00:20UAS, drones, that are falling out of the sky.

00:23We just saw Ukraine conduct one of the most significant operations of the Russian-Ukraine war.

00:32And with a small amount of money, with a small amount of quadcopters,

00:37they were able to decimate Russia's long-range strategic bombers, okay,

00:46to the tunes of billions of dollars.

00:48I'm worried about that.

00:49I mean, that's not a what-if.

00:50That's now.

00:51That is currently, right now, what is happening.

00:54My question is pretty simple.

00:56Is our U.S. airspace safe from drone threats?

01:04I would refer that question to the national security,

01:07but our airspace today is capable of managing safe integration of UAS.

01:12Because this is what I worry about, is after 9-11, everyone's pointing fingers,

01:17and everyone saw this coming, but it's always somebody else's preview, right?

01:23And I'm trying to figure out, everyone has a piece of it,

01:25and I'm trying to figure out what role FAA plays in this when it comes to drone technology,

01:32when it comes to drone interaction, when it comes to that piece to it.

01:36It's a great question, and I should highlight the close coordination, collaboration,

01:43and communication between the FAA, the DOT, the Department of Defense,

01:48the Department of Homeland Security, for the things you're talking about.

01:51As we work through integrating UAS into the airspace,

01:55we're working alongside our national security partners every day.

01:59Let me ask you another question.

02:00How many drones were in U.S. airspace yesterday?

02:05I'll have to take an eye on that one for you.

02:07I know we fly thousands of drones every day in the airspace.

02:10I don't have an accurate count for you today.

02:12We should absolutely know what drones are in our airspace every single day.

02:17And that's what I want us to get to.

02:19Who's in the air?

02:20What are they doing in the air?

02:21What are the intentions?

02:22And I don't want to wait until it's after the fact.

02:25I want to get ahead of that.

02:26To that point, what resources do you need, does FAA need from Congress,

02:32to ensure that critical infrastructure from future drone threats is safe?

02:40So our budget, in fact, does incorporate our need from Congress,

02:44our support from Congress, to make sure that as we work through this safe integration

02:49into the airspace, that we're working specifically on things like drone detection,

02:54drone mitigation.

02:54Again, working with our national security partners who do this for a living.

02:59I think this is important.

03:00Once again, this isn't the future.

03:02We're here, right?

03:03And guess what?

03:04Every drone that's up in the air isn't necessarily going to cause harm,

03:08but there may be some that do.

03:10And we're at a point where very soon, you know,

03:13Amazon packages are going to be delivered.

03:15It's going to be a very busy airspace.

03:17It already is.

03:18And the fact, we need to know how many drones are in the air.

03:21And we need to know what those drones' intentions are.

03:24And we also need to have counter-UAS incentives, you know,

03:29or mitigations involved in that.

03:32And I think FAA plays a role in that.

03:34I understand.

03:34I understand you're working with other partners.

03:36But the airspace belongs to you, right, in many cases.

03:39So how do we continue to work with that?

03:42A big part of that is the budget on that.

03:43I'd love to continue to work with you and hear back on some of your answers.

03:47I'd be happy to do that.

03:48We are very much in favor of the drone detection and, of course,

03:52the mitigation when appropriately utilized.

03:55I have one minute left.

03:56My last question is on this.

03:58Section 570 of FAA Reauthorization Act directs the department to partner

04:03with national academies to assess the loss of commercial air service

04:07in small communities and identify options for restoring it.

04:10I appreciate the directive, and I think it comes at a critical time for Del Rio.

04:15Del Rio is a border community.

04:16Del Rio is central to Loughlin Air Force Base, as well as the Del Rio Border Patrol sector.

04:24Can you speak to how the department is – and we're currently without an airline, right?

04:29That community has no access to an airline.

04:32Can you speak to how the department is implementing the Section 570 study

04:37and whether Del Rio, given its proximity to international trade, military installations,

04:42and key trade corridors, will be considered in this assessment?

04:48Yes, sir.

04:48I appreciate the question because having just returned from the general aviation,

04:52business aviation community, I understand the importance of small community air service.

04:56I know that our team has been working intensely on doing the analysis that you talk about

05:01that reauthorization directs us.

05:03I will circle back with you with the latest on that effort.

05:06Great. Thank you.

05:07You'll be back, Chairman.

05:07You know, I think Mr. Gonzalez, in his previous question, asks a good question,

05:13so I'm going to follow up real quickly.

05:14Would it even be possible for the FAA to know how many drones were in?

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