Review – HR 5061 Introduced – cUAS Authority

Back in August Rep Garbarino (R,NY) introduced HR 5061, the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. This bill is a comprehensive attempt to address issues related to counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (cUAS) activities. It includes amendments to, and an extension of, the cUAS authorities granted to DHS and DOJ under 6 USC 124n. No new spending is authorized.

HR 5061 is similar to HR 8610, the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, that was introduced by Rep Green (R,TN) in June of 2024. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a business meeting on September 18^th, 2024 where HR 8610 was considered. The bill was amended and ordered reported favorably. The Committee’s Report was published on September 20^th, 2024. No further action was taken in the House.

Moving Forward

On September 3^rd, 2025, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a business meeting, where HR 5061 was considered. The Committee approved substitute language by a vote of 60 to 0 and ordered the bill reported favorably as amended. When the Committee’s report is published, the bill will be cleared for consideration by the full House (if the chairs of the two other committees assigned for consideration, Judiciary and Homeland Security, sign off on the consideration). I suspect that the bill would be considered under the House suspension of the rules process, where it would likely pass with strong bipartisan support.

 

For more details about the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-5061-introduced-cuas-authority - subscription required.