Bills Introduced – 06-26-18

Yesterday with both the House and Senate in session there were 36 bills introduced. Of those three may be of specific interest to readers of this blog:

HR 6229 To authorize the programs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and for other purposes. Rep. Comstock, Barbara [R-VA-10]

HR 6235 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the use of unauthorized unmanned aircrafts over wildfires. Rep. Tipton, Scott R. [R-CO-3]

S 3132 A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the use of unauthorized unmanned aircrafts over wildfires. Sen. Gardner, Cory [R-CO]

HR 6229 is the official version of the bill that I discussed on Monday. It is being marked up in the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee today.

The two other bills are almost certainly companion measures written in response to a recent incident where a television news drone caused a grounding of firefighting aircraft during a wildfire in Colorado. There was a temporary flight restriction in place which made the flight illegal in the first place. One media report also noted that 43 CFR 9212.1(f) (interfering with firefighting efforts) could also be stretched to cover this issue. In any case, I will be watching these bills for any language that authorizes interception action in response to the violation.

Congressional Hearings – Week of 7-20-14

There are just two weeks now before Congress starts their extended summer vacation. There are a number of hearings being held this week, but only one that may be remotely of specific interest to readers of this blog; and intel hearing of sorts.

On Wednesday the House Homeland Security Committee will be holding a hearing on "The Rising Terrorist Threat and the Unfulfilled 9/11 Recommendation." The witness list includes two former commissioners from the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States; Jamie S. Gorelick and Thomas H. Kean Jr.. Perhaps one of them will remind the Committee that one of the unaddressed recommendations of the Commission was the reform of Congressional oversight of the Homeland Security Department; political power is still more important than counter terrorism.

The House is going to take another pass (according to the Majority Leader’s web site) at trying to pass HR 5035, the NIST Reauthorization Act of 2014, under suspension of the rules on Tuesday. This had been listed for last week, but was not offered for consideration on the floor. Apparently the leadership thinks that they have the concerns about NIST cooperation with NSA worked out.