Rand Paul blocks bill to authorize local, state authorities to track drones

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday blocked an effort by Senate Democrats to pass legislation to authorize and provide resources to state and local authorities to track mysterious drones that have been sighted over New Jersey, New York and other states.

Paul argued the bill would have expanded the government’s surveillance powers and downplayed concerns that the drones pose a threat to the public.

“This body must not rush to grant sweeping surveillance powers without proper consideration and debate by the committees of jurisdiction,” said Paul, who is poised to become the chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

He said the federal government already has the authority to investigate and stop drones from flying into commercial airspace, over the Super Bowl and around military bases.

“What is disputed and what the Biden administration is currently telling us is that they don’t see a problem,” Paul said of the mysterious drones sighted over New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and other states, a phenomenon that has attracted significant media attention in recent days.

“The Biden administration keeps saying, well, it’s all normal stuff,” he said. “Why don’t we actually get to the truth of the matter of what actually exists and what the threat is before we propose legislation?”

Paul noted federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, have stated the drones do not pose a national security risk nor a public safety concern.

The bill sponsored by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and backed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) would have allowed local law enforcement agencies to work more closely with the Defense Department and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to track the drones.

The FBI has received tips of more than 5,000 reported drone sightings in recent weeks, and the federal government is supporting state and local officials in investigating some of the reports.

The Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the FAA and the Department of Defense issued a statement this week describing the sightings to date as a “combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.”

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