WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was blocked Wednesday from quickly advancing a bill that would allow local law enforcement agencies to track aerial drones, ensuring Congress won't act this year on the mysterious drone sightings that have bewildered residents of New Jersey and across the eastern U.S.
Schumer, a New York Democrat, sought to speed a bipartisan bill through the Senate by seeking unanimous consent on the floor, but Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, objected to its passage.
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“The people in New York and New Jersey have a lot of questions, and they’re not getting good enough answers,” said Schumer. “The utter confusion surrounding these drone sightings shows that the feds can’t respond all on their own.”
Schumer has also called for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify the drones and their operators.
The Senate bill would have also enhanced some federal agencies’ authority to act on drones, as well as started a pilot program to allow states and local authorities to disrupt, disable or seize a drone without prior consent of the operator.
“This bill would ensure that law enforcement has the technology needed to quickly and clearly identify exactly what the reported sightings of drones across the country actually are,” said Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat who sponsored the bipartisan bill.
National security officials have said the drones don’t appear to be a sign of foreign interference or a public safety threat. But they can’t say with certainty who is responsible for the sudden swarms of drones over parts of New Jersey, New York and other eastern parts of the U.S.
Some U.S. political leaders, including Trump, have called for much stronger action against the drones, including shooting them down.
Paul, the Kentucky Republican who often advocates for limiting governmental powers, said that he was objecting because it is not clear there is a threat that warrants urgent action.
He said the bill would “expand federal authority to intercept communications and disrupt drone activity — powers that raise serious concerns for Americans' privacy, civil liberties, and Fourth Amendment protections against unwarranted search and seizure.”