A bipartisan bill introduced in Congress on Tuesday could spur local governments to use drone technology to bolster America’s critical infrastructure, as well as to grow the workforce needed to operate them.
“As we implement the historic investments to update our nation’s infrastructure, we must use the latest technology to identify structures that need to be fixed,” said bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV). “This bipartisan legislation I’m introducing will help local governments invest in drones to better inspect their infrastructure for safety and reliability, while preparing our workforce for jobs of the future.”
Rosen on June 6 sponsored the Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant (DIIG) Act, S. 1817, which would authorize $100 million in competitive grants for local governments to fund more opportunities for using American-made drones to inspect, maintain, and construct critical infrastructure projects. The bill has two cosponsors, U.S. Sens. John Boozman (R-AR) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
“There’s no reason not to utilize drone technology that’s produced right here in America to more efficiently and effectively assess the safety of our bridges, railways and other infrastructure,” Sen. Boozman tweeted on June 7. “I’m proud to help lead the bipartisan DIIG Act to do just that.”
If enacted, the bill would establish a drone infrastructure inspection grant program and a drone education and training grant program in the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and would enable research universities to access grants for programs geared toward training the next generation of workers who operate drones.
“These grants are an important investment to ensure state and local inspection officials have the resources they need to keep our infrastructure and communities safe,” said Blumenthal. “Drone technology can be a valuable tool to help us modernize our roads and bridges. The next generation of highly-trained workers are key to a sustainable, world-class transportation network.”
Under the bill, the DOT Secretary would establish a drone infrastructure inspection grant program to make grants to governmental entities to facilitate the use of eligible small unmanned aircraft systems to increase efficiency, reduce costs, improve worker and community safety, reduce carbon emissions, or meet other priorities related to critical infrastructure projects.
In selecting a grant applicant, the DOT Secretary would have to prioritize projects that propose to carry out a critical infrastructure project in a historically disadvantaged community or address a safety risk in the inspection, operation, maintenance, repair, modernization, or construction of an element of critical infrastructure, according to the text of the bill released last year.
Rosen, Blumenthal, and Boozman originally unveiled their proposed bill in August 2022 during the previous session of Congress. That same-named bill, S. 4744, was companion legislation to the related H.R. 5315, which U.S. Reps. Greg Stanton (D-AZ) and Garret Graves (R-LA) introduced in September 2021.
The U.S. House of Representatives in September 2022 voted 308-110 to approve its version, which advanced to the U.S. Senate but languished in the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
The lawmakers are hoping to push the bill through this year and get it enacted into law, and point out that drones have been used to help inspect infrastructure projects and prevent catastrophes for more than a decade already.
“In Arkansas, we’ve seen the numerous benefits they offer — from precision agriculture to law enforcement missions and enhancing manual inspections — but we’re also at the forefront of guarding against reliance on foreign-based manufacturers to supply unmanned aircraft systems,” said Boozman in a written statement. “Our bipartisan bill helps expand this vision nationwide and invests in educational opportunities necessary to create more skilled operators and technicians.”
The legislation also would help research universities like the University of Nevada, Reno and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas access grants to train the next generation of workers who operate drones.
“The future of aviation leadership is in autonomy, and the United States must invest in supporting the drone industry and growing workforce,” said Michael Robbins, chief advocacy officer at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International. “This bill accomplishes both goals by providing states with grants to funding to acquire and utilize secure drones for infrastructure inspection and to train the workforce to conduct these critical missions.”
Robbins added that the U.S. can’t afford to fall behind in the drone industry’s ability to attract capital, investment, and workforce.
“Congress should pass this common-sense legislation to help level the playing field for the U.S. drone industry and to encourage the infrastructure and workforce benefits the DIIG Act would bring to communities nationwide,” he said.