Sponsor
Jimmy Gomez
Representative · D-CA
Representative · D-CA
The bill trades expanded privacy and transparency by banning domestic use of military‑grade UAS for increased restrictions on federal aerial capabilities, which could reduce emergency response effectiveness and raise costs and administrative work.
People protesting or engaging in civil disobedience will be less likely to be surveilled by military-grade UAS, preserving their privacy and civil liberties.
Taxpayers and Congress will get greater oversight because the bill requires annual presidential reports disclosing sensors, locations, and retained identities for covered UAS uses.
Law enforcement and local governments will retain routine civilian UAS operations because the ban is narrowly drawn to target military-origin, high-end systems rather than ordinary commercial drones.
Federal agencies and law enforcement will have reduced access to high-end UAS capabilities during large-scale emergencies or complex domestic missions, potentially weakening situational awareness and response.
Taxpayers and local partners may face higher operational costs because monitoring and response could shift from military-origin UAS to pricier or less-effective alternatives (helicopters, ground sensors).
Federal employees and White House staff will incur additional administrative burden to compile and submit the required annual disclosures, diverting time and resources from other tasks.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
From FY2026, bars federal funds for DoD/DHS/other agencies to use certain military-style UAS to surveil U.S. persons at protests and requires detailed annual presidential reports on domestic uses of those UAS.
Official title: To prohibit the use of certain unmanned aircraft vehicles in the United States to conduct surveillance of United States persons engaged in protests or civil disobedience.
Introduced July 25, 2025 by Jimmy Gomez · Last progress July 25, 2025
Prohibits the federal government from using funds beginning in FY2026 to operate certain military-style unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) inside the United States to surveil U.S. persons participating in protests or civil disobedience. It also requires the President to provide annual reports to key congressional committees describing any domestic uses of covered UAS, including detailed information about purpose, alternatives considered, platform and sensor types, approvals, and data on U.S. persons surveilled; reports may include classified annexes.