The Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (H.R. 3935) would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through fiscal year 2028. It would gradually increase annual authorizations for federal aviation programs from $12.7 billion in fiscal 2024 to $14 billion in fiscal 2028. It would also transfer federal oversight authority over unmanned aircraft systems, which support and control unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, from the Department of Transportation to the FAA.
The House passed H.R. 3935 on July 20, 2023 by a vote of 351 to 69 (Roll Call 364). We have assigned pluses to the nays because of the bill’s unconstitutional federal overreach. The federal government should stay out of the regulation of unmanned aerial systems and vehicles, which should instead be managed by local ordinances or (at most) state laws. Ultimately, the Constitution does not authorize the federal government to control or regulate private or commercial aviation. Instead, such matters should be under the auspices of local and state governments, and left up to the market to determine.
