Rep. Robert Wittman on the American Security Drone Act of 2023

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The Chinese Communist Party has unfettered access to the data and videos on thousands of U.S. government drones – and your tax dollars help fund this . 

Let me explain.

Right now, many federal agencies use taxpayer dollars to purchase drones from a Chinese company called DJI. 

In 2021, 75% of all drone flights by the Department of the Interior were done using DJI drones. 

The problem is that since 2017, according to our own Department of Homeland Security, “DJI is likely providing sensitive U.S. infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese government.” 

Congressional reports confirm that DJI drones are frequently hacked to bypass restricted airspace, such as the no-fly zones right here in Washington, D.C. 

These drones are even used by adversaries like Russia and Hamas to kill our partners in Ukraine and allies in Israel.

They are also used by the CCP for Chinese military operations and to surveil Uyghurs in Xinjiang. 

That’s why DJI currently resides on the Defense Department Chinese military blacklist, and the Treasury Department banned all U.S. investment in the company. 

Now, it is high time our federal tax dollars are held to the same standard. 

Alongside a group of my colleagues in Congress, we introduced the American Security Drone Act. This bill will prohibit federal agencies from operating or purchasing drones from foreign adversaries like the CCP and DJI, and stop federal tax dollars through grants or contracts from being used to purchase these drones. 

We cannot continue to subsidize the CCP’s military, surveillance state, human rights abuses and attacks against our allies across the globe. 

Now is the time to act.