[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 18030-18031]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            AMAZON PRIME AIR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the innovativeness of American 
enterprise flies off the radar.
  According to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the company is fixing to deliver 
packages to its customers via drones. It is called ``Amazon Prime 
Air.''
  That's right. In just a few years, Bezos said people will be able to 
order something online and have it in their hands within 30 minutes by 
the use of drones. It sounds like something out of the Jetsons, doesn't 
it? Gone will be the days of the neighborhood mail carriers. Soon there 
will be a drone to replace them. According to Amazon, these drones can 
deliver packages up to 5 pounds, which makes up 90 percent of their 
deliveries.
  Mr. Speaker, thousands of Americans use Amazon every year, especially 
around the holiday season. Amazon, unlike the glitch-ridden government 
Web sites, can efficiently use online Internet services that get a 
timely product to market. Think of how many drones could soon be flying 
around the sky. Here a drone, there a drone, everywhere a drone in the 
United States.

[[Page 18031]]

  Mr. Speaker, Amazon is just one of many companies that will be 
looking to take advantage of this cost-effective drone technology in 
the coming years. And good for Amazon. I congratulate them.
  The FAA is charged with the responsibility of coming up with ways to 
regulate drones for safety reasons, but who is watching out for the 
privacy of American citizens? Congress has the responsibility and the 
duty to set clear regulation for all drones in domestic use. Absent 
legislation to prevent surveillance of Americans, companies could use 
drones not only for delivery, but other ways that, in my opinion, 
violate the constitutional right of privacy.
  The issue of concern, Mr. Speaker, is surveillance, not the delivery 
of packages. That includes surveillance of someone's backyard, snooping 
around with a drone, checking out a person's patio to see if that 
individual needs new patio furniture from the company.

                              {time}  1015

  Photographing swing sets, pools, or the people that are in the pools, 
or even looking into windows, all of that could be done with the use of 
drones under corporate America or by individuals. This would all be 
possible. So Congress must ensure that the expanded use of drones in 
the coming years does not come at the expense of the individual right 
to privacy.
  After all, this is a right guaranteed to all Americans under the 
Fourth Amendment. That's why I have, along with Representative Zoe 
Lofgren (Calif), introduced the bipartisan Preserving American Privacy 
Act. Our bill would deal with several things, and, once again, Mr. 
Speaker, we're talking about regulating surveillance and setting 
guidelines for the expectation of privacy for citizens.
  It would, first of all, deal with the government. It would prohibit 
the government from using drones for targeted surveillance of an 
individual or their property without a search warrant. The Fourth 
Amendment applies to the use of drones when the government is involved. 
It would also prohibit individuals or companies from using drones to 
take photographs or audio recordings of private individuals without 
their consent.
  This is private surveillance, or spying, or snooping, whatever you 
want to call it. It would restrict private individuals and law 
enforcement agencies from arming drones, which can be done.
  As we enter this uncharted world of drone technology, Congress must 
be proactive and establish boundaries for drone use that safeguard the 
constitutional rights of Americans and not leave this up to the FAA.
  Individuals are somewhat concerned that these new eyes in the skies 
may threaten their privacy, so Congress can and should immediately 
balance this high-tech development with our constitutional right of 
privacy.
  Boundaries are needed before drones flood the skies of America. Just 
because Big Brother or individuals or companies can look into someone's 
backyard or through a window of a house doesn't mean it should be 
allowed. As the innovativeness of American enterprise flies off the 
radar, we should be mindful that technology may change, but the 
Constitution does not.
  And that's just the way it is.

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