[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9975]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS

  (Mr. PERRY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, U.S. Customs and Border Protection currently 
possesses a very large fleet of unmanned aerial systems, or UAS's. 
Certainly, this technology can be a valuable asset. We want them to use 
it to our benefit on the border to enforce border security.
  Between 2010 and 2012, the CBP flew nearly 700 missions on behalf of 
other Federal, State, and local agencies. They were not flying the 
border, in other words. As a matter of fact, some agencies have 
absolutely nothing to do with border security, such as the U.S. Forest 
Service and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
  I have researched this issue, Mr. Speaker, and found no codified 
procedures for how DHS loans their drones out. Certainly, the use of 
drones for unapproved purposes is unacceptable and poses a myriad of 
civil liberty concerns, not to mention the fact that it potentially 
abuses taxpayer dollars, Mr. Speaker.
  We need to ensure proper oversight is conducted, civil liberties are 
upheld, and taxpayer dollars aren't squandered.

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