Graves proposes legislation to prevent purchase of Chinese-made drones

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) recently proposed bipartisan legislation that would prohibit certain federal grants from being used to buy Chinese-manufactured unmanned aircraft systems — also known as drones.

“It’s our job to ensure that as we use taxpayer funds to rebuild American infrastructure, we build up America instead of China,” Rep. Graves said on Feb. 7. “Our security agencies have raised concerns regarding the security of Chinese-made drones.”

The congressman on Jan. 25 sponsored the Infrastructure Grant Security Act, H.R. 6489, with original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) to prohibit the purchase, lease or operation of an unmanned aircraft system manufactured by an entity domiciled in the People’s Republic of China; or an entity, subsidiary or affiliate of an entity that is subject to influence or control by the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party, according to the text of the bill.

“The use of drones will keep advancing, innovating and supporting American jobs and improve our global competitiveness. But as we use advanced technologies to better support our nation’s infrastructure, it’s imperative that we do so in a way that protects national security,” said Rep. Graves. “I greatly appreciate the partnership of Rep. Moulton on this important effort and look forward to working with him to ensure this bill becomes law.”

Rep. Moulton said the bill takes an “important step” to block China from easy access to sensitive data in the United States and would strengthen national security. “We can’t allow Chinese-manufactured drones to threaten our security and privacy,” he said.