DHS Secretary Nielsen to Work with Hoeven to Advance Protection Against UAS Misuse
During a Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee hearing this week I urged DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to advance efforts to protect against the potential misuse of UAS. I highlighted that we can bolster DHS’ efforts by leveraging UAS facilities, resources and expertise like we have developed in Grand Forks and at the University of North Dakota. UAS has proven invaluable in strengthening our border security efforts, especially in regions like North Dakota where we are responsible for 900 miles of border. However, with the development and adoption of UAS, we are facing new challenges in the misuse of this technology, for instance to smuggle drugs. We need to ensure we have enough pilots to man UAS aircraft to secure our border and address threats posed by misuse of UAS.