Rep. Greg Stanton today applauded Senators Jacky Rosen of Nevada, John Boozman of Arkansas and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on their introduction of S. 4744, companion legislation to his bipartisan Drone Infrastructure Inspection Act.
Stanton’s bill, introduced with Rep. Garrett Graves of Louisiana, passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee earlier this year.
The legislation provides $100 million in grants for local governments to purchase drones or contract for services to inspect critical infrastructure and help ease the nation’s serious inspection backlog, and another $100 million for training the next generation workforce on the use of this technology.
“The inspection process for infrastructure projects can be accelerated using drones, as well as increase on-the-job safety for our workers,” Stanton said. “I’m encouraged to see a companion bill introduced in Senate, and I encourage my colleagues to pass this important legislation.”
Both bills have significant support from industry leaders and local government groups, including from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, National Council of State Legislatures, National Association of State Aviation Officials, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Commercial Drone Alliance and Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.