Kean, Amo Introduce Bill to Promote Drone and Aviation Safety, Advance Research & Development
(December 12, 2025) WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representatives Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07) and Gabe Amo (RI-01) announced the introduction of the Drone Safety Enhancement Act, bipartisan legislation designed to advance research on drones and support the future of advanced air mobility.
The bill strengthens federal research and development (R&D) efforts focused on drone safety and autonomous aviation within the national airspace system. It also directly supports ongoing work at federal aviation laboratories—including the FAA's William J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace located in New Jersey—to ensure safe, efficient, and modern evolution of aviation technology.
“As technology rapidly advances and drones become increasingly integrated into our daily lives, it is critical that air traffic for these systems is managed safely and transparently,” said Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. “I introduced the Drone Safety Enhancement Act with Representative Amo to direct the research needed to modernize our national airspace and support responsible integration of emerging technologies. Continued R&D in autonomous aviation is vital to America’s competitiveness and to guaranteeing our airspace remains safe, efficient, and prepared for the future.”
“I’m proud to help introduce the bipartisan Drone Safety Enhancement Act with Congressman Tom Kean to ensure the federal government is collaborating across agencies and with leaders in academia and industry to enhance our understanding of drones and advanced air mobility,” said Congressman Gabe Amo. “We must harness emerging technologies for good.”
Specifically, the bill would:
- Require the NASA Administrator, the FAA Administrator, and leaders of other relevant federal agencies to collaborate on research related to unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility. This includes research on unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM) and autonomous aviation capabilities.
- Require congressional briefings on the progress of this research 18 months after the bill’s enactment.
The full text of the bill is available HERE.
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