No Chinese-Made Drones with Infrastructure Funding

Politico reports that Sens. John Hoeven and Richard Blumenthal have introduced a proposed amendment to the massive U.S. infrastructure bill.  The proposed amendment would  “block funds for technology purchases from going toward buying Chinese-made drones,” says Politico.

The proposed $1 trillion infrastructure bill includes $500 million to upgrade and improve the nation’s ageing transportation infrastructure: funding that could significantly benefit the drone industry as drones emerge as a leading tool for infrastructure inspection and development.  Senators say that the amendment is necessary to ensure that the funding is not spent on Chinese-made drones, which the Pentagon claims pose a security risk to the U.S.

The amendment would prevent the funding from being used to purchase drones from “an entity, a subsidiary or affiliate of an entity that is subject to influence or control by … the Government of the People’s Republic of China; or … the Chinese Communist…