Expedited Removal Expansion Act of 2025

Senate Bill

S. 1817

119th Congress

Expedited Removal Expansion Act of 2025

In Committee

Introduced:May 20, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Eric Schmitt

Senator

Republican

MO

Cosponsors

2

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Transportation and Public Works

Summary

This bill establishes programs in the Department of Transportation to help state and local governments use drones to inspect, maintain, and repair critical infrastructure like roads, bridges, and utilities. The goal is to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase safety for infrastructure projects.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

SponsorEric Schmitt (R-MO)

Introduced5/20/2025

StatusRead twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

ChamberSenate

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Vote Prediction

Expedited Removal Expansion Act of 2025

This bill establishes programs in the Department of Transportation to help state and local governments use drones to inspect, maintain, and repair critical infrastructure like roads, bridges, and utilities. The goal is to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

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0 predictions

This bill establishes programs in the Department of Transportation to help state and local governments use drones to inspect, maintain, and repair critical infrastructure like roads, bridges, and utilities. The goal is to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase safety for infrastructure projects.

Bill Number: 1817
Sponsor: Eric Schmitt (R-MO)
Introduced: 5/20/2025
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy Area: Transportation and Public Works

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Expedited Removal Expansion Act of 2025
Bill Number: 1817
Sponsor: Eric Schmitt (R-MO)
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced: 5/20/2025
Summary: This bill establishes programs in the Department of Transportation to help state and local governments use drones to inspect, maintain, and repair critical infrastructure like roads, bridges, and utilities. The goal is to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase safety for infrastructure proje

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill establishes programs in the Department of Transportation to help state and local governments use drones to inspect, maintain, and repair critical infrastructure like roads, bridges, and utilities. The goal is to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase safety for infrastructure projects.

Last updated: 12/30/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant ActThis bill establishes programs within the Department of Transportation (DOT) to support the use of small, unmanned aircraft systems (commonly known as drones) when inspecting, operating, maintaining, repairing, modernizing, or constructing road infrastructure, electric grid infrastructure, water infrastructure, or other critical infrastructure.Specifically, DOT must award grants to state, tribal, or local governments; metropolitan planning organizations; or groups of those entities to purchase or otherwise use drones to support the inspection, operation, construction, maintenance, modernization, or repair of critical infrastructure to increase efficiency, reduce costs, improve worker and community safety, or reduce carbon emissions related to critical infrastructure projects. Grant recipients must use domestically manufactured drones that are not made by certain foreign entities, including companies subject to influence or control from China or Russia.DOT must also award grants to certain institutions of higher education for training students for careers using drones and related technologies.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Provides grants to state/local governments and organizations to purchase and use drones for infrastructure inspection and maintenance
Requires drones used in these projects to be domestically manufactured and not made by certain foreign entities like China or Russia
Also provides grants to universities for training students in drone technology and related careers

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This bill would primarily impact state and local governments that oversee critical infrastructure, as well as companies and workers involved in infrastructure projects. By enabling the use of drones, it could lead to infrastructure being inspected and repaired more efficiently and safely, potentially saving time and money. It may also create new job opportunities in the growing drone technology industry.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Transportation and Public Works

Related Subjects

Aviation and airports

Congressional oversight

Employment and training programs

Higher education

Infrastructure development

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

1817, 119th Congress (2025). "Expedited Removal Expansion Act of 2025". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-1817

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