H.R. 3334 would authorize the Capitol Police Board and designated Capitol Police (USCP) personnel to detect, track, disrupt, seize, or disable unmanned aircraft systems that pose a credible threat to the Capitol buildings and grounds. The bill also would require the board to establish privacy protections for intercepted communications, coordinate with the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration, and report to the Congress on activities authorized under the bill.
Because the use of drones is prohibited on Capitol grounds without prior authorization under current policy, CBO expects that the USCP already has the capability to detect, track, and disrupt unmanned aircraft systems. Thus, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have an insignificant cost, primarily for the reporting requirements, over the 2026-2031 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Under the bill, unmanned aircraft systems seized by the USCP would be subject to forfeiture to the United States. Proceeds from the sale of forfeited items are recorded as revenues in the federal budget. CBO estimates that any increase in revenues would not be significant because those provisions would probably affect only a small number of cases.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
