I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5315 
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish in the Department 
of Transportation a drone infrastructure inspection grant program and 
a drone education and training grant program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 
Mr. STANTON (for himself and Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish in 
the Department of Transportation a drone infrastructure 
inspection grant program and a drone education and 
training grant program, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drone Infrastructure 
Inspection Grant Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DRONE INFRASTRUCTURE INSPECTION GRANT 
PROGRAM. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Transportation 
shall establish a drone infrastructure inspection grant pro-
gram to make grants to governmental entities to facilitate 
the use of eligible small unmanned aircraft systems to in-
crease efficiency, reduce costs, improve worker safety, and 
reduce carbon emissions related to the inspection, repair, 
modernization, and construction of critical infrastructure. 
(b) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Amounts from a 
grant under this section may be used to— 
(1) purchase or lease eligible small unmanned 
aircraft systems; 
(2) contract for services performed with an eli-
gible small unmanned aircraft system; and 
(3) support the governmental entity’s small un-
manned aircraft system program’s management ca-
pability. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, a governmental entity shall submit an 
application to the Secretary at such time, in such form, 
and containing such information as the Secretary may re-
quire. 
(d) SELECTION OF APPLICANTS.—In the selection of 
applicants for grants under this section, the Secretary 
shall prioritize projects that propose to— 
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(1) use the grant for critical infrastructure 
projects in historically disadvantaged communities; 
or 
(2) address a significant safety risk in critical 
infrastructure inspection, maintenance, rehabilita-
tion, or construction projects. 
(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— Not later than 1 year 
after the first grant awards are made under this Act, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate a report that evaluates the program 
carried out under this section, including— 
(1) a description of the number of grants 
awarded; 
(2) the amount of each grant; 
(3) the activities funded under this section; and 
(4) the effectiveness of such funded activities in 
meeting the objectives described in subsection (a). 
(f) FUNDING.— 
(1) FEDERAL SHARE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the Federal share of the cost 
of a project carried out using a grant under 
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this section shall not exceed 80 percent of the 
total project cost. 
(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may increase 
the Federal share requirement under subpara-
graph (A) to up to 100 percent for a project 
carried out using a grant under this section by 
a governmental entity if such entity— 
(i) submits a written application to 
the Secretary requesting an increase in the 
Federal share; and 
(ii) demonstrates, to the Secretary’s 
satisfaction, that the additional assistance 
is necessary to facilitate the acceptance 
and full use of a grant under this section, 
such as alleviating economic hardship, 
meeting additional workforce needs, or 
such other uses that the Secretary deter-
mines to be appropriate. 
(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this section— 
(A) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; and 
(B) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2023. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 
‘‘critical infrastructure’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 1016(e) of the Critical Infrastruc-
tures Protection Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)) 
that is a bridge, road, dam, electric grid infrastruc-
ture, water infrastructure, or other related infra-
structure. 
(2) ELIGIBLE
SMALL
UNMANNED
AIRCRAFT 
SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘eligible small unmanned air-
craft system’’ means a small unmanned aircraft sys-
tem that is manufactured or assembled by a com-
pany domiciled in the United States that is not sub-
ject to influence or control by the Government of the 
People’s Republic of China. 
(3) GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘gov-
ernmental entity’’ means— 
(A) a State or political subdivision thereof; 
(B) a unit of local government; 
(C) a Tribal government, 
(D) a metropolitan planning organization; 
or 
(E) a combination of the entities in sub-
paragraphs (A) through (D) in a region or geo-
graphic area. 
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(4) SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT; UNMANNED 
AIRCRAFT; 
UNMANNED
AIRCRAFT
SYSTEM.—The 
terms ‘‘small unmanned aircraft’’, ‘‘unmanned air-
craft’’, and ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ have the 
meanings given such terms in section 44801 of title 
49, United States Code. 
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 
State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the 
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
SEC. 3. DRONE EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE TRAINING 
GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Transportation 
shall establish a drone education and training grant pro-
gram to make grants to educational institutions for work-
force training for small unmanned aircraft system tech-
nology. 
(b) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Amounts from a 
grant under this section shall be used in furtherance of 
activities authorized under sections 631 and 632 of the 
FAA Reauthorization Act 2018 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note). 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, an educational institution shall submit 
an application to the Secretary at such time, in such form, 
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and containing such information as the Secretary may re-
quire, 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec-
tion— 
(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; and 
(2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2023. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTION.—The term 
‘‘educational institution’’ means an institution of 
higher education as defined in section 101 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001) 
that— 
(A) is designated by the Secretary of 
Transportation as a Community and Technical 
College Center of Excellence in Small Un-
manned Aircraft System Technology Training 
under section 631(a) of the FAA Reauthoriza-
tion Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note); or 
(B) has an agreement in effect with the 
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration under the collegiate training initiative 
program relating to unmanned aircraft systems 
under section 632 of the FAA Reauthorization 
Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note). 
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(2) SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT; UNMANNED 
AIRCRAFT; 
UNMANNED
AIRCRAFT
SYSTEM.—The 
terms ‘‘small unmanned aircraft’’, ‘‘unmanned air-
craft’’, and ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ have the 
meanings given such terms in section 44801 of title 
49, United States Code. 
Æ 
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