{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://comer.house.gov/2021/9/comer-leads-effort-to-gather-information-from-faa-on-decision-to-ban-drones-covering-biden-s-border-crisis", "Comer Leads Effort to Gather Information From FAA on Decision to Ban Drones Covering Biden\u2019s Border Crisis", "2021-09-21", "2021", "2021-09", "Republican", "House", "KY", "James Comer", "C001108", "comer.house.gov", "comer", "https://comer.house.gov/media", "scraper", "Today, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) and Oversight Republicans sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Steve Dickson requesting information on the agency\u2019s decision to ban unmanned aerial drones covering the rapidly deteriorating situation in Del Rio, Texas. The Biden Administration\u2019s attempt to hide the conditions and consequences of the Border Crisis is concerning and their actions to censor the ability of U.S. media outlets to accurately report on the crisis is unacceptable.\n\n\u201cOver the last several days, media outlets have been reporting on more than 10,000 migrants who arrived and illegally crossed the border into Del Rio, Texas at one time, overwhelming U.S. personnel at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and creating a humanitarian crisis as thousands of migrants sleep outdoors under a bridge waiting to be processed,\u201d wrote the lawmakers. \u201cThe Committee on Oversight and Reform Republicans write to request information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on recent actions taken to censor the ability of U.S. media outlets to accurately report on the crisis on the southern border. By preventing the use of unmanned drones to observe and report on rapidly deteriorating conditions in Del Rio, Texas, the Biden Administration is attempting to hide the conditions and consequences of the border crisis from the American people.\u201d\n\nFootage and images obtained and reported from unmanned aircraft prove the abrupt reversal of the Trump Administration\u2019s deterrent policies has led to a continued crisis. In fact, it is projected that nearly two million illegal aliens will cross the southern border this year, a record high and assault on the rule of law in the U.S. Although FAA granted clearance to at least one news organization to operate drones, the lawmakers are demanding that the FAA reverse its decision completely and once again permit aerial media surveillance to understand the consequences of the Biden Administration\u2019s decisions to not enforce the rule of law, or even pursue deterrence policies.\n\n\u201cConsidering the timing of the announcement, the specific geography targeted, the lack of justification given for the \u201cSpecial Security Reasons,\u201d and the specificity of the announcement targeting unmanned aircraft systems, we can only conclude that this action by the FAA was done to shield the Biden Administration from scrutiny over the consequences of its disastrous border policies and prevent the public from receiving more images of poor conditions on the border in Del Rio, Texas,\u201d concluded the lawmakers.\n\nTo better understand the FAA\u2019s decision to prevent media coverage of the Biden Border Crisis in Del Rio, Texas, Republicans are requesting an immediate briefing and all information related to the FAA\u2019s decision.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:17:01Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://comer.house.gov/2021/9/comer-leads-effort-to-gather-information-from-faa-on-decision-to-ban-drones-covering-biden-s-border-crisis"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.3101456463336945, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}