{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cramer-delivers-virtual-remarks-at-19th-annual-uas-summit", "Cramer Delivers Virtual Remarks at 19th Annual UAS Summit", "2025-10-14", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "Senate", "ND", "Kevin Cramer", "C001096", "www.cramer.senate.gov", "cramer", "https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Announces Grand Forks Air Force Base as Home of the New Point Defense Battle Lab\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) addressed attendees virtually at the 19th annual Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Summit and Expo in Grand Forks today. This is a gathering of policymakers and industry leaders from around the world who discuss the regulatory, economic, and technological events in the unmanned aerial system industry.\n\nDue to the ongoing government shutdown, both Cramer and his guest, U.S. Secretary of Transportation and National Aeronautics and Space Administration Interim Administrator Sean Duffy, were unable to attend the event in person.\n\n***Click here to watch his full remarks. Click here for audio.***\n\n\u201cThis ecosystem I talk about so much that has been developed right there in the very place you\u2019re hanging out, it can\u2019t be overstated,\u201d said Cramer. \u201cLook around, you created what\u2019s going on in the room you\u2019re in right now. [\u2026] I\u2019m just standing on your shoulders. [\u2026] I just want to say thank you, thanks for what you do, thanks for hanging in there. Be encouraged. [\u2026] Keep inspiring me to do what I do. Love you all, I wish I could be with you, and I look forward to doing it again next year. God bless you.\u201d\n\nHe also announced Grand Forks Air Force Base will serve as the home of the new Point Defense Battle Lab, which will play a pivotal role in countering the type of small drone warfare being instigated by adversaries.\n\nIn his remarks, he said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a memo directing Pentagon leadership from around the world to establish Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) 401 to better align existing authorities and resources to rapidly deliver joint Counter-UAS capabilities to America\u2019s warfighters. Cramer said the JIATF is \u201ccritical, it\u2019s urgent, and it needs to happen quickly.\u201d As chairman of the Senate Armed Services (SASC) Airland Subcommittee, he immediately started pitching North Dakota\u2019s well-established expertise in this area.\n\n\u201cIt was an easy sell,\u201d said Cramer. \u201c[Air Combat Command] and the Air Force are looking closely at Grand Forks and are prepared to announce, if you haven\u2019t heard it already, that Grand Forks Air Force Base is going to play a lead role. In fact, they\u2019ll be the ACC Point Defense Battle Lab to support the Counter-UAS fielding and policy for the Department of Air Force installation defense initiatives. [\u2026] Grand Forks is now going to be at the epicenter, not surprising, again with the expertise that\u2019s been developed there. [\u2026] It\u2019s pretty cool to see us playing that leadership role in something that\u2019s so relevant and so current right now.\u201d\n\nThe ACC\u2019s Point Defense Battle Lab will play a major part in the service\u2019s efforts to develop and test advanced technologies to defend military installations from threats of UAS.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "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://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cramer-delivers-virtual-remarks-at-19th-annual-uas-summit"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.177900169044733, "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"}