{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=58D2B554-A138-46C8-8FB5-6CB3AC0BC346", "Senate Passes Thune, Peters, Roberts Bipartisan Bill to Ensure Representation for Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Sectors in the Development of Federal Drone Policy", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), today applauded the Senate for passing their legislation to ensure the Federal Aviation Administration\u2019s (FAA\u2019s) chief drone policy committee includes representation for agriculture, forestry, and rural America. The Drone Advisory Committee for the 21st Century Act would also ensure that the FAA provides representation for local government officials, including those from county and tribal governments, on the Drone Advisory Committee (DAC).\n\n\u201cAs technology becomes more sophisticated, farmers will increasingly rely on drones to assess, monitor, and manage their farm activities,\u201d said Thune. \u201cRural areas like South Dakota \u2013 where agriculture is the state\u2019s top industry \u2013 deserve to have a seat at the table when it comes to making decisions on drone policies and best practices. I\u2019m pleased the Senate passed this bill to ensure representation from rural areas on the Drone Advisory Committee.\u201d\n\n\u201cWith drones becoming integral to Michigan farms and businesses, it\u2019s important that farmers, and rural representatives have a seat at the policy making table\u2014especially when it impacts their bottom line and as they deal with unprecedented challenges related to this unprecedented public health and economic crisis,\u201d said Peters \u201cI am pleased that the Senate has passed this commonsense bipartisan legislation that will help ensure that agriculture, forestry and rural perspectives across the state are taken into account before new regulations are developed.\u201d\n\n\u201cDrones are another tool in the toolkit for agricultural producers to run a more sophisticated and efficient operation,\u201d said Roberts. \u201cI\u2019m proud this bipartisan legislation gives farmers a seat at the table when decisions are being made about drone policies.\u201d\n\nThe legislation has the support of a number of organizations, including the Rural & Agriculture Council of America, American Forest Foundation, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmers Union, National Association of Corn Growers, United Egg Producers, U.S. Cattlemen\u2019s Association, American Dairy Coalition, and the National Association of Counties.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"]], "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.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=58D2B554-A138-46C8-8FB5-6CB3AC0BC346"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6979528591036797, "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"}