Gottheimer: Federal Response to Drone Mystery ‘Insulting’
MAHWAH – Josh Gottheimer believes his constituents.
Even if the feds are saying something different.
The CD-5 congressman, a federal official himself, of course, weighed in once again Monday morning on the topic du jour – or is it the week?
That would be drones over New Jersey.
“I don’t believe they’re all making it up,” he told reporters at Ramapo College.
In other words, when his constituents say they are seeing drones in the night sky, he believes them.
During what is now a weeks-long saga, the federal government at times has said many of the “drones” are planes or helicopters.
Gottheimer doesn’t buy it.
“People should not have to worry about what’s overhead,” he said, adding that the feds’ response so far is “insulting.”
To help the public report what they are seeing, Gottheimer said he has created a drone page on his website – gottheimer.house.gov. This is a place for constituents to share what they are seeing. Gottheimer’s district covers parts of Bergen, Passaic and Sussex counties.
Moreover, the congressman said he wants the House to pass a resolution calling on the relevant federal agencies to hold a press conference and say what they know about the drones. Presumably, he is talking about the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
Gottheimer wants a forum where officials talk about the problem and answer questions. Or as he said, “Not a paper statement.”
He ticked off some of the possibilities, including hobbyists doing some “joy riding” to someone trying to collect data.
If nothing else, the congressman said drones should not be flying over military bases, reservoirs and the like.
Gottheimer is not alone in calling for the feds to provide more info.
Mikie Sherrill, a House colleague of Gottheimer, and like him, a 2025 gubernatorial candidate, released a statement on Monday.
“I’m incredibly frustrated with the lack of coordination and communication from agencies as New Jerseyans continue to watch unidentified drones fly across our skies. Right now, our leaders need to be acting in accordance with a unified plan, and speaking with one voice in order to protect our national security, keep New Jerseyans safe, and ensure state and local authorities have the information and tools they need to take action.”
Sherrill, who represents CD-11, and who is a former Navy helicopter pilot, called for the deployment of “Reaper drones.”
She added:
“Customs and Border Protection (CBP) possesses a fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones, unmanned aircraft that have the electro-optical/infra-red
(EO/IR) capabilities to track targets in various environments. Where appropriate, coordinating authorities should also have the use of counter-UAS radar systems that can accurately detect drones at site of launch – whether those systems are federal, commercial, state, or locally operated.”
There’s more.
Those watching CNN early Monday morning saw Brian Bergen, an assemblyman from LD-26, talking about drones. Bergen also has an aviation background – having flown Apache helicopters in the Army.
Among the suggestions circulating on social media are to just shoot the drones down.
Bergen, who noted his military experience, said bullets flying around the sky over New Jersey is not a good idea.
This brings us back to the central point of Gottheimer’s event – what’s happening?
“We still don’t have a good explanation,” he said.
That assumes the “powers-that-be” know what the drones are all about.
Maybe, they don’t.
Believe Mayorkas? No way.
Shows you the lack of influence both Gottheimer and Sherrill have in Washington. These Insiders are used to talking, complaining, debating but seldom DOING! These two are not qualified to be Governor. They are too entrenched in the ” Washington Way” .
Mikie Sherrills Plan
Deploy Reaper drones and counter-UAS radars to locate and track: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) possesses a fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones, unmanned aircraft that have the electro-optical/infra-red (EO/IR) capabilities to track targets in various environments. Where appropriate, coordinating authorities should also have the use of counter-UAS radar systems that can accurately detect drones at site of launch — whether those systems are federal-, commercial-, state, or locally operated. CBP, which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, would need to coordinate with non-border law enforcement to operate outside their normal area of responsibility. With that in mind, the FBI, which is currently leading the investigation into the drone incursions, should immediately and formally request the use of the required number of CBP MQ-9 Reaper drones, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, to track these UAS and identify their locations of origin. As they track the unidentified drones with the Reapers, federal partners should coordinate directly with New Jersey law enforcement agencies to respond swiftly to the drone landing locations.
Coordinate congressional information sharing: This issue crosses multiple jurisdictions — homeland security, law enforcement, the military, and the intelligence communities, just to name a few. In turn, the issue tracks across the jurisdiction of multiple congressional committees. Congress needs a unified response, which means it needs to be operating off of a unified set of information. Today, I am calling on congressional leadership to immediately convene a classified hearing with the committees of jurisdiction — including but not limited to the Committees on Homeland Security, Transportation and Infrastructure, Armed Services, Judiciary, and Intelligence — with leaders from the relevant federal agencies to receive a full briefing on the federal government’s response to incursions from unidentified UAS. Unclassified information from the briefing should also be promptly shared with the public.
Centralize the response: The interagency process, as it stands, isn’t meeting the moment. This is not the time for a lack of clarity over who holds responsibility, nor is it a time for intra-agency turf protection. It’s clear that there needs to be a coordinating agency that can knock heads together to hasten outcomes and streamline communication. There should be a clear process for local law enforcement to report sightings to be thoroughly reviewed by federal partners. So I am calling for President Biden to immediately stand up an interagency Task Force to address the challenges posed by unidentified UAS incursions — to formulate a whole-of-government approach and ensure that all information that is appropriate for the public to have is shared in a timely manner. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which has deep experience in overseeing the security of U.S. airspace and a wealth of assets and expertise in this arena, is naturally suited to lead the interagency response.
Streamline communication with the public:The lack of a unified, cohesive message from the federal government is only adding to the fear and concern that the public is feeling. Elected leaders from the congressional to municipal levels, and law enforcement agencies at the state and local levels, are receiving different information from different agencies, and lines of communication — both to report and to receive reporting — are unhelpful and unclear. Law enforcement agencies on the ground need clear guidance on how to relay the information they are receiving to federal officials with the relevant jurisdiction and clear guidance on what information can be shared with the public.In concert with the action above, I am calling for the federal government to immediately implement a clear reporting process and the means of disseminating appropriately cleared information to the public.
Future detection and prevention: It is clear from my conversations with agency leaders that the various federal actors in this space do not have sufficient resources or authorities to respond to incursions of this kind. Congress cannot grant them those resources without knowing what they need. Therefore, I am calling on the leaders of the agencies with jurisdiction over this issue to collaborate on a report to Congress that contains a detailed request for any novel legal authorities they believe they require and any new resources, financial or otherwise, they believe they require to ensure that they are fully capable of swiftly and decisively responding to UAS incursions in the future.