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H.R. 6460119th CongressTransportation and Public Works
Recreational Drone Empowerment Act
Sponsored by Rep. Tracey Mann (R-KS) · 1 active : 1 Democrat
Latest action: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Where it standsPassed House, now in the Senate12 senators score as swing votes
Passed House
- House: passedMar 24, 2026
- Senate: next
- President: not yet
Summary
, via Congress.govRecreational Drone Empowerment Act
This bill expands the areas in which recreational unmanned aircraft systems (i.e., drones) are authorized to fly.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has various classifications for airspace, including Class E airspace, which is controlled airspace that is comprised of multiple sectors (e.g., Classes E1 to E5). Class E airspace includes sectors that (1) generally begin where Class G airspace (i.e., uncontrolled airspace) ends, and (2) are associated with an airport surface area or a surface level extension to another class of airspace.
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Under current law, recreational drones may generally operate in certain circumstances from a fixed site, including within Class B, C, or D airspace. They may also operate within Class G airspace (1) up to 400 feet above ground level, without prior FAA authorization; and (2) over 400 feet above ground level with prior FAA authorization.
The FAA has interpreted current law to allow recreational drone operations in Class E2 airspace designated for an airport and prohibit recreational drone operations in other Class E sectors.
The bill specifies that the FAA may authorize recreational drones to operate at fixed site locations in Class E airspace that is
above Class G airspace; or
designated as an extension to a Class B, C, D, or E surface area.
How the projections held up
Each member’s recorded vote compared with their swing projection from before the vote. A member by voting against most of their own party.
House
Passed by voice vote or unanimous consent: no individual votes recorded.
Committees and subjects
Committees
- House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · HouseReported by · Markup by · Discharged from · Referred to
- Aviation · HouseReferred to
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · SenateReferred to
Subjects
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Aviation and airports
- Licensing and registrations
- Transportation safety and security
Model
Directional: count only breaks toward the other partyWhy do scores change?v3default (selected)v2 model swing-v2
How the Senate breaks down
- 12Swing 70–100
- 69Middle 30–70
- 19Entrenched 0–30
Members fall into . All 100 senators have enough data to score.
Key players in the Senate
Ranked by swing score, 0–100 · swing-v3, directional: only movement toward the other party counts, so members who sit further from the center than their party no longer score as swing votes.
Bars show each input from 0 to 100: ideology gap, scorecard gap, , and the . is the seat’s partisan lean, and shows how much of the input data a score has.
Similar past votes, Senate
Earlier behind swing-v3’s inputLoading similar votes
Cosponsors
1 activeShow all 1 cosponsors
- Sharice Davids (D-KS-3)
How the swing score works
Ideology gapHow far a member’s DW-NOMINATE voting score sits from their party’s median in the same chamber.
Scorecard gapHow far their Heritage Action and LCV ratings stray from their party’s average, using the groups’ votes on similar bills where available.
Cross-pressureHow strongly their district or state leans toward the other party, from our own computed partisan lean.
Similar votesHow often they voted against their own party on earlier roll calls about this bill or similar ones.
Committee bonusMembers of the committees handling the bill decide whether it moves, so they get a boost.
Cosponsor checkThe sponsor and active cosponsors have already committed, so they drop toward entrenched.
