EDITORIAL: Babin's drone bill is type of representation region needs Beaumont Enterprise
By Enterprise editorial staff
February 19, 2016 Link
Congressman Brian Babin's legislation to restrict drone flights over petrochemical plants is not just a worthy idea. It's a good example of the kind of basic representation that more U.S. House members should engage in instead of pointless partisan diversions.
Babin's bill is timely as drones evolve from rare to common. Anyone can purchase a fairly sophisticated one for just a few hundred dollars. It's not hard to imagine someone flying a drone over a petrochemical plant and trying to obtain trade secrets to sell to a competitor. Or a terrorist could use a drone to surveil potential targets. Even if a drone operator doesn't have bad intentions, the aircraft could accidentally crash into a plant's electrical system or release a toxic substance.
Even though these things haven't happened yet, it's better for Congress and the Federal Aviation Administration to get ahead of this issue and set up some basic guidelines now. Babin's bill is especially relevant to Southeast Texas, which has more than 50 large chemical plants or refineries, one of the largest concentrations in the nation.
That's exactly what a congressman from this region should do. But in today's political climate, politicians often get distracted by hot-button issues they can't change, like Obamacare or abortion. U.S. senators generally avoid this trap, but House members are more susceptible to it. The political reality is that Congress does not have enough votes to override a presidential veto that would end Obamacare, so all those votes in Washington to do that are for show.
Babin and our region's other House member, Randy Weber, should always prioritize this type of nuts-and-bolts representation. Weber is vice-chair of the House Energy Subcommittee and a member of the Environmental Subcommittee of the Science, Space and Technology Committee. Those committees handle legislation that can have a big impact on Southeast Texas.
If our local representatives don't put the needs of this region and its people first, no one else in Washington will.
