1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Drone Act of 2023 . 2. Findings Congress finds that— (1) drone technology has the potential to revolutionize commerce, military operations, law enforcement, and various industries, as well as recreation in general; (2) drone technology also presents a potential danger to public safety and national security; (3) drone technology is increasingly being used by drug trafficking and human trafficking organizations at the southern border— (A) to assist in smuggling into the United States high-value items; (B) for conducting reconnaissance; and (C) even as offensive weapons against competing criminal organizations; (4) drone technology has been used to deliver into Federal correctional centers contraband such as cell phones, wire cutters, screwdrivers, and hacksaws; (5) there were 875 drone sightings in restricted airport airspace in 2020, and 766 such sightings in the first half of 2021, including 36 such sightings in the vicinities of runways; and (6) while existing Federal law includes some criminal provisions relating to misuse of drones, those provisions are fragmentary in nature and therefore fail to restrain and deter the most serious drone-related crimes. 3. Drone offenses Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended— (1) in section 39B(a)— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) by striking operation of, an aircraft and inserting the following: operation of— (A) an aircraft ; (ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (iii) by adding at the end the following: (B) a vessel of the United States, or a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, as those terms are defined in section 70502 of title 46, carrying 1 or more occupants, in a manner that poses an imminent safety hazard to such occupants, shall be punished as provided in subsection (c)