AUVSI’s 2025 Hill Day: Advocating for the Future of Autonomy on Capitol Hill

June 26, 2025

On June 25, more than 100 members of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) gathered in Washington, D.C., for our 2025 Hill Day, connecting industry leaders with lawmakers to discuss the policies shaping the future of autonomous systems.

Across the air, ground, and maritime domains, AUVSI and its members engaged with congressional offices to make the case for timely, clear, and forward-looking policy actions in both commercial and defense legislation. These meetings were purposeful, focused, and backed by a clear policy vision: to accelerate the safe integration of uncrewed systems into commercial and defense operations and ensure American global leadership in autonomy. 

Through our year-round advocacy and convening efforts, AUVSI builds bridges between policymakers, regulators, and innovators. Hill Day serves as a key milestone in that mission, giving our members the opportunity to advocate for smart and innovative policy while demonstrating to lawmakers the real-world impact of autonomous systems on safety, mobility, national security, and sustainable economic development. 

With AUVSI member delegations representing the full swath of the industry, including drones, advanced air mobility (AAM), counter UAS (cUAS), uncrewed maritime surface and subsurface systems, ground autonomy, robotics, software, and cyber sectors of the autonomy industry, our Hill Day meetings and advocacy efforts covered a wide spectrum of critical policy areas.

Below are some of the key highlights from our engagements on Capitol Hill: 

Airspace & Infrastructure 

• Modernize Air Traffic Control (ATC) Systems: AUVSI and its members pushed for strategic investments in digital and autonomous airspace management. 

• Expand Surveillance and UAS Detection Networks: We called on lawmakers to fund deployment of sensor systems like radar and acoustic arrays to enhance airspace awareness and threat differentiation. 

FAA Oversight 

• Launch Mandated Rulemaking Committees: AUVSI and its members urged lawmakers to ensure that the FAA establishes rulemaking and integration bodies as required by the 2024 Reauthorization Act. 

• Advance Remote ID and Electronic Conspicuity (EC) Solutions: We asked lawmakers to help ensure the FAA prioritizes improving compliance pathways and accelerating the deployment of Remote ID and EC technologies. 

Defense and National Security 

• Create a Dedicated Autonomy Budget Line: AUVSI and its members called on Congress to establish a specific autonomy line item in the defense budget and ensure that each service takes ownership of UxS procurement. 

• Modernize Defense Acquisition: We encouraged lawmakers to pursue alternative acquisition pathways that would allow DoD to field innovative uncrewed technologies faster and with greater flexibility. 

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) 

• Accelerate Certification Pathways: AUVSI and its members called on Congress to ensure the FAA develops a permanent, comprehensive framework for certifying eVTOL aircraft, building on the progress made under the SFAR. 
  
• Invest in FAA Workforce and Resources: We asked policymakers to fund the FAA’s internal capacity to evaluate emerging AAM technologies by investing in specialized staffing and technical expertise, which also leveraging industry expertise as part of the certification process. 

Ground Autonomy and Robotics 

• Develop a Comprehensive National Robotics Strategy: AUVSI and its members urged Congress to work with the White House to adopt a national robotics strategy that accelerates the deployment of autonomous ground systems across logistics, defense, infrastructure, and mobility. We emphasized that a unified strategy is vital to securing U.S. leadership in embodied AI and advanced robotics. 

• Boost U.S. Ground Autonomy Competitiveness: We called on lawmakers to support policies that level the playing field for U.S. ground autonomy developers by enacting targeted tax credits, federal procurement preferences, and investment incentives to compete with heavily subsidized foreign competitors, especially from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). 

Uncrewed Maritime Systems (UMS) 

• Secure Long-Term UMS Funding: AUVSI and its members urged Congress to appropriate sustained funding for DoD, Coast Guard, and NOAA UMS programs, ensuring long-term planning and industrial scalability. 

• Prioritize Commercially Proven Systems: We advocated for Congressional support of accelerated procurement of tested, commercially available UMS platforms. 

Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Operations 

• Hold Agencies to Congressional Deadlines: AUVSI and its members spoke with lawmakers about the FAA Reauthorization Act’s statutory deadlines and called on Congress to hold the FAA and DOT accountable for meeting them. 

• Expand Interim Waiver Approvals: We encouraged lawmakers to support continued FAA issuance of BVLOS waivers to enable critical operations across industries until the final rule is issued.  

Secure Supply Chains 

• Act on Section 1709: AUVSI and its members called on Congress to finalize the interagency national security determination mandated under Section 1709 of the FY25 NDAA concerning PRC-manufactured drones. 

• Grow U.S. Manufacturing Capacity: We urged Congressional support for industrial policies for the UxS industry to scale and to source critical minerals to strengthen the domestic drone manufacturing base. 

AUVSI’s 2025 Hill Day reaffirmed a core belief shared across our membership: America’s leadership in autonomy depends on proactive, collaborative policymaking. Whether it’s enabling BVLOS drone operations, strengthening uncrewed maritime capabilities, or securing our supply chains, each conversation on Capitol Hill was rooted in a shared vision of innovation, safety, and national competitiveness. 

We are grateful that so many of our members joined us in Washington yesterday to represent the leading edge of the autonomy industry. We extend our sincere thanks to Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) for delivering opening remarks to begin our day on the Hill, and to Representative Pat Harrigan (R-NC) for addressing our full delegation later in the day. As Senator Cramer noted, “Every member of Congress is touched by and involved with your industry, and it’s so important that you are here to engage with us.” We also thank all the Members of Congress who graciously welcomed us into their offices for thoughtful and productive discussions. 

AUVSI and our members will continue working closely with lawmakers, federal agencies, and industry partners to advance policy solutions that ensure autonomous systems are safely integrated and deliver meaningful benefits to the American people. 

Together, we are charting the course for a more connected, secure, and autonomous future.