119-hr5829

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5829 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 5829

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a grant program to 
 support the use of unmanned aerial systems for the humane roundup and 
 management of wild horses and burros.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 October 24, 2025

 Mr. Vindman (for himself and Mr. Buchanan) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a grant program to 
 support the use of unmanned aerial systems for the humane roundup and 
 management of wild horses and burros.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Leveraging Aerial Systems for 
Stewardship Operations

    (LASSO) Act''.

SEC. 2. WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS UAS PROGRAM.

 

Section 9 of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (16 U.S.C. 
1338a) is amended--

    (1) by striking ``In administering this Act,'' and 
 inserting the following:
 ``

    (a) In administering this Act,''; and

    (2) by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (b) For each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, from funds made 
available to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall allocate $100,000 
for grants to support pilot projects that test whether unmanned aerial 
systems can be used to successfully and humanely gather and manage wild 
horses and burros. Grants issued under this subsection shall be awarded 
to organizations, including institutions of higher learning, with 
demonstrated expertise in drone technology, and a proven commitment to 
research which furthers equine welfare. Grants may also support pilot 
projects using unmanned aerial systems for humane fertility control 
application and related herd-health efforts. Reports with results from 
all funded pilot projects shall be made available to Congress and the 
public not later than 180 days after the conclusion of each study. 
Organizations receiving grants under this subsection shall also submit 
to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the 
Department of Agriculture a report evaluating the potential uses of 
unmanned aerial systems for ranching, animal care, and environmental 
stewardship.''.
 <all>