We need to know whether the drones over New York and New Jersey pose a threat to the homeland

In a House Homeland Security Committee hearing this week, I asked officials from the FBI if these drones could potentially be our own, as there are federal programs that test unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), such as the System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER) program, which supports emergency response agencies by providing assessments of commercially available equipment, including drones, to aid in purchasing decisions. SAVER's recommendations enhance law enforcement's capabilities in handling complex threats, hazardous material detection and protecting public safety.

The answer was: "I don't know that to be the case, and I couldn't really comment on that."

However, the NYPD and our local military bases have no knowledge of these tests occurring, either.

At the hearing, the FBI said these drones could range from "sophisticated state actors/adversaries" that want to hurt us, all the way to "counterterrorism matters" to just a "nuisance drone" that could cause harm, but they "don't know the answer" to our questions yet.

During the same hearing, my colleague, Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey ,suggested they just shoot one out of the sky to figure it out. In his district, an officer from the Ocean County Sheriff's Office witnessed 50 drones come in off the water.

Anything less than real answers and an action plan leaves us vulnerable to threats we cannot afford to ignore.