WASHINGTON — Big corporations such as Amazon and Facebook may be getting into the drone industry, but it’s America’s small businesses that stand to benefit most from the cheap availability of drone technology.

That’s what panelists argued before lawmakers at a House hearing Wednesday, calling for clear and uncomplicated rules on the commercial use of drones.

A Brooklyn filmmaker, the head of an Ohio aeronautics company and a university professor were among those who spoke about their use of drones for commercial purposes and urged lawmakers to speed up the Federal Aviation Administration’s rule-making process for unmanned aerial vehicles.

“Small-business people like me are slugging their way through the obstacles and bureaucracy to fulfill our dreams of creating this new industry,” said Mike Gilkey, chief executive of 3D Aerial Solutions, a Dayton, Ohio-based company that provides drone technology for commercial use.

The hearing by the House Small Business Committee examined the benefits and pitfalls of allowing small businesses nationwide to use drones for activities such as crop inspection, real estate photography, film-making and other purposes. Lawmakers raised concerns about privacy issues and the liability for small businesses that use drones.

A forecast by the Arlington, Virginia-based Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a nonprofit, said commercial drone technology could potentially create more than 100,000 jobs over the next decade and add $82 billion to the economy, mainly through small businesses.