New UAP legislation in the works as Congress prepares for more hearings

Lawmakers are drafting new legislative proposals and preparing to host two hearings as part of their ongoing campaign to enhance the U.S. government’s investigations into reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) that are increasingly threatening national security, according to three House Republicans involved in what they referred to as bipartisan, bicameral efforts.

The Congress members are looking to institutionalize more accountability and disclosure from federal agencies on the historically taboo topic.

“This is not a one-time thing. It’s clear this is not a one-time data dump. This is a systemic change to the process in the way that we are transparent with the American people, and with that we’re working on legislation that will put that into practice,” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., said Thursday.

Burlison, as well as Reps. Anna Luna, R-Fla., and Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., unveiled those plans during a multi-session congressional briefing on “Understanding UAP: Science, National Security and Innovation,” hosted on Capitol Hill by the UAP Disclosure Fund in collaboration with the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

There, the Congress members heard presentations and participated in open-table discussions from a range of high-profile scientists and former government officials, including Harvard University Professor Dr. Avi Loeb, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Christopher Mellon and former oceanographer of the Navy retired Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet.

“I’ve spoken to [U.S. military personnel] that are still in active duty and their sightings of UAP have become so numerous that they are desensitized to the phenomenon. My point being that the Navy possesses a trove of video evidence and data regarding UAP, and I see no reason why [certain] footage of UAP [on] Navy training ranges cannot be declassified and shared with the scientific community,” Gallaudet said.

At various points during the hours-long event, the lawmakers expressed aims to continue to build momentum for UAP transparency in the U.S. government, including via two upcoming congressional hearings Luna announced.

“One is going to be government-focused. We are asking various appointees, I don’t want to release the names yet, but we have been getting good responses from them and we will make those names known soon — as well as military and former military that will be coming forward,” Luna said.

“Also I want to note that we were told by one of Mr. Burleson’s staffers that’s helping us to lead up this investigation about someone that wants to come forward in regards to a crash retrieval program. So that’s pretty interesting to hear someone going on record about that,” she added.

On the sidelines of the event, Burchett told DefenseScoop that the committee will continue to host briefings with the UAP Disclosure Fund and other advocates to raise awareness, gain insights from experts and inform future policy moves or legislation. 

“We’re just going to get more support and maybe make [the legislation] more precise and concise — and I think that that’s going to help a lot,” Burchett said.