Dean
Adept Dabbler
On September 23, 2021, the full House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 4350, on a vote of 316-113. This bill contains a 571-word section mandating creation of a permanent office, under the Secretary of Defense, to deal with specified duties related to "unidentified aerial phenomena." I believe that this is the first time ever that a full house of Congress has passed a bill explicitly referring to "unidentified aerial phenomena" (or any equivalent term).
The House-approved provision also requires annual reports to certain congressional committees on a list of UAP-related matters, including "reported incidents of unidentified aerial phenomena over restricted air space," "an update on any efforts underway on the ability to capture or exploit unidentified aerial phenomena," and "an assessment of any health-related effects for individuals that have encountered unidentified aerial phenomena."
I reported in more detail on the language of Section 1652 on my blog on September 11, 2021, and I would refer you to that write-up for a more complete discussion.
Section 1652 is the work of Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-Az.), who is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations of the House Armed Services Committee. There was no separate vote on the UAP-related language, either in the full Armed Services Committee or on the floor of the House of Representatives, nor has it yet drawn much attention from the news media.
Meanwhile, on September 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee filed its separate version of a National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2792), which contains no UAP-related language. The full U.S. Senate will take up S. 2792, not the House-passed H.R. 4350. Differences between the two NDAAs will then be resolved in negotiations.
Also in the mix are Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) bills produced by the Senate and House Intelligence committees. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on August 4, 2021, reported an IAA (S. 2610) that contains UAP-related language very different from that now approved by the House in H.R. 4350. (The House Intelligence committee has not yet produced an IAA this year.) The NDAA and IAA bills may be combined at a later stage of the legislative process (this happens some years, but not every year), and UAP policy will be part of this legislative stew.
Many steps remain in the legislative process, and the shape of whatever UAP-related language actually makes it into law (if any) remains very uncertain.
Douglas Dean Johnson
@ddeanjohnson on Twitter
The House-approved provision also requires annual reports to certain congressional committees on a list of UAP-related matters, including "reported incidents of unidentified aerial phenomena over restricted air space," "an update on any efforts underway on the ability to capture or exploit unidentified aerial phenomena," and "an assessment of any health-related effects for individuals that have encountered unidentified aerial phenomena."
I reported in more detail on the language of Section 1652 on my blog on September 11, 2021, and I would refer you to that write-up for a more complete discussion.
Section 1652 is the work of Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-Az.), who is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations of the House Armed Services Committee. There was no separate vote on the UAP-related language, either in the full Armed Services Committee or on the floor of the House of Representatives, nor has it yet drawn much attention from the news media.
Meanwhile, on September 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee filed its separate version of a National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2792), which contains no UAP-related language. The full U.S. Senate will take up S. 2792, not the House-passed H.R. 4350. Differences between the two NDAAs will then be resolved in negotiations.
Also in the mix are Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) bills produced by the Senate and House Intelligence committees. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on August 4, 2021, reported an IAA (S. 2610) that contains UAP-related language very different from that now approved by the House in H.R. 4350. (The House Intelligence committee has not yet produced an IAA this year.) The NDAA and IAA bills may be combined at a later stage of the legislative process (this happens some years, but not every year), and UAP policy will be part of this legislative stew.
Many steps remain in the legislative process, and the shape of whatever UAP-related language actually makes it into law (if any) remains very uncertain.
Douglas Dean Johnson
@ddeanjohnson on Twitter
Last edited: