Claim: Congress implies UFOs have non-human origins

Jon Adams

Member
From The Hill a few days ago:

"In Congress, where legislation is drafted, debated and enacted, clear and concise definitions are of paramount importance. As military aircrews increasingly encounter unidentified flying objects (UFOs), lawmakers recently made several striking revisions to the definition of “UFO.” Key among them: The explosive implication that some UFOs have non-human origins."
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(italics mine)

Here is the link to the draft Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, the salient bits are at the bottom page 12 and continue on to page 13.

"At a time when cross-domain transmedium threats to United States national security are expanding exponentially..."
"To accelerate progress, the Committee has, pursuant to Section 703, renamed the organization formerly known as the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force and the Aerial Object Identification and Management Synchronization Management Group to be the Unidentified Aerospace-Undersea Phenomena Joint Program Office."
"Temporary nonattributed objects, or those that are positively identified as man-made after analysis, will be passed to appropriate offices and should not be considered under the definition as unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena."
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While I agree that the US Government (and our military) needs to expand its view to encompass the many different ways a potentially hostile state can penetrate our defenses, I find it interesting that there is a suggestion of "man-made" vs the implied "not-man-made". Sure, meteorites, asteroids, birds, flying fish, etc., aren't man-made but it does seem that there's a creeping assumption that things are out there that ain't from around these parts. So here we go, growing the scope of an existing agency and possibly its budget to look for who-knows-what.

Cheers - Jon
 
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There are Alien Believers in Congress, and/or members wanting votes or donations from Alien Believers. So Congress using language supporting that would not be surprising.

However, I'm not sure "Temporary nonattributed objects, or those that are positively identified as man-made after analysis, will be passed to appropriate offices and should not be considered under the definition as unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena" means that. I'm not sure what it means. It seems to say " objects that are unidentified, and objects that are identified as man made, are not the business of the newly named office." To me that seems to say that once we know it was a bird, insect or meteor, send it to this office. Very odd.
 
I find it interesting that there is a suggestion of "man-made" vs the implied "not-man-made". Sure, meteorites, asteroids, birds, flying fish, etc., aren't man-made but it does seem that there's a creeping assumption that things are out there that ain't from around these parts.
No, I think that "creeping assumption" is entirely in your own mind. That's not to say there aren't a few people in Congress who believe whatever they last saw on the sci-fi programs, but I read nothing into that text that suggests your idea.
 
no it doesn't.
I hear you, and agree that it doesn't seem so, but, various more public sources seem to differ on that interpretation. There are a number of people highly placed or in office right now that have some fairly wild ideas about reality.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3z5wx/marco-rubio-hopes-ufos-are-aliens-not-chinese-planes
Marco Rubio: "Frankly, if it’s something outside this planet that might actually be better than the fact that we’ve seen some sort of technological leap from the Chinese or Russians."

https://www.vice.com/en/article/3ad...an-made-says-threats-increasing-exponentially
"The admission is stunning chiefly because, as more information about the U.S. government’s study of UFOs has become public, many politicians have stopped just short of claiming the unidentified objects were extraterrestrial or extradimensional in origin."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/us/politics/pentagon-ufo-report.html
"U.S. Has No Explanation for Unidentified Objects and Stops Short of Ruling Out Aliens"

https://thehill.com/opinion/3610916-congress-implies-ufos-have-non-human-origins/
"As military aircrews increasingly encounter unidentified flying objects (UFOs), lawmakers recently made several striking revisions to the definition of “UFO.” Key among them: The explosive implication that some UFOs have non-human origins."

Cheers - Jon
 
I saw those headlines and articles yesterday and found them perplexing and comical. The Hill one uses the term "UFO" 35 times whereas it isn't used once in the Select Committee on Intelligence's report. It's misinformation and bad journalism at its best.

Also compare what Vice wrote (bolding mine):

Headline: Congress Admits UFOs Not ‘Man-Made

Article: Congress seems to have admitted [...] it doesn’t believe all UFOs are “man-made.”

Article: [In the report] Congress made two startling claims. The second is that it wants to distinguish between UFOs that are human in origin and those that are not: “Temporary nonattributed objects, or those that are positively identified as man-made after analysis, will be passed to appropriate offices and should not be considered under the definition as unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena,” the document states.

Article: Congress seems to want to specifically distinguish between objects that are “man-made” and those that are not.

Article: Congress [is] now asking the Pentagon to focus only on those objects that haven’t been designed by human hands.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/3ad...an-made-says-threats-increasing-exponentially

So we go from the sensationalism of the headline to "they seem to have admitted" the headline to "they seem to want to distinguish manmade from non-manmade" to the weird conclusion that "Congress is asking the Pentagon to focus only on non-manmade objects" - when the truth of the whole thing is right there in the sentence from the report they quoted (and I abridge): "objects positively identified as man-made should not be considered as unidentified phenomena".

It's just tabloid nonsense really - and the post written by von Rennenkampff in The Hill is even worse.
 
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when the truth of the whole thing is right there is the sentence they quoted: "objects identified as man-made should not be considered as unidentified".
that's not a sentence in the report. the OP quoted it appropriately

"Temporary nonattributed objects, or those that are positively identified as man-made after analysis, will be passed to appropriate offices and should not be considered under the definition as unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomenon."
page 13 https://www.congress.gov/117/crpt/srpt132/CRPT-117srpt132.pdf
 
that's not a sentence in the report.

True, and I also quoted its use by Vice. But I have now added a few extra words and pointed out that I abridged it from the full version.

"Temporary nonattributed objects, or those that are positively identified as man-made after analysis, will be passed to appropriate offices and should not be considered under the definition as unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena."

I don't think I changed the meaning in any way, merely streamlined it. Hopefully we all agree.
 
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Those in Congress are no different than the population in general, some believe in extraterrestrial visitors, some don't. Wouldn't it be fun to ask individual reps the question directly and listen to some of them tap dance?

I do remember something about Congressional language in the Authorization Act providing for UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering of technology. Did that make it into the final, approved version? If it did, I doubt the intent was to reverse engineer technology from Russia, China, Iran, etc.
 
If it did, I doubt the intent was to reverse engineer technology from Russia, China, Iran, etc.
I would be less doubtful of that.

But Congress saying "If you get any ET technology, try to figure it out" would be common sense -- but would not be convincing evidence that "Congress" as a body believes UFOs are aliens nor that they would be right if they so believed.
 
I would be less doubtful of that.

But Congress saying "If you get any ET technology, try to figure it out" would be common sense -- but would not be convincing evidence that "Congress" as a body believes UFOs are aliens nor that they would be right if they so believed.
So does anyone know what language, if any, dealing with UAP crash retrieval/reverse engineering made it into the Authoritization Act?
 
I think this is everything in that report:

From Page 9:

Section 703. Modification of requirement for office to address unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena

Section 703 renames the Office established to carry out the duties of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, and clarifies the Office’s legal authorities, duties, and leadership to incorporate Intelligence Community equities that are integral to ensuring full oversight of unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena subject matter.

Section 704. Unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena reporting procedure

Section 704 ensures the Intelligence Community and DoD have sufficient procedures in place to receive all relevant reporting and disclosures regarding unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena.

Sections 705. Comptroller General of the United States compilation of unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena records

Section 705 requires the Comptroller General to undertake an independent review and compilation of unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena-related historical documents and submit a corresponding report. Section 705 further requires the relevant agencies to provide the Comptroller General with necessary materials and access to such records.

From Pages 12-13:

Modification of Requirement for Office to Address Unidentified Aerospace-Undersea Phenomena

At a time when cross-domain transmedium threats to United States national security are expanding exponentially, the Committee is disappointed with the slow pace of DoD-led efforts to establish the office to address those threats and to replace the former Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force as required in Section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022. The Committee was hopeful that the new office would address many of the structural issues hindering progress. To accelerate progress, the Committee has, pursuant to Section 703, renamed the organization formerly known as the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force and the Aerial Object Identification and Management Synchronization Management Group to be the Unidentified Aerospace-Undersea Phenomena Joint Program Office. That change reflects the broader scope of the effort directed by the Congress. Identification, classification, and scientific study of unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena is an inherently challenging cross-agency, cross-domain problem requiring an integrated or joint Intelligence Community and DoD approach. The new Office will continue to be led by DoD, with a Deputy Director named by the Intelligence Community. The formal DoD and Intelligence Community definition of the terms used by the Office shall be updated to include space and undersea, and the scope of the Office shall be inclusive of those additional domains with focus on addressing technology surprise and ‘‘unknown unknowns.’’ Temporary nonattributed objects, or those that are positively identified as man-made after analysis, will be passed to appropriate offices and should not be considered under the definition as unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena.

From Page 15:

Votes on amendments to the committee bill and the classified annex

By unanimous consent, the Committee made the Chairman and Vice Chairman’s bill, together with the classified annex for Fiscal
Year 2023, the base text for purposes of amendment.

By voice vote, the Committee adopted en bloc twenty-six amendments to the bill, as follows: (1) an amendment by Senator Blunt, and cosponsored by Vice Chairman Rubio, to establish an NGA Advisory Board; (2) an amendment by Senator Blunt, and cosponsored by Vice Chairman Rubio and Senators Gillibrand and Heinrich, to rename and modify the Unidentified Aerospace-Undersea Phenomena Joint Program Office; (3) [........] (13) an amendment by Senator Blunt, and cosponsored by Vice Chairman Rubio and Senators Gillibrand and Heinrich, to require Comptroller General historical compilations of Unidentified Aerospace-Undersea Phenomena records; (14) [.....]
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As for the actual bill:

Page 87-122:

SEC. 703. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENT FOR OFFICE TO ADDRESS
UNIDENTIFIED AEROSPACE-UNDERSEA PHENOMENA.

(a) In General.--Section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373) is amended to read as
follows:

``SEC. 1683. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIDENTIFIED AEROSPACE-UNDERSEA PHENOMENA
JOINT PROGRAM OFFICE.

``(a) Establishment of Office.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date
of the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2023, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination
with the Director of National Intelligence, shall establish an
office within a component of the Office of the Secretary of
Defense, or within a joint organization of the Department of
Defense and the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence, to carry out the duties of the Unidentified
Aerial Phenomena Task Force, as in effect on December 26, 2021,
and such other duties as are required by this section,
including those pertaining to--
``(A) transmedium objects or devices and
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena;
``(B) space, atmospheric, and water domains; and
``(C) currently unknown technology and other
domains.
``(2) Designation.--The office established under paragraph
(1) shall be known as the `Unidentified Aerospace-Undersea
Phenomena Joint Program Office' (in this section referred to as
the `Office').
``(b) Director and Deputy Director of the Office.--
``(1) Appointment of director.--The head of the Office
shall be the Director of the Unidentified Aerospace-Undersea
Phenomena Joint Program Office (in this section referred to as
the `Director of the Office'), who shall be appointed by the
Secretary of Defense.
``(2) Appointment of deputy director.--There shall be in
the Office a Deputy Director of the Unidentified Aerospace-
Undersea Phenomena Joint Program Office (in this section
referred to as the `Deputy Director of the Office'), who shall
be appointed by the Director of National Intelligence.
``(3) Reporting.--(A) The Director of the Office shall
report to the Secretary of Defense.
``(B) The Deputy Director of the Office shall report--
``(i) to the Secretary of Defense and the Director
of National Intelligence on all administrative matters
of the Office; and
``(ii) to the Secretary of Defense on all
operational matters of the Office.
``(c) Duties.--The duties of the Office shall include the
following:
``(1) Developing procedures to synchronize and standardize
the collection, reporting, and analysis of incidents, including
adverse physiological effects, regarding unidentified
aerospace-undersea phenomena across the Department of Defense
and the intelligence community, in consultation with the
Director of National Intelligence, and submitting a report on
such procedures to the congressional defense committees, the
congressional intelligence committees, and congressional
leadership.
``(2) Developing processes and procedures to ensure that
such incidents from each component of the Department and each
element of the intelligence community are reported and
incorporated in a centralized repository.
``(3) Establishing procedures to require the timely and
consistent reporting of such incidents.
``(4) Evaluating links between unidentified aerospace-
undersea phenomena and adversarial foreign governments, other
foreign governments, or nonstate actors.
``(5) Evaluating the threat that such incidents present to
the United States.
``(6) Coordinating with other departments and agencies of
the Federal Government, as appropriate, including the Federal
Aviation Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National
Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy.
``(7) Coordinating with allies and partners of the United
States, as appropriate, to better assess the nature and extent
of unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena.
``(8) Preparing reports for Congress, in both classified
and unclassified form, including under subsection (j).
``(9) Ensuring that appropriate elements of the
intelligence community receive all reports received by the
Office regarding a temporary nonattributed object or an object
that is positively identified as man-made, including by
creating a procedure to ensure that the Office refers such
reports to an appropriate element of the intelligence community
for distribution among other relevant elements of the
intelligence community, in addition to the reports in the
repository described in paragraph (2).
``(d) Response to and Field Investigations of Unidentified
Aerospace-undersea Phenomena.--
``(1) Designation.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Director of National Intelligence, shall designate one or more
line organizations within the Department of Defense and the
intelligence community that possess appropriate expertise,
authorities, accesses, data, systems, platforms, and
capabilities to rapidly respond to, and conduct field
investigations of, incidents involving unidentified aerospace-
undersea phenomena under the direction of the Director of the
Office.
``(2) Ability to respond.--The Secretary, in coordination
with the Director of National Intelligence, shall ensure that
each line organization designated under paragraph (1) has
adequate personnel with the requisite expertise, equipment,
transportation, and other resources necessary to respond
rapidly to incidents or patterns of observations involving
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena of which the Office
becomes aware.
``(e) Scientific, Technological, and Operational Analyses of Data
on Unidentified Aerospace-undersea Phenomena.--
``(1) Designation.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Director of National Intelligence, shall designate one or more
line organizations that will be primarily responsible for
scientific, technical, and operational analysis of data
gathered by field investigations conducted pursuant to
subsection (d) and data from other sources, including with
respect to the testing of materials, medical studies, and
development of theoretical models, to better understand and
explain unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena.
``(2) Authority.--The Secretary and the Director of
National Intelligence shall each issue such directives as are
necessary to ensure that each line organization designated
under paragraph (1) has authority to draw on the special
expertise of persons outside the Federal Government with
appropriate security clearances.
``(f) Data; Intelligence Collection.--
``(1) Availability of data and reporting on unidentified
aerospace-undersea phenomena.--The Director of National
Intelligence and the Secretary shall each, in coordination with
one another, ensure that--
``(A) each element of the intelligence community
with data relating to unidentified aerospace-undersea
phenomena makes such data available immediately to the
Office; and
``(B) military and civilian personnel of the
Department of Defense or an element of the intelligence
community, and contractor personnel of the Department
or such an element, have access to procedures by which
the personnel shall report incidents or information,
including adverse physiological effects, involving or
associated with unidentified aerospace-undersea
phenomena directly to the Office.
``(2) Intelligence collection and analysis plan.--The
Director of the Office, acting on behalf of the Secretary of
Defense and the Director of National Intelligence, shall
supervise the development and execution of an intelligence
collection and analysis plan to gain as much knowledge as
possible regarding the technical and operational
characteristics, origins, and intentions of unidentified
aerospace-undersea phenomena, including with respect to the
development, acquisition, deployment, and operation of
technical collection capabilities necessary to detect,
identify, and scientifically characterize unidentified
aerospace-undersea phenomena.
``(3) Use of resources and capabilities.--In developing the
plan under paragraph (2), the Director of the Office shall
consider and propose, as the Director of the Office determines
appropriate, the use of any resource, capability, asset, or
process of the Department and the intelligence community.
``(4) Director of the national geospatial-intelligence
agency.--
``(A) Leadership.--The Director of the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency shall lead the
collection efforts of the intelligence community with
respect to unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena
geospatial intelligence.
``(B) Briefings.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2023 and not less frequently than
once every 90 days thereafter, the Director shall brief
the congressional defense committees, the congressional
intelligence committees, and congressional leadership
on the activities of the Director under this paragraph.
``(g) Science Plan.--The Director of the Office, on behalf of the
Secretary and the Director of National Intelligence, shall supervise
the development and execution of a science plan to develop and test, as
practicable, scientific theories to--
``(1) account for characteristics and performance of
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena that exceed the known
state of the art in science or technology, including in the
areas of propulsion, aerodynamic control, signatures,
structures, materials, sensors, countermeasures, weapons,
electronics, and power generation; and
``(2) provide the foundation for potential future
investments to replicate or otherwise better understand any
such advanced characteristics and performance.
``(h) Assignment of Priority.--The Director of National
Intelligence, in consultation with, and with the recommendation of the
Secretary, shall assign an appropriate level of priority within the
National Intelligence Priorities Framework to the requirement to
understand, characterize, and respond to unidentified aerospace-
undersea phenomena.
``(i) Core Group.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023,
the Director of the Office, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director
of National Intelligence shall jointly establish a core group within
the Office that shall include, at a minimum, representatives with all
relevant and appropriate security clearances from the following:
``(1) The Central Intelligence Agency.
``(2) The National Security Agency.
``(3) The Department of Energy.
``(4) The National Reconnaissance Office.
``(5) The Air Force.
``(6) The Space Force.
``(7) The Defense Intelligence Agency.
``(8) The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
``(j) Annual Reports.--
``(1) Reports from director of national intelligence.--
``(A) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of the Intelligence
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, and annually
thereafter for 4 years, the Director of National
Intelligence, in consultation with the Secretary, shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report on unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena.
``(B) Elements.--Each report under subparagraph (A)
shall include, with respect to the year covered by the
report, the following information:
``(i) All reported unidentified aerospace-
undersea phenomena-related events that occurred
during the one-year period.
``(ii) All reported unidentified aerospace-
undersea phenomena-related events that occurred
during a period other than that one-year period
but were not included in an earlier report.
``(iii) An analysis of data and
intelligence received through each reported
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena-
related event.
``(iv) An analysis of data relating to
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena
collected through--
``(I) geospatial intelligence;
``(II) signals intelligence;
``(III) human intelligence; and
``(IV) measurement and signature
intelligence.
``(v) The number of reported incidents of
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena over
restricted airspace of the United States during
the one-year period.
``(vi) An analysis of such incidents
identified under clause (v).
``(vii) Identification of potential
aerospace or other threats posed by
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena to
the national security of the United States.
``(viii) An assessment of any activity
regarding unidentified aerospace-undersea
phenomena that can be attributed to one or more
adversarial foreign governments.
``(ix) Identification of any incidents or
patterns regarding unidentified aerospace-
undersea phenomena that indicate a potential
adversarial foreign government may have
achieved a breakthrough aerospace capability.
``(x) An update on the coordination by the
United States with allies and partners on
efforts to track, understand, and address
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena.
``(xi) An update on any efforts underway on
the ability to capture or exploit discovered
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena.
``(xii) An assessment of any health related
effects for individuals that have encountered
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena.
``(xiii) The number of reported incidents,
and descriptions thereof, of unidentified
aerospace-undersea phenomena associated with
military nuclear assets, including strategic
nuclear weapons and nuclear-powered ships and
submarines.
``(xiv) In consultation with the
Administrator for Nuclear Security, the number
of reported incidents, and descriptions
thereof, of unidentified aerospace-undersea
phenomena associated with facilities or assets
associated with the production, transportation,
or storage of nuclear weapons or components
thereof.
``(xv) In consultation with the Chairman of
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the number
of reported incidents, and descriptions
thereof, of unidentified aerospace-undersea
phenomena or drones of unknown origin
associated with nuclear power generating
stations, nuclear fuel storage sites, or other
sites or facilities regulated by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
``(xvi) The names of the line organizations
that have been designated to perform the
specific functions under subsections (d) and
(e), and the specific functions for which each
such line organization has been assigned
primary responsibility.
``(C) Form.--Each report submitted under
subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassified
form, but may include a classified annex.
``(2) Reports from elements of intelligence community.--Not
later than one year after the date of enactment of the
Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, and
annually thereafter, each head of an element of the
intelligence community shall submit to the congressional
defense committees, the congressional intelligence committees,
and congressional leadership a report on the activities of the
element of the head undertaken in the past year to support the
Office, including a section prepared by the Office that
includes a detailed description of the coordination between the
Office and the element of the intelligence community, any
concerns with such coordination, and any recommendations for
improving such coordination.
``(k) Semiannual Briefings.--
``(1) Requirement.--Not later than December 31, 2022, and
not less frequently than semiannually thereafter until December
31, 2026, the Director of the Office shall provide to the
congressional committees specified in subparagraphs (A), (B),
and (D) of subsection (o)(1) classified briefings on
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena.
``(2) First briefing.--The first briefing provided under
paragraph (1) shall include all incidents involving
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena that were reported to
the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force or to the Office
established under subsection (a) after June 24, 2021,
regardless of the date of occurrence of the incident.
``(3) Subsequent briefings.--Each briefing provided
subsequent to the first briefing described in paragraph (2)
shall include, at a minimum, all events relating to
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena that occurred during
the previous 180 days, and events relating to unidentified
aerospace-undersea phenomena that were not included in an
earlier briefing.
``(4) Instances in which data was not shared.--For each
briefing period, the Director of the Office shall jointly
provide to the chairman or chair and the ranking member or vice
chairman of the congressional committees specified in
subparagraphs (A) and (D) of subsection (o)(1) an enumeration
of any instances in which data relating to unidentified
aerospace-undersea phenomena was not provided to the Office
because of classification restrictions on that data or for any
other reason.
``(l) Quarterly Briefings.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of the Intelligence Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2023, and not less frequently than once every 90
days thereafter, the Director of the Office shall provide the
congressional defense committees, the congressional
intelligence committees, and congressional leadership briefings
on unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena events.
``(2) Elements.--The briefings provided under paragraph (1)
shall include the following:
``(A) A continuously updated compendium of
unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena events.
``(B) Details about each sighting that has occurred
within the past 90 days and the status of each
sighting's resolution.
``(C) Updates on the Office's collection activities
and posture, analysis, and research.
``(m) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the work of the
Office, including with respect to--
``(1) general intelligence gathering and intelligence
analysis; and
``(2) strategic defense, space defense, defense of
controlled air space, defense of ground, air, or naval assets,
and related purposes.
``(n) Task Force Termination.--Not later than the date on which the
Secretary establishes the Office under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall terminate the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force.
``(o) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `appropriate congressional committees' means
the following:
``(A) The Committees on Armed Services of the
Senate and the House of Representatives.
``(B) The Committees on Appropriations of the
Senate and the House of Representatives.
``(C) The Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives.
``(D) The Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
``(2) The term `congressional defense committees' has the
meaning given such term in section 101(a) of title 10, United
States Code.
``(3) The term `congressional intelligence committees' has
the meaning given such term in section 3 of the National
Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).
``(4) The term `congressional leadership' means--
``(A) the majority leader of the Senate;
``(B) the minority leader of the Senate;
``(C) the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
and
``(D) the minority leader of the House of
Representatives.
``(5) The term `intelligence community' has the meaning
given such term in section 3 of the National Security Act of
1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).
``(6) The term `line organization' means, with respect to a
department or agency of the Federal Government, an organization
that executes programs and activities to directly advance the
core functions and missions of the department or agency to
which the organization is subordinate, but, with respect to the
Department of Defense, does not include a component of the
Office of the Secretary of Defense.
``(7) The term `transmedium objects or devices' means
objects or devices that are--
``(A) observed to transition between space and the
atmosphere, or between the atmosphere and bodies of
water; and
``(B) not immediately identifiable.
``(8) The term `unidentified aerospace-undersea
phenomena'--
``(A) means--
``(i) airborne objects that are not
immediately identifiable;
``(ii) transmedium objects or devices; and
``(iii) submerged objects or devices that
are not immediately identifiable and that
display behavior or performance characteristics
suggesting that the objects or devices may be
related to the objects or devices described in
subparagraph (A) or (B); and
``(B) does not include temporary nonattributed
objects or those that are positively identified as man-
made.''.
(b) Delegation of Duties of Director of National Intelligence.--Not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Director of National Intelligence shall select a full-time equivalent
employee of the intelligence community and delegate to such employee
the responsibilities of the Director under section 1683 of such Act (50
U.S.C. 3373), as amended by subsection (a).
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 2(b) of
such Act is amended by striking the item relating to section 1683 of
division A and inserting the following new item:

``Sec. 1683. Establishment of Unidentified Aerospace-Undersea Phenomena
Joint Program Office.''.

SEC. 704. UNIDENTIFIED AEROSPACE-UNDERSEA PHENOMENA REPORTING
PROCEDURES.

(a) Authorization for Reporting.--Notwithstanding the terms of any
nondisclosure written or oral agreement, order, or other
instrumentality or means, that could be interpreted as a legal
constraint on reporting by a witness of an unidentified aerospace-
undersea phenomena, reporting in accordance with the system established
under subsection (b) is hereby authorized and shall be deemed to comply
with any regulation or order issued under the authority of Executive
Order 13526 (50 U.S.C. 3161 note; relating to classified national
security information) or chapter 18 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954
(42 U.S.C. 2271 et seq.).
(b) System for Reporting.--
(1) Establishment.--The head of the Office, on behalf of
the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National
Intelligence, shall establish a secure system for receiving
reports of--
(A) any event relating to unidentified aerospace-
undersea phenomena; and
(B) any Government or Government contractor
activity or program related to unidentified aerospace-
undersea phenomena.
(2) Protection of systems, programs, and activity.--The
system established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall serve as a
mechanism to prevent unauthorized public reporting or
compromise of properly classified military and intelligence
systems, programs, and related activity, including all
categories and levels of special access and compartmented
access programs, current, historical, and future.
(3) Administration.--The system established pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall be administered by designated and widely
known, easily accessible, and appropriately cleared Department
of Defense and intelligence community employees or contractors
assigned to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force or the
Office.
(4) Sharing of information.--The system established under
paragraph (1) shall provide for the immediate sharing with
Office personnel and supporting analysts and scientists of
information previously prohibited from reporting under any
nondisclosure written or oral agreement, order, or other
instrumentality or means, except in cases where the cleared
Government personnel administering such system conclude that
the preponderance of information available regarding the
reporting indicates that the observed object and associated
events and activities likely relate to a special access program
or compartmented access program that, as of the date of the
reporting, has been explicitly and clearly reported to the
congressional defense committees and congressional intelligence
committees, and is documented as meeting those criteria.
(5) Initial report and publication.--Not later than 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of
the Office, on behalf of the Secretary and the Director,
shall--
(A) submit to the congressional intelligence
committees, the congressional defense committees, and
congressional leadership a report detailing the system
established under paragraph (1); and
(B) make available to the public on a website of
the Department of Defense information about such
system, including clear public guidance for accessing
and using such system and providing feedback about the
expected timeline to process a report.
(6) Annual reports.--Subsection (j)(1) of section 1683 of
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50
U.S.C. 3373), as amended by section 703, is further amended--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and
congressional leadership'' after ``appropriate
congressional committees''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the end the
following new clause:
``(xvii) A summary of the reports received
using the system established under section
703(b)(1) of the Intelligence Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2023.''.
(c) Records of Nondisclosure Agreements.--
(1) Identification of nondisclosure agreements.--The
Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence,
the Secretary of Homeland Security, the heads of such other
departments and agencies of the Federal Government that have
supported investigations of the types of events covered by
subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) and activities and
programs described in subparagraph (B) of such subsection, and
contractors of the Federal Government supporting such
activities and programs shall conduct comprehensive searches of
all records relating to nondisclosure orders or agreements or
other obligations relating to the types of events described in
subsection (a) and provide copies of all relevant documents to
the Office.
(2) Submittal to congress.--The head of the Office shall--
(A) make the records compiled under paragraph (1)
accessible to the congressional intelligence
committees, the congressional defense committees, and
congressional leadership; and
(B) not later than September 30, 2023, and at least
once each fiscal year thereafter through fiscal year
2026, provide to such committees and congressional
leadership briefings and reports on such records.
(d) Protection From Liability and Private Right of Action.--
(1) Protection from liability.--It shall not be a violation
of any law, and no cause of action shall lie or be maintained
in any court or other tribunal against any person, for
reporting any information through, and in compliance with, the
system established pursuant to subsection (b)(1).
(2) Prohibition on reprisals.--An employee of a Federal
agency and an employee of a contractor for the Federal
Government who has authority to take, direct others to take,
recommend, or approve any personnel action, shall not, with
respect to such authority, take or fail to take, or threaten to
take or fail to take, a personnel action, including the
revocation or suspension of security clearances, with respect
to any individual as a reprisal for any reporting as described
in paragraph (1).
(3) Private right of action.--In a case in which an
employee described in paragraph (2) takes a personnel action
against an individual in violation of such paragraph, the
individual may bring a private civil action for all appropriate
remedies, including injunctive relief and compensatory and
punitive damages, against the Government or other employer who
took the personnel action, in a Federal district court of
competent jurisdiction.
(e) Review by Inspectors General.--Not later than one year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the
Department of Defense and the Inspector General of the Intelligence
Community shall each--
(1) conduct an assessment of the compliance with the
requirements of this section and the operation and efficacy of
the system established under subsection (b); and
(2) submit to the congressional intelligence committees,
the congressional defense committees, and congressional
leadership a report on their respective findings with respect
to the assessments they conducted under paragraph (1).
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``congressional defense committees'' has the
meaning given such term in section 101(a) of title 10, United
States Code.
(2) The term ``congressional leadership'' means--
(A) the majority leader of the Senate;
(B) the minority leader of the Senate;
(C) the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
and
(D) the minority leader of the House of
Representatives.
(3) The term ``Office'' means the office established under
section 1683(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373(a)), as amended by section
703.
(4) The term ``personnel action'' has the meaning given
such term in section 1104(a) of the National Security Act of
1947 (50 U.S.C. 3234(a)).
(5) The term ``unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena''
has the meaning given such term in section 1683(o) of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50
U.S.C. 3373(o)), as amended by section 703.

SEC. 705. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES COMPILATION OF
UNIDENTIFIED AEROSPACE-UNDERSEA PHENOMENA RECORDS.

(a) Definition of Unidentified Aerospace-undersea Phenomena.--In
this section, the term ``unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena''
has the meaning given such term in section 1683(o) of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373(o)), as
amended by section 703.
(b) Compilation Required.--Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall--
(1) commence a review of the records and documents of the
intelligence community, oral history interviews, open source
analytic analysis, interviews of current and former government
officials, classified and unclassified national archives
(including those records any third party obtained pursuant to
section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as
the ``Freedom of Information Act'' or ``FOIA'')), and such
other relevant historical sources as the Comptroller General
considers appropriate; and
(2) for the period beginning on January 1, 1947, and ending
on the date on which the Comptroller General completes
activities under this subsection, compile and itemize a
complete historical record of the intelligence community's
involvement with unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena,
including successful or unsuccessful efforts to identify and
track unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena, and any
intelligence community efforts to obfuscate, manipulate public
opinion, hide, or otherwise provide unclassified or classified
misinformation about unidentified aerospace-undersea phenomena
or related activities, based on the review conducted under
paragraph (1).
(c) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date on
which the Comptroller General completes the compilation and
itemization required by subsection (b)(2), the Comptroller
General shall submit to Congress a report summarizing the
historical record described in such subsection.
(2) Resources.--The report submitted under paragraph (1)
shall include citations to the resources relied upon and
instructions as to how the resources can be accessed.
(3) Form.--The report submitted under paragraph (1) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex as necessary.
(d) Cooperation of Intelligence Community.--The heads of elements
of the intelligence community whose participation the Comptroller
General deems necessary to carry out subsections (b) and (c), including
the Director of National Intelligence, the Under Secretary of Defense
for Intelligence and Security, and the Director of the Unidentified
Aerospace-Undersea Phenomena Joint Program Office, shall fully
cooperate with the Comptroller General and provide to the Comptroller
General such information as the Comptroller General determines
necessary to carry out such subsections.
(e) Access to Records of the National Archives and Records
Administration.--The Archivist of the United States shall make
available to the Comptroller General such information maintained by the
National Archives and Records Administration, including classified
information, as the Comptroller General considers necessary to carry
out subsections (b) and (c).

SEC. 706. OFFICE OF GLOBAL COMPETITION ANALYSIS.

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has
the meaning given such term in section 105 of title 5, United
States Code.
(2) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of Global
Competition Analysis established under subsection (b).
(b) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--The President shall establish an office on
analysis of global competition.
(2) Purposes.--The purposes of the Office are as follows:
(A) To carry out a program of analysis on United
States leadership in technology and innovation sectors
critical to national security and economic prosperity
relative to other countries, particularly those
countries that are strategic competitors of the United
States.
(B) To support policy development and decision
making to ensure United States leadership in technology
and innovation sectors critical to national security
and economic prosperity.
(3) Designation.--The Office shall be known as the ``Office
of Global Competition Analysis''.
(c) Activities.--In accordance with the priorities determined under
subsection (d), the Office shall--
(1) acquire and prepare data relating to the purposes of
the Office under subsection (b), including data relating to
critical technologies, innovation, and production capacity in
the United States and other countries, consistent with
applicable provisions of law;
(2) conduct long- and short-term analysis regarding--
(A) United States policies that enable
technological competitiveness relative to those of
other countries, particularly with respect to countries
that are strategic competitors of the United States;
(B) United States science and technology ecosystem
elements relative to those of other countries,
particularly with respect to countries that are
strategic competitors of the United States;
(C) United States competitiveness in technology and
innovation sectors critical to national security and
economic prosperity relative to other countries,
including the availability of United States technology
in such sectors abroad, particularly with respect to
countries that are strategic competitors of the United
States;
(D) trends and trajectories, including rate of
change in technologies, related to technology and
innovation sectors critical to national security and
economic prosperity;
(E) threats to United States national security
interests as a result of any foreign country's
dependence on technologies of strategic competitors of
the United States; and
(F) threats to United States interests based on
dependencies on foreign technologies critical to
national security and economic prosperity; and
(3) engage with private sector entities on matters relating
to analysis under paragraph (2).
(d) Determination of Priorities.--On a periodic basis, the Director
of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Assistant to the
President for Economic Policy, the Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs, the Secretary of Commerce, the Director of
National Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
Energy, and the Secretary of State shall, in coordination with such
heads of Executive agencies as such Directors, Assistants, and
Secretaries jointly consider appropriate, jointly determine the
priorities of the Office with respect to subsection (b)(2)(A).
(e) Administration.--
(1) In general.--To carry out the purposes set forth under
subsection (b)(2), the Office shall enter into an agreement
with a public-private or a federally funded research and
development center, a university affiliated research center, or
consortium of federally funded research and development
centers, and university affiliated research centers.
(2) Limitation.--Of the amount authorized to be
appropriated by subsection (i) to carry out this section, not
more than 5 percent may be used for administrative expenses.
(f) Access to, Use, and Handling of Information.--
(1) Federal information.--In carrying out the activities
under subsection (c), the Office shall have access to all
information, data, or reports of any Executive agency that the
Office determines necessary to carry out this section--
(A) upon written request;
(B) subject to limitations under applicable
provisions of law; and
(C) consistent with the protection of sources and
methods, law enforcement strictures, protection of
proprietary information of businesses, and protection
of personally identifiable information.
(2) Commercial information.--The Office may obtain
commercially available information that may not be publicly
available.
(3) Use of information.--The Office may use information
obtained under this subsection for purposes set forth under
subsection (b)(2).
(4) Handling of information.--The Office shall handle
information obtained under this subsection subject to all
restrictions required by the source of the information.
(g) Additional Support.--A head of an Executive agency may provide
to the Office such support, in the form of financial assistance and
personnel, as the head considers appropriate to assist the Office in
carrying out any activity under subsection (c), consistent with the
priorities determined under subsection (d).
(h) Annual Report.--Not less frequently than once each year, the
Office shall submit to Congress a report on the activities of the
Office under this section.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for fiscal year
2023.

https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/s4503/BILLS-117s4503rs.pdf
Content from External Source

That's pretty long and unsexy - I assume; I certainly haven't read it - so I can see why the websites went with "Congress admits UFOs not man-made"! :D
 
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I looked up the topic of congress's actions but I'll have to agree with Skeptical inquirer's article ...which was (surprise, surprise!) written by Mick West. I shall remain skeptical about the extraterrestrial origin concept until our little green overlords introduce themselves to us.

It's still a good idea to keep an eye on anything man-made that might have come from enemy countries, of course, but I don't think that serious endeavor gains anything by falling down the rabbit hole into the realms of science fiction.

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/great-expectations-ufos-in-congress/
 
ah i thought Vice misquoted the report. didnt realize you were paraphrasing Vice.

Well, I definitely could have written it more clearly so good to call me to that.

I looked up the topic of congress's actions but I'll have to agree with Skeptical inquirer's article ...which was (surprise, surprise!) written by Mick West.

Always happy to read something written by Mick - thanks for pointing that out - but I wonder if that's valid here given that his article is from May 25th and both the bill and the report are from July (12th and 20th respectively).
 
technically since all the UFOs we see are metal and most with lights, you gotta wonder how they can positively identify any ufo as not man-made or not. maybe they are referring to the "physics are impossible" claims we see.

also want to point out this is a budget appropriations thing, to me i read it as they want to separate the chaff from the wheat with any actual possible threats
passed to appropriate offices
so, for example a real threat from China doesn't get lost in the quagmire of mylar balloon investigations or pilots misreading the blips on their radars.

(disclaimer: i might be stretching the truth a bit when i say "i read it as", the truth is i have almost no faith in our Congress to do anything efficiently and smartly :) )
 
Always happy to read something written by Mick - thanks for pointing that out - but I wonder if that's valid here given that his article is from May 25th and both the bill and the report are from July (12th and 20th respectively).
Do you know of any material facts presented to the investigators in the intervening six or eight weeks? I'm talking about evidence, not the report.
 
I looked up the topic of congress's actions but I'll have to agree with Skeptical inquirer's article ...which was (surprise, surprise!) written by Mick West. I shall remain skeptical about the extraterrestrial origin concept until our little green overlords introduce themselves to us.

It's still a good idea to keep an eye on anything man-made that might have come from enemy countries, of course, but I don't think that serious endeavor gains anything by falling down the rabbit hole into the realms of science fiction.

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/great-expectations-ufos-in-congress/

Sure, give the science/engineering questions to the science and and engineering experts, and pass the woowoo to the woowoo experts. Typical triage. You don't want the scientists and engineers tied up on trivial matters, and do want the woowoogurus kept busy on anything, lest they start fussing.
 
Sure, give the science/engineering questions to the science and and engineering experts, and pass the woowoo to the woowoo experts. Typical triage. You don't want the scientists and engineers tied up on trivial matters, and do want the woowoogurus kept busy on anything, lest they start fussing.
A lovely convergence of cynicism and accuracy.
 
Non-man-made UAP encompass birds, bats, bugs, weather phenomena such as lenticular clouds or gravity waves, astronomical objects, and optical illusions such as bokeh.

For examples, see metabunk.org.

Article:
By the time Project Blue Book ended, it had collected 12,618 UFO reports, and concluded that most of them were misidentifications of natural phenomena (clouds, stars, etc.) or conventional aircraft.
 
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The problem is the rules as stated are a sort tautology.

In order for the case to be passed to the people wo are paid to be looking at UNIDENTIFED stuff, the thing has to be at least CHARACTERISED as not being man-made, which in a lot of instances requires work that IDENTIFIES the OBJECT. (basically what we do at Metabunk)

So who exactly is doing that characterisation work?
 
If you refer to Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023,it seems not.You can also confirm it by yourself.
Do you remember where you saw the UAP crash retrieval/reverse engineering in the Authoriyization Act?
I was asking if it was in the Authorization Act, didn't say I saw it. The question was based on articles in multiple sources that claimed reverse engineering was being address in Congressional bills late last year. I did a quick search and this came up first.


 Article
Congress is set to pass a new defense bill introduced on Tuesday that would allow funding to reverse engineer UFO technology.
Content from External Source
https://futurism.com/the-byte/law-reverse-engineering-ufo
 
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