(NewsNation) — Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., has introduced legislation that would force the president to direct federal agencies to make all documents on unidentified anomalous phenomena, aka UAPs or UFOs, available to the public within 279 days and mandate the president provide a quarterly report on declassification of UAP records to the House.
Burchett, the unofficial chair of the bipartisan UAP Caucus, said he thinks the legislation is needed because he isn’t convinced by government denials surrounding UAPs.
Whistleblower David Grusch came forward last year saying the Pentagon was operating a secret UFO retrieval program. His claims sparked a congressional hearing on the subject and the formation of the caucus.
The Department of Defense has denied these allegations, and the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which is tasked with investigating UAPs, issued a report saying there was no evidence of extraterrestrial activity connected to UAPs.
AARO did say there was a proposed program called Kona Blue, which would have reverse-engineered UFO technology, but said it never got off the ground because no such technology was ever recovered.
Burchett is one of several legislators who haven’t been convinced by what they’ve heard. But he says the issue isn’t just about the possibility of alien life.
“Our federal government’s many departments tell us they don’t exist, yet they’re still being funded with tens of millions of dollars,” Burchett said. “They issue redacted reports about UFOs. And in our own Pentagon — it has not passed an audit in the history of audits — it literally cannot account for over half a trillion dollars.”
Burchett added that he’s heard enough testimony from qualified people, including Navy pilots, to not dismiss the issue. He also claims the government has sidestepped Freedom of Information Act requests by using private contractors when investigating or recovering UAP technology.
The proposed bill must first pass committee before it can be brought to the House floor, where it can be voted on by all members. It would also have to pass the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has also pushed for UAP transparency, and be signed by the president before becoming law.