Summary of Legislation

Legislation is modeled on the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992.

Proposed Sense of Congress: All Government records related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) should carry a presumption of immediate disclosure, and all such records should be eventually disclosed to enable the public to become fully informed about the history of the Government’s knowledge and involvement surrounding UAP and in furtherance of open scientific research. 

Implementation:  

1.     The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) shall establish a collection of records to be known as the UAP Records Collection.

2.     Each Government office shall identify and organize its UAP records and transmit them to the Archivist for inclusion in the Collection.

3.     A board to be known as the UAP Records Review Board shall be established as an independent agency comprised of nine distinguished citizens nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate with a termination date of September 30, 2030 unless extended by Congress.

4.     The Review Board shall consider and render decisions as to whether a record constitutes a UAP record and whether a UAP record or subset of information in a record qualifies for postponement of disclosure.

5.     The Federal government shall exercise eminent domain over any and all recovered technologies of unknown origin (TUO) and biological evidence of non-human intelligence (NHI) that may be controlled by private persons or entities in the interests of the public good.

6.     The Review Board shall consider and render decisions whether examined material constitutes TUO or biological evidence of NHI beyond a reasonable doubt, and whether recovered TUO, biological evidence of NHI, or a particular subset of material qualifies for postponement of disclosure.

7.     With respect to UAP records or material the public disclosure of which is postponed, the Review Board shall create and transmit to the President and to the Archivist a Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan containing a justification for postponement and a benchmark-driven plan with recommendations for periodic review, downgrading, and declassification.

8.     After the Review Board has made a formal determination concerning public disclosure or postponement, the President shall have the sole and nondelegable authority to require disclosure or postponement of such record or material:

a.     All UAP records or material that can be publicly disclosed without any redaction, adjustment, or withholding shall be immediately made available to the public.

b.     Any UAP record postponed by the President shall be subject to the requirements of periodic review, downgrading, declassification, and public disclosure in accordance with the requirements specified in the Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan, superseding all prior declassification review standards that may previously have been deemed applicable to UAP records or material.

9.     At the latest, each UAP record shall be publicly disclosed in full and made available in the Collection no later than 25 years after first creation of the record by the originating body unless the President certifies that continued postponement is made necessary by an identifiable harm to national security.

Legislative Oversight:  The Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate shall have oversight jurisdiction over the conduct of the Review Board and the disposition of postponed records after termination of the Review Board, and shall have access to any records held or created by the Review Board.