United States Congress

Background

The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government, established in 1789 by the Constitution.

• Comprises the Senate and House of Representatives
• Holds authority over federal legislation, budgeting, and oversight

UAP Involvement

Congress has significantly increased its involvement in UAP/UFO research since 2017.

• Holding public congressional hearings on UAP reports (the first in over 50 years occurred in 2021)
• Establishing oversight provisions through the National Defense Authorization Acts
• Mandating transparency measures

Key Contributions

Notable achievements include the Fiscal Year 2024 Intelligence Authorization Act.

• Strengthened UAP reporting requirements
• Made funding of secret retrieval or reverse engineering programs illegal
• Directed the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), established in July 2022, to provide briefings on military UAP intercepts since 2004 and to address overclassification concerns

Current Status

Ongoing legislative efforts focus on improving UAP/UFO handling.

• Improve information sharing
• Reduce classification barriers
• Ensure rigorous scientific investigation of anomalous phenomena in U.S. airspace