DISCLOSURE / FILE
Senate Amendment 797 to S.2226 (the FY2024 NDAA), submitted July 13, 2023 by Senators Schumer, Rounds, Rubio, Gillibrand, Young, and Heinrich, proposes the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023 to create a UAP Records Collection at the National Archives and a Review Board with mandatory declassification authority.
UAP Disclosure Act of 2023, Schumer–Rounds Senate Amendment (S.Amdt.797 to S.2226), Congressional Record S2953 July 13 2023.pdf
Senate Amendment 797 to S.2226 (the FY2024 NDAA), submitted July 13, 2023 by Senators Schumer, Rounds, Rubio, Gillibrand, Young, and Heinrich, proposes the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023 to create a UAP Records Collection at the National Archives and a Review Board with mandatory declassification authority.
On July 13, 2023, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Senator Mike Rounds, joined by Rubio, Gillibrand, Young, and Heinrich, submitted Amendment 797 to S.2226, the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act, printed at Congressional Record S2953. The text creates a presumption of immediate disclosure for all federal UAP records, directs the Archivist to establish a UAP Records Collection within 60 days of enactment, and requires each Government office to identify and organize UAP records within 300 days. It defines twenty-two terms, including "non-human intelligence," "technologies of unknown origin," "legacy program," and a six-observable signature set for UAP that covers instantaneous acceleration, hypersonic velocity without thermal signature, transmedium travel, positive lift contrary to known aerodynamics, multispectral signature control, and invasive biological effects on close observers. It names twenty-four originating bodies subject to the Act, from the Executive Office of the President and DoD to the CIA, NRO, DIA, NSA, NGA, NASA, FBI, FAA, NOAA, the Library of Congress, and any private contractor.
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2953 July 13, 2023 to nuclear waste issues in the Great Lakes Basin. SA 797. Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs. GILLI- BRAND, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. HEINRICH) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to pre- scribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other pur- poses; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place, insert the fol- lowing: TITLE l — UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA DISCLOSURE SEC. ll 01. SHORT TITLE. This title may be cited as the ‘‘Unidenti- fied Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘UAP Disclosure Act of 2023’’. SEC. ll 02. FINDINGS, DECLARATIONS, AND PUR- POSES. (a) FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.—Congress finds and declares the following: (1) All Federal Government records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena should be preserved and centralized for his- torical and Federal Government purposes. (2) All Federal Government records con- cerning unidentified anomalous phenomena should carry a presumption of immediate disclosure and all records should be eventu- ally disclosed to enable the public to become fully informed about the history of the Fed- eral Government’s knowledge and involve- ment surrounding unidentified anomalous phenomena. (3) Legislation is necessary to create an en- forceable, independent, and accountable process for the public disclosure of such records. (4) Legislation is necessary because cred- ible evidence and testimony indicates that Federal Government unidentified anomalous phenomena records exist that have not been declassified or subject to mandatory declas- sification review as set forth in Executive Order 13526 (50 U.S.C. 3161 note; relating to classified national security information) due in part to exemptions under the Atomic En- ergy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), as well as an over-broad interpretation of ‘‘transclassified foreign nuclear informa- tion’’, which is also exempt from mandatory declassification, thereby preventing public disclosure under existing provisions of law. (5) Legislation is necessary because section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’), as implemented by the Executive branch of the Federal Government, has prov- en inadequate in achieving the timely public disclosure of Government unidentified anom- alous phenomena records that are subject to mandatory declassification review. (6) Legislation is necessary to restore prop- er oversight over unidentified anomalous phenomena records by elected officials in both the executive and legislative branches of the Federal Government that has other- wise been lacking as of the enactment of this Act. (7) Legislation is necessary to afford com- plete and timely access to all knowledge gained by the Federal Government con- cerning unidentified anomalous phenomena in furtherance of comprehensive open sci- entific and technological research and devel- opment essential to avoiding or mitigating potential technological surprise in further- ance of urgent national security concerns and the public interest. (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are— (1) to provide for the creation of the un- identified anomalous phenomena Records Collection at the National Archives and Records Administration; and (2) to require the expeditious public trans- mission to the Archivist and public disclo- sure of such records. SEC. ll 03. DEFINITIONS. In this title: (1) ARCHIVIST.—The term ‘‘Archivist’’ means the Archivist of the United States. (2) CLOSE OBSERVER.—The term ‘‘close ob- server’’ means anyone who has come into close proximity to unidentified anomalous phenomena or non-human intelligence. (3) COLLECTION.—The term ‘‘Collection’’ means the Unidentified Anomalous Phe- nomena Records Collection established under section ll 04. (4) CONTROLLED DISCLOSURE CAMPAIGN PLAN.—The term ‘‘Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan’’ means the Controlled Dis- closure Campaign Plan required by section ll 09(c)(3). (5) CONTROLLING AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘controlling authority’’ means any Federal, State, or local government department, of- fice, agency, committee, commission, com- mercial company, academic institution, or private sector entity in physical possession of technologies of unknown origin or biologi- cal evidence of non-human intelligence. (6) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Execu- tive agency’’ means an Executive agency, as defined in subsection 552(f) of title 5, United States Code. (7) GOVERNMENT OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Gov- ernment office’’ means any department, of- fice, agency, committee, or commission of the Federal Government and any inde- pendent office or agency without exception that has possession or control, including via contract or other agreement, of unidentified anomalous phenomena records. (8) IDENTIFICATION AID.—The term ‘‘identi- fication aid’’ means the written description prepared for each record, as required in sec- tion ll 04. (9) LEADERSHIP OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘‘leadership of Congress’’ means— (A) the majority leader of the Senate; (B) the minority leader of the Senate; (C) the Speaker of the House of Represent- atives; and (D) the minority leader of the House of Representatives. (10) LEGACY PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘legacy program’’ means all Federal, State, and local government, commercial industry, academic, and private sector endeavors to collect, ex- ploit, or reverse engineer technologies of un- known origin or examine biological evidence of living or deceased non-human intelligence that pre-dates the date of the enactment of this Act. (11) NATIONAL ARCHIVES.—The term ‘‘Na- tional Archives’’ means the National Ar- chives and Records Administration and all components thereof, including presidential archival depositories established under sec- tion 2112 of title 44, United States Code. (12) NON-HUMAN INTELLIGENCE.—The term ‘‘non-human intelligence’’ means any sen- tient intelligent non-human lifeform regard- less of nature or ultimate origin that may be presumed responsible for unidentified anom- alous phenomena or of which the Federal Government has become aware. (13) ORIGINATING BODY.—The term ‘‘origi- nating body’’ means the Executive agency, Federal Government commission, committee of Congress, or other Governmental entity that created a record or particular informa- tion within a record. (14) PROSAIC ATTRIBUTION.—The term ‘‘pro- saic attribution’’ means having a human (ei- ther foreign or domestic) origin and oper- ating according to current, proven, and gen- erally understood scientific and engineering principles and established laws-of-nature and not attributable to non-human intelligence. (15) PUBLIC INTEREST.—The term ‘‘public interest’’ means the compelling interest in the prompt public disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena records for historical and Governmental purposes and for the pur- pose of fully informing the people of the United States about the history of the Fed- eral Government’s knowledge and involve- ment surrounding unidentified anomalous phenomena. (16) RECORD.—The term ‘‘record’’ includes a book, paper, report, memorandum, direc- tive, email, text, or other form of commu- nication, or map, photograph, sound or video recording, machine-readable material, com- puterized, digitized, or electronic informa- tion, including intelligence, surveillance, re- connaissance, and target acquisition sensor data, regardless of the medium on which it is stored, or other documentary material, re- gardless of its physical form or characteris- tics. (17) REVIEW BOARD.—The term ‘‘Review Board’’ means the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records Review Board estab- lished by section ll 07. (18) TECHNOLOGIES OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN.— The term ‘‘technologies of unknown origin’’ means any materials or meta-materials, ejecta, crash debris, mechanisms, machin- ery, equipment, assemblies or sub-assem- blies, engineering models or processes, dam- aged or intact aerospace vehicles, and dam- aged or intact ocean-surface and undersea craft associated with unidentified anomalous phenomena or incorporating science and technology that lacks prosaic attribution or known means of human manufacture. (19) TEMPORARILY NON-ATTRIBUTED OB- JECTS.— (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘temporarily non-attributed objects’’ means the class of objects that temporarily resist prosaic attri- bution by the initial observer as a result of environmental or system limitations associ- ated with the observation process that nev- ertheless ultimately have an accepted human origin or known physical cause. Al- though some unidentified anomalous phe- nomena may at first be interpreted as tem- porarily non-attributed objects, they are not temporarily non-attributed objects, and the two categories are mutually exclusive. (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘temporarily non-attributed objects’’ includes— (i) natural celestial, meteorological, and undersea weather phenomena; (ii) mundane human-made airborne ob- jects, clutter, and marine debris; (iii) Federal, State, and local government, commercial industry, academic, and private sector aerospace platforms; (iv) Federal, State, and local government, commercial industry, academic, and private sector ocean-surface and undersea vehicles; and (v) known foreign systems. (20) THIRD AGENCY.—The term ‘‘third agen- cy’’ means a Government agency that origi- nated a unidentified anomalous phenomena record that is in the possession of another Government agency. (21) UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHE- NOMENA.— (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘unidentified anomalous phenomena’’ means any object operating or judged capable of operating in outer-space, the atmosphere, ocean surfaces, or undersea lacking prosaic attribution due to performance characteristics and prop- erties not previously known to be achievable VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:27 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00509 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13JY6.182 S13JYPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2954 July 13, 2023 based upon commonly accepted physical principles. Unidentified anomalous phe- nomena are differentiated from both attrib- uted and temporarily non-attributed objects by one or more of the following observables: (i) Instantaneous acceleration absent ap- parent inertia. (ii) Hypersonic velocity absent a thermal signature and sonic shockwave. (iii) Transmedium (such as space-to-ground and air-to-undersea) travel. (iv) Positive lift contrary to known aero- dynamic principles. (v) Multispectral signature control. (vi) Physical or invasive biological effects to close observers and the environment. (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘unidentified anomalous phenomena’’ includes what were previously described as— (i) flying discs; (ii) flying saucers; (iii) unidentified aerial phenomena; (iv) unidentified flying objects (UFOs); and (v) unidentified submerged objects (USOs). (22) UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORD.—The term ‘‘unidentified anomalous phenomena record’’ means a record that is related to unidentified anomalous phe- nomena, technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence (and all equivalent subjects by any other name with the specific and sole exclusion of temporarily non-attrib- uted objects) that was created or made avail- able for use by, obtained by, or otherwise came into the possession of— (A) the Executive Office of the President; (B) the Department of Defense and its pro- genitors, the Department of War and the De- partment of the Navy; (C) the Department of the Army; (D) the Department of the Navy; (E) the Department of the Air Force, spe- cifically the Air Force Office of Special In- vestigations; (F) the Department of Energy and its pro- genitors, the Manhattan Project, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the Energy Re- search and Development Administration; (G) the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; (H) the Central Intelligence Agency and its progenitor, the Office of Strategic Services; (I) the National Reconnaissance Office; (J) the Defense Intelligence Agency; (K) the National Security Agency; (L) the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; (M) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: (N) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; (O) the Federal Aviation Administration; (P) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; (Q) the Library of Congress; (R) the National Archives and Records Ad- ministration; (S) any Presidential library; (T) any Executive agency; (U) any independent office or agency; (V) any other department, office, agency, committee, or commission of the Federal Government; (W) any State or local government depart- ment, office, agency, committee, or commis- sion that provided support or assistance or performed work, in connection with a Fed- eral inquiry into unidentified anomalous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence; and (X) any private sector person or entity for- merly or currently under contract or some other agreement with the Federal Govern- ment. SEC. ll 04. UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHE- NOMENA RECORDS COLLECTION AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— (1) IN GENERAL.—(A) Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Archivist shall commence establishment of a collection of records in the National Ar- chives to be known as the ‘‘Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records Collection’’. (B) In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Archivist shall ensure the physical integrity and original provenance (or if indeterminate, the earliest historical owner) of all records in the Collection. (C) The Collection shall consist of record copies of all Government, Government-pro- vided, or Government-funded records relat- ing to unidentified anomalous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, and non- human intelligence (or equivalent subjects by any other name with the specific and sole exclusion of temporarily non-attributed ob- jects), which shall be transmitted to the Na- tional Archives in accordance with section 2107 of title 44, United States Code. (D) The Archivist shall prepare and publish a subject guidebook and index to the Collec- tion. (2) CONTENTS.—The Collection shall include the following: (A) All unidentified anomalous phenomena records, regardless of age or date of cre- ation— (i) that have been transmitted to the Na- tional Archives or disclosed to the public in an unredacted form prior to the date of the enactment of this Act; (ii) that are required to be transmitted to the National Archives; and (iii) that the disclosure of which is post- poned under this Act. (B) A central directory comprised of iden- tification aids created for each record trans- mitted to the Archivist under section ll 05. (C) All Review Board records as required by this Act. (b) DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS.—All unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena records trans- mitted to the National Archives for disclo- sure to the public shall— (1) be included in the Collection; and (2) be available to the public— (A) for inspection and copying at the Na- tional Archives within 30 days after their transmission to the National Archives; and (B) digitally via the National Archives on- line database within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed 180 days thereafter. (c) FEES FOR COPYING.—The Archivist shall— (1) charge fees for copying unidentified anomalous phenomena records; and (2) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the standards established by section 552(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code. (d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— (1) USE OF FUNDS.—The Collection shall be preserved, protected, archived, digitized, and made available to the public at the National Archives and via the official National Ar- chives online database using appropriations authorized, specified, and restricted for use under the terms of this Act. (2) SECURITY OF RECORDS.—The National Security Program Office at the National Ar- chives, in consultation with the National Ar- chives Information Security Oversight Of- fice, shall establish a program to ensure the security of the postponed unidentified anom- alous phenomena records in the protected, and yet-to-be disclosed or classified portion of the Collection. (e) OVERSIGHT.— (1) SENATE.—Unless otherwise determined by the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Se- curity and Governmental Affairs of the Sen- ate shall have continuing legislative over- sight jurisdiction in the Senate with respect to the Collection. (2) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Unless otherwise determined appropriate by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, the Com- mittee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives shall have con- tinuing legislative oversight jurisdiction in the House of Representatives with respect to the Collection. SEC. ll 05. REVIEW, IDENTIFICATION, TRANS- MISSION TO THE NATIONAL AR- CHIVES, AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHE- NOMENA RECORDS BY GOVERN- MENT OFFICES. (a) IDENTIFICATION, ORGANIZATION, AND PREPARATION FOR TRANSMISSION.— (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, each head of a Government office shall— (A) identify and organize records in the possession of the Government office or under the control of the Government office relat- ing to unidentified anomalous phenomena; and (B) prepare such records for transmission to the Archivist for inclusion in the Collec- tion. (2) PROHIBITIONS.—(A) No unidentified anomalous phenomena record shall be de- stroyed, altered, or mutilated in any way. (B) No unidentified anomalous phenomena record made available or disclosed to the public prior to the date of the enactment of this Act may be withheld, redacted, post- poned for public disclosure, or reclassified. (C) No unidentified anomalous phenomena record created by a person or entity outside the Federal Government (excluding names or identities consistent with the requirements of section ll 06) shall be withheld, redacted, postponed for public disclosure, or reclassi- fied. (b) CUSTODY OF UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS PENDING REVIEW.—Dur- ing the review by the heads of Government offices under subsection (c) and pending re- view activity by the Review Board, each head of a Government office shall retain cus- tody of the unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records of the office for purposes of preservation, security, and efficiency, un- less— (1) the Review Board requires the physical transfer of the records for purposes of con- ducting an independent and impartial re- view; (2) transfer is necessary for an administra- tive hearing or other Review Board function; or (3) it is a third agency record described in subsection (c)(2)(C). (c) REVIEW BY HEADS OF GOVERNMENT OF- FICES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, each head of a Government office shall re- view, identify, and organize each unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena record in the cus- tody or possession of the office for— (A) disclosure to the public; (B) review by the Review Board; and (C) transmission to the Archivist. (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para- graph (1), the head of a Government office shall— (A) determine which of the records of the office are unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records; (B) determine which of the unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the office have been officially disclosed or made pub- licly available in a complete and unredacted form; (C)(i) determine which of the unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the office, or particular information contained in such a record, was created by a third agency or by another Government office; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:27 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00510 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13JY6.178 S13JYPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2959 July 13, 2023 human intelligence, or a particular subset of material qualifies for postponement of dis- closure under this title; and (3) what changes, if any, to the current dis- position of said material should the Federal Government make to facilitate full disclo- sure. (d) REVIEW BOARD ACCESS TO TESTIMONY AND WITNESSES.—The Review Board shall have access to all testimony from unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena witnesses, close observers and legacy program personnel and whistleblowers within the Federal Govern- ment’s possession as of and after the date of the enactment of this Act in furtherance of Review Board disclosure determination re- sponsibilities in section ll 07(h) and sub- section (c) of this section. (e) SOLICITATION OF ADDITIONAL WIT- NESSES.—The Review Board shall solicit ad- ditional unidentified anomalous phenomena witness and whistleblower testimony and af- ford protections under section 1673(b) of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Author- ization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (50 U.S.C. 3373b(b)) if deemed beneficial in fulfilling Re- view Board responsibilities under this title. SEC. ll 11. DISCLOSURE OF OTHER MATERIALS AND ADDITIONAL STUDY. (a) MATERIALS UNDER SEAL OF COURT.— (1) INFORMATION HELD UNDER SEAL OF A COURT.—The Review Board may request the Attorney General to petition any court in the United States or abroad to release any information relevant to unidentified anoma- lous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence that is held under seal of the court. (2) INFORMATION HELD UNDER INJUNCTION OF SECRETARY OF GRAND JURY.—(A) The Review Board may request the Attorney General to petition any court in the United States to release any information relevant to uniden- tified anomalous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence that is held under the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury. (B) A request for disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena, technologies of un- known origin, and non-human intelligence materials under this title shall be deemed to constitute a showing of particularized need under rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Congress that— (1) the Attorney General should assist the Review Board in good faith to unseal any records that the Review Board determines to be relevant and held under seal by a court or under the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury; (2) the Secretary of State should contact any foreign government that may hold mate- rial relevant to unidentified anomalous phe- nomena, technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence and seek disclosure of such material; and (3) all heads of Executive agencies should cooperate in full with the Review Board to seek the disclosure of all material relevant to unidentified anomalous phenomena, tech- nologies of unknown origin, and non-human intelligence consistent with the public inter- est. SEC. ll 12. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. (a) PRECEDENCE OVER OTHER LAW.—When this title requires transmission of a record to the Archivist or public disclosure, it shall take precedence over any other provision of law (except section 6103 of the Internal Rev- enue Code of 1986 specifying confidentiality and disclosure of tax returns and tax return information), judicial decision construing such provision of law, or common law doc- trine that would otherwise prohibit such transmission or disclosure, with the excep- tion of deeds governing access to or transfer or release of gifts and donations of records to the United States Government. (b) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Noth- ing in this title shall be construed to elimi- nate or limit any right to file requests with any executive agency or seek judicial review of the decisions pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code. (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Nothing in this title shall be construed to preclude judicial re- view, under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, of final actions taken or re- quired to be taken under this title. (d) EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this title revokes or limits the existing authority of the President, any executive agency, the Senate, or the House of Representatives, or any other entity of the Federal Government to publicly disclose records in its possession. (e) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—To the extent that any provision of this title establishes a procedure to be followed in the Senate or the House of Representatives, such provision is adopted— (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, and is deemed to be part of the rules of each House, respectively, but appli- cable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in that House, and it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is in- consistent with such rules; and (2) with full recognition of the constitu- tional right of either House to change the rules (so far as they relate to the procedure of that House) at any time, in the same man- ner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House. SEC. ll 13. TERMINATION OF EFFECT OF TITLE. (a) PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO THE REVIEW BOARD.—The provisions of this title that per- tain to the appointment and operation of the Review Board shall cease to be effective when the Review Board and the terms of its members have terminated pursuant to sec- tion ll 07(n). (b) OTHER PROVISIONS.—(1) The remaining provisions of this title shall continue in ef- fect until such time as the Archivist certifies to the President and Congress that all un- identified anomalous phenomena records have been made available to the public in ac- cordance with this title. (2) In facilitation of the provision in para- graph (1), the All-domain Anomaly Resolu- tion Office established pursuant to section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373), or its successor as subsequently designated by Act of Congress, shall develop standardized unidentified anomalous phenomena declas- sification guidance applicable to any and all unidentified anomalous phenomena records generated by originating bodies subsequent to termination of the Review Board con- sistent with the requirements and intent of the Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan with respect to unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records originated prior to Review Board termination. SEC. ll 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA- TIONS. (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this title $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. (b) INTERIM FUNDING.—Until such time as funds are appropriated pursuant to sub- section (a), the President may use such sums as are available for discretionary use to carry out this title. SEC. ll 15. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this title or the applica- tion thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this title and the application of that provision to other persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances shall not be affected by the invalidation. SA 798. Mr. OSSOFF (for himself and Mr. ROUNDS) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activi- ties of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place in title V, insert the following: SEC. 5 ll . PROVISION OF FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM INFORMATION AS PART OF TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PRO- GRAM. Section 1142(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: ‘‘(20) Information, counseling, and applica- tion assistance, developed and provided in consultation with the Secretary of Agri- culture, regarding the supplemental nutri- tion assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the special supplemental nutri- tion program for women, infants, and chil- dren established by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), and any other Federal food and nutrition assistance program administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.’’. SA 799. Mr. OSSOFF submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize ap- propriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the De- partment of Energy, to prescribe mili- tary personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place in title VIII, in- sert the following: SEC. ll . MODIFICATION OF COMMERCIAL ITEM EXCEPTION TO CERTIFIED COST OR PRICING DATA REQUIREMENTS. Section 3703(a)(2) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘other than through a sole source acquisition of a com- mercial product or service that is not a com- mercially available off-the-shelf item (as that term is defined in section 104 of title 41)’’ after ‘‘commercial product or a commer- cial service’’. SA 800. Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Mr. DAINES, Ms. ROSEN, and Ms. ERNST) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activi- ties of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end of subtitle A of title XII, add the following: SEC. 1213. REPORT ON COORDINATION WITH PRI- VATE ENTITIES AND STATE GOVERN- MENTS WITH RESPECT TO THE STATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. (a) IN GENERAL.— The Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the fea- sibility of coordinating with private entities VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:27 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00515 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13JY6.178 S13JYPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2953 July 13, 2023 to nuclear waste issues in the Great Lakes Basin. SA 797. Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs. GILLI- BRAND, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. HEINRICH) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to pre- scribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other pur- poses; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place, insert the fol- lowing: TITLE l — UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA DISCLOSURE SEC. ll 01. SHORT TITLE. This title may be cited as the ‘‘Unidenti- fied Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘UAP Disclosure Act of 2023’’. SEC. ll 02. FINDINGS, DECLARATIONS, AND PUR- POSES. (a) FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.—Congress finds and declares the following: (1) All Federal Government records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena should be preserved and centralized for his- torical and Federal Government purposes. (2) All Federal Government records con- cerning unidentified anomalous phenomena should carry a presumption of immediate disclosure and all records should be eventu- ally disclosed to enable the public to become fully informed about the history of the Fed- eral Government’s knowledge and involve- ment surrounding unidentified anomalous phenomena. (3) Legislation is necessary to create an en- forceable, independent, and accountable process for the public disclosure of such records. (4) Legislation is necessary because cred- ible evidence and testimony indicates that Federal Government unidentified anomalous phenomena records exist that have not been declassified or subject to mandatory declas- sification review as set forth in Executive Order 13526 (50 U.S.C. 3161 note; relating to classified national security information) due in part to exemptions under the Atomic En- ergy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), as well as an over-broad interpretation of ‘‘transclassified foreign nuclear informa- tion’’, which is also exempt from mandatory declassification, thereby preventing public disclosure under existing provisions of law. (5) Legislation is necessary because section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’), as implemented by the Executive branch of the Federal Government, has prov- en inadequate in achieving the timely public disclosure of Government unidentified anom- alous phenomena records that are subject to mandatory declassification review. (6) Legislation is necessary to restore prop- er oversight over unidentified anomalous phenomena records by elected officials in both the executive and legislative branches of the Federal Government that has other- wise been lacking as of the enactment of this Act. (7) Legislation is necessary to afford com- plete and timely access to all knowledge gained by the Federal Government con- cerning unidentified anomalous phenomena in furtherance of comprehensive open sci- entific and technological research and devel- opment essential to avoiding or mitigating potential technological surprise in further- ance of urgent national security concerns and the public interest. (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are— (1) to provide for the creation of the un- identified anomalous phenomena Records Collection at the National Archives and Records Administration; and (2) to require the expeditious public trans- mission to the Archivist and public disclo- sure of such records. SEC. ll 03. DEFINITIONS. In this title: (1) ARCHIVIST.—The term ‘‘Archivist’’ means the Archivist of the United States. (2) CLOSE OBSERVER.—The term ‘‘close ob- server’’ means anyone who has come into close proximity to unidentified anomalous phenomena or non-human intelligence. (3) COLLECTION.—The term ‘‘Collection’’ means the Unidentified Anomalous Phe- nomena Records Collection established under section ll 04. (4) CONTROLLED DISCLOSURE CAMPAIGN PLAN.—The term ‘‘Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan’’ means the Controlled Dis- closure Campaign Plan required by section ll 09(c)(3). (5) CONTROLLING AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘controlling authority’’ means any Federal, State, or local government department, of- fice, agency, committee, commission, com- mercial company, academic institution, or private sector entity in physical possession of technologies of unknown origin or biologi- cal evidence of non-human intelligence. (6) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Execu- tive agency’’ means an Executive agency, as defined in subsection 552(f) of title 5, United States Code. (7) GOVERNMENT OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Gov- ernment office’’ means any department, of- fice, agency, committee, or commission of the Federal Government and any inde- pendent office or agency without exception that has possession or control, including via contract or other agreement, of unidentified anomalous phenomena records. (8) IDENTIFICATION AID.—The term ‘‘identi- fication aid’’ means the written description prepared for each record, as required in sec- tion ll 04. (9) LEADERSHIP OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘‘leadership of Congress’’ means— (A) the majority leader of the Senate; (B) the minority leader of the Senate; (C) the Speaker of the House of Represent- atives; and (D) the minority leader of the House of Representatives. (10) LEGACY PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘legacy program’’ means all Federal, State, and local government, commercial industry, academic, and private sector endeavors to collect, ex- ploit, or reverse engineer technologies of un- known origin or examine biological evidence of living or deceased non-human intelligence that pre-dates the date of the enactment of this Act. (11) NATIONAL ARCHIVES.—The term ‘‘Na- tional Archives’’ means the National Ar- chives and Records Administration and all components thereof, including presidential archival depositories established under sec- tion 2112 of title 44, United States Code. (12) NON-HUMAN INTELLIGENCE.—The term ‘‘non-human intelligence’’ means any sen- tient intelligent non-human lifeform regard- less of nature or ultimate origin that may be presumed responsible for unidentified anom- alous phenomena or of which the Federal Government has become aware. (13) ORIGINATING BODY.—The term ‘‘origi- nating body’’ means the Executive agency, Federal Government commission, committee of Congress, or other Governmental entity that created a record or particular informa- tion within a record. (14) PROSAIC ATTRIBUTION.—The term ‘‘pro- saic attribution’’ means having a human (ei- ther foreign or domestic) origin and oper- ating according to current, proven, and gen- erally understood scientific and engineering principles and established laws-of-nature and not attributable to non-human intelligence. (15) PUBLIC INTEREST.—The term ‘‘public interest’’ means the compelling interest in the prompt public disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena records for historical and Governmental purposes and for the pur- pose of fully informing the people of the United States about the history of the Fed- eral Government’s knowledge and involve- ment surrounding unidentified anomalous phenomena. (16) RECORD.—The term ‘‘record’’ includes a book, paper, report, memorandum, direc- tive, email, text, or other form of commu- nication, or map, photograph, sound or video recording, machine-readable material, com- puterized, digitized, or electronic informa- tion, including intelligence, surveillance, re- connaissance, and target acquisition sensor data, regardless of the medium on which it is stored, or other documentary material, re- gardless of its physical form or characteris- tics. (17) REVIEW BOARD.—The term ‘‘Review Board’’ means the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records Review Board estab- lished by section ll 07. (18) TECHNOLOGIES OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN.— The term ‘‘technologies of unknown origin’’ means any materials or meta-materials, ejecta, crash debris, mechanisms, machin- ery, equipment, assemblies or sub-assem- blies, engineering models or processes, dam- aged or intact aerospace vehicles, and dam- aged or intact ocean-surface and undersea craft associated with unidentified anomalous phenomena or incorporating science and technology that lacks prosaic attribution or known means of human manufacture. (19) TEMPORARILY NON-ATTRIBUTED OB- JECTS.— (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘temporarily non-attributed objects’’ means the class of objects that temporarily resist prosaic attri- bution by the initial observer as a result of environmental or system limitations associ- ated with the observation process that nev- ertheless ultimately have an accepted human origin or known physical cause. Al- though some unidentified anomalous phe- nomena may at first be interpreted as tem- porarily non-attributed objects, they are not temporarily non-attributed objects, and the two categories are mutually exclusive. (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘temporarily non-attributed objects’’ includes— (i) natural celestial, meteorological, and undersea weather phenomena; (ii) mundane human-made airborne ob- jects, clutter, and marine debris; (iii) Federal, State, and local government, commercial industry, academic, and private sector aerospace platforms; (iv) Federal, State, and local government, commercial industry, academic, and private sector ocean-surface and undersea vehicles; and (v) known foreign systems. (20) THIRD AGENCY.—The term ‘‘third agen- cy’’ means a Government agency that origi- nated a unidentified anomalous phenomena record that is in the possession of another Government agency. (21) UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHE- NOMENA.— (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘unidentified anomalous phenomena’’ means any object operating or judged capable of operating in outer-space, the atmosphere, ocean surfaces, or undersea lacking prosaic attribution due to performance characteristics and prop- erties not previously known to be achievable VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:27 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00509 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13JY6.182 S13JYPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2954 July 13, 2023 based upon commonly accepted physical principles. Unidentified anomalous phe- nomena are differentiated from both attrib- uted and temporarily non-attributed objects by one or more of the following observables: (i) Instantaneous acceleration absent ap- parent inertia. (ii) Hypersonic velocity absent a thermal signature and sonic shockwave. (iii) Transmedium (such as space-to-ground and air-to-undersea) travel. (iv) Positive lift contrary to known aero- dynamic principles. (v) Multispectral signature control. (vi) Physical or invasive biological effects to close observers and the environment. (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘unidentified anomalous phenomena’’ includes what were previously described as— (i) flying discs; (ii) flying saucers; (iii) unidentified aerial phenomena; (iv) unidentified flying objects (UFOs); and (v) unidentified submerged objects (USOs). (22) UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORD.—The term ‘‘unidentified anomalous phenomena record’’ means a record that is related to unidentified anomalous phe- nomena, technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence (and all equivalent subjects by any other name with the specific and sole exclusion of temporarily non-attrib- uted objects) that was created or made avail- able for use by, obtained by, or otherwise came into the possession of— (A) the Executive Office of the President; (B) the Department of Defense and its pro- genitors, the Department of War and the De- partment of the Navy; (C) the Department of the Army; (D) the Department of the Navy; (E) the Department of the Air Force, spe- cifically the Air Force Office of Special In- vestigations; (F) the Department of Energy and its pro- genitors, the Manhattan Project, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the Energy Re- search and Development Administration; (G) the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; (H) the Central Intelligence Agency and its progenitor, the Office of Strategic Services; (I) the National Reconnaissance Office; (J) the Defense Intelligence Agency; (K) the National Security Agency; (L) the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; (M) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: (N) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; (O) the Federal Aviation Administration; (P) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; (Q) the Library of Congress; (R) the National Archives and Records Ad- ministration; (S) any Presidential library; (T) any Executive agency; (U) any independent office or agency; (V) any other department, office, agency, committee, or commission of the Federal Government; (W) any State or local government depart- ment, office, agency, committee, or commis- sion that provided support or assistance or performed work, in connection with a Fed- eral inquiry into unidentified anomalous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence; and (X) any private sector person or entity for- merly or currently under contract or some other agreement with the Federal Govern- ment. SEC. ll 04. UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHE- NOMENA RECORDS COLLECTION AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— (1) IN GENERAL.—(A) Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Archivist shall commence establishment of a collection of records in the National Ar- chives to be known as the ‘‘Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records Collection’’. (B) In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Archivist shall ensure the physical integrity and original provenance (or if indeterminate, the earliest historical owner) of all records in the Collection. (C) The Collection shall consist of record copies of all Government, Government-pro- vided, or Government-funded records relat- ing to unidentified anomalous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, and non- human intelligence (or equivalent subjects by any other name with the specific and sole exclusion of temporarily non-attributed ob- jects), which shall be transmitted to the Na- tional Archives in accordance with section 2107 of title 44, United States Code. (D) The Archivist shall prepare and publish a subject guidebook and index to the Collec- tion. (2) CONTENTS.—The Collection shall include the following: (A) All unidentified anomalous phenomena records, regardless of age or date of cre- ation— (i) that have been transmitted to the Na- tional Archives or disclosed to the public in an unredacted form prior to the date of the enactment of this Act; (ii) that are required to be transmitted to the National Archives; and (iii) that the disclosure of which is post- poned under this Act. (B) A central directory comprised of iden- tification aids created for each record trans- mitted to the Archivist under section ll 05. (C) All Review Board records as required by this Act. (b) DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS.—All unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena records trans- mitted to the National Archives for disclo- sure to the public shall— (1) be included in the Collection; and (2) be available to the public— (A) for inspection and copying at the Na- tional Archives within 30 days after their transmission to the National Archives; and (B) digitally via the National Archives on- line database within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed 180 days thereafter. (c) FEES FOR COPYING.—The Archivist shall— (1) charge fees for copying unidentified anomalous phenomena records; and (2) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the standards established by section 552(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code. (d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— (1) USE OF FUNDS.—The Collection shall be preserved, protected, archived, digitized, and made available to the public at the National Archives and via the official National Ar- chives online database using appropriations authorized, specified, and restricted for use under the terms of this Act. (2) SECURITY OF RECORDS.—The National Security Program Office at the National Ar- chives, in consultation with the National Ar- chives Information Security Oversight Of- fice, shall establish a program to ensure the security of the postponed unidentified anom- alous phenomena records in the protected, and yet-to-be disclosed or classified portion of the Collection. (e) OVERSIGHT.— (1) SENATE.—Unless otherwise determined by the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Se- curity and Governmental Affairs of the Sen- ate shall have continuing legislative over- sight jurisdiction in the Senate with respect to the Collection. (2) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Unless otherwise determined appropriate by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, the Com- mittee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives shall have con- tinuing legislative oversight jurisdiction in the House of Representatives with respect to the Collection. SEC. ll 05. REVIEW, IDENTIFICATION, TRANS- MISSION TO THE NATIONAL AR- CHIVES, AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHE- NOMENA RECORDS BY GOVERN- MENT OFFICES. (a) IDENTIFICATION, ORGANIZATION, AND PREPARATION FOR TRANSMISSION.— (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, each head of a Government office shall— (A) identify and organize records in the possession of the Government office or under the control of the Government office relat- ing to unidentified anomalous phenomena; and (B) prepare such records for transmission to the Archivist for inclusion in the Collec- tion. (2) PROHIBITIONS.—(A) No unidentified anomalous phenomena record shall be de- stroyed, altered, or mutilated in any way. (B) No unidentified anomalous phenomena record made available or disclosed to the public prior to the date of the enactment of this Act may be withheld, redacted, post- poned for public disclosure, or reclassified. (C) No unidentified anomalous phenomena record created by a person or entity outside the Federal Government (excluding names or identities consistent with the requirements of section ll 06) shall be withheld, redacted, postponed for public disclosure, or reclassi- fied. (b) CUSTODY OF UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS PENDING REVIEW.—Dur- ing the review by the heads of Government offices under subsection (c) and pending re- view activity by the Review Board, each head of a Government office shall retain cus- tody of the unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records of the office for purposes of preservation, security, and efficiency, un- less— (1) the Review Board requires the physical transfer of the records for purposes of con- ducting an independent and impartial re- view; (2) transfer is necessary for an administra- tive hearing or other Review Board function; or (3) it is a third agency record described in subsection (c)(2)(C). (c) REVIEW BY HEADS OF GOVERNMENT OF- FICES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 300 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, each head of a Government office shall re- view, identify, and organize each unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena record in the cus- tody or possession of the office for— (A) disclosure to the public; (B) review by the Review Board; and (C) transmission to the Archivist. (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para- graph (1), the head of a Government office shall— (A) determine which of the records of the office are unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records; (B) determine which of the unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the office have been officially disclosed or made pub- licly available in a complete and unredacted form; (C)(i) determine which of the unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the office, or particular information contained in such a record, was created by a third agency or by another Government office; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:27 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00510 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13JY6.178 S13JYPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2955 July 13, 2023 (ii) transmit to a third agency or other Government office those records, or par- ticular information contained in those records, or complete and accurate copies thereof; (D)(i) determine whether the unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the office or particular information in unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the office are covered by the standards for postpone- ment of public disclosure under this title; and (ii) specify on the identification aid re- quired by subsection (d) the applicable post- ponement provision contained in section ll 06; (E) organize and make available to the Re- view Board all unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records identified under subpara- graph (D) the public disclosure of, which in- whole or in-part, may be postponed under this title; (F) organize and make available to the Re- view Board any record concerning which the office has any uncertainty as to whether the record is an unidentified anomalous phe- nomena record governed by this title; (G) give precedence of work to— (i) the identification, review, and trans- mission of unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records not already publicly avail- able or disclosed as of the date of the enact- ment of this Act; (ii) the identification, review, and trans- mission of all records that most unambig- uously and definitively pertain to unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, and non-human intel- ligence; (iii) the identification, review, and trans- mission of unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records that on the date of the en- actment of this Act are the subject of litiga- tion under section 552 of title 5, United States Code; and (iv) the identification, review, and trans- mission of unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records with earliest provenance when not inconsistent with clauses (i) through (iii) and otherwise feasible; and (H) make available to the Review Board any additional information and records that the Review Board has reason to believe the Review Board requires for conducting a re- view under this title. (3) PRIORITY OF EXPEDITED REVIEW FOR DI- RECTORS OF CERTAIN ARCHIVAL DEPOSI- TORIES.—The Director of each archival de- pository established under section 2112 of title 44, United States Code, shall have as a priority the expedited review for public dis- closure of unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records in the possession and cus- tody of the depository, and shall make such records available to the Review Board as re- quired by this title. (d) IDENTIFICATION AIDS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—(A) Not later than 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Archivist, in consultation with the heads of such Government offices as the Archivist considers appropriate, shall prepare and make available to all Government offices a standard form of identification, or finding aid, for use with each unidentified anoma- lous phenomena record subject to review under this title whether in hardcopy (phys- ical), softcopy (electronic), or digitized data format as may be appropriate. (B) The Archivist shall ensure that the identification aid program is established in such a manner as to result in the creation of a uniform system for cataloging and finding every unidentified anomalous phenomena record subject to review under this title where ever and how ever stored in hardcopy (physical), softcopy (electronic), or digitized data format. (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR GOVERNMENT OF- FICES.—Upon completion of an identification aid using the standard form of identification prepared and made available under subpara- graph (A) of paragraph (1) for the program established pursuant to subparagraph (B) of such paragraph, the head of a Government office shall— (A) attach a printed copy to each physical unidentified anomalous phenomena record, and an electronic copy to each softcopy or digitized data unidentified anomalous phe- nomena record, the identification aid de- scribes; (B) transmit to the Review Board a printed copy for each physical unidentified anoma- lous phenomena record and an electronic copy for each softcopy or digitized data un- identified anomalous phenomena record the identification aid describes; and (C) attach a printed copy to each physical unidentified anomalous phenomena record, and an electronic copy to each softcopy or digitized data unidentified anomalous phe- nomena record the identification aid de- scribes, when transmitted to the Archivist. (3) RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES THAT ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—Unidentified anomalous phenomena records which are in the possession of the National Archives on the date of the enactment of this Act, and which have been publicly available in their entirety without redaction, shall be made available in the Collection without any addi- tional review by the Review Board or an- other authorized office under this title, and shall not be required to have such an identi- fication aid unless required by the Archivist. (e) TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL AR- CHIVES.—Each head of a Government office shall— (1) transmit to the Archivist, and make immediately available to the public, all un- identified anomalous phenomena records of the Government office that can be publicly disclosed, including those that are publicly available on the date of the enactment of this Act, without any redaction, adjustment, or withholding under the standards of this title; and (2) transmit to the Archivist upon approval for postponement by the Review Board or upon completion of other action authorized by this title, all unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records of the Government office the public disclosure of which has been post- poned, in whole or in part, under the stand- ards of this title, to become part of the pro- tected, yet-to-be disclosed, or classified por- tion of the Collection. (f) CUSTODY OF POSTPONED UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS.—An un- identified anomalous phenomena record the public disclosure of which has been post- poned shall, pending transmission to the Ar- chivist, be held for reasons of security and preservation by the originating body until such time as the information security pro- gram has been established at the National Archives as required in section ll 04(d)(2). (g) PERIODIC REVIEW OF POSTPONED UNIDEN- TIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—All postponed or redacted records shall be reviewed periodically by the originating agency and the Archivist con- sistent with the recommendations of the Re- view Board in the Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan under section ll 09(c)(3)(B). (2) REQUIREMENTS.—(A) A periodic review under paragraph (1) shall address the public disclosure of additional unidentified anoma- lous phenomena records in the Collection under the standards of this title. (B) All postponed unidentified anomalous phenomena records determined to require continued postponement shall require an un- classified written description of the reason for such continued postponement relevant to these specific records. Such description shall be provided to the Archivist and published in the Federal Register upon determination. (C) The time and release requirements specified in the Controlled Disclosure Cam- paign Plan shall be revised or amended only if the Review Board is still in session and concurs with the rationale for postponement, subject to the limitations in section ll 09(d)(1). (D) The periodic review of postponed un- identified anomalous phenomena records shall serve to downgrade and declassify secu- rity classified information. (E) Each unidentified anomalous phe- nomena record shall be publicly disclosed in full, and available in the Collection, not later than the date that is 25 years after the date of the first creation of the record by the originating body, unless the President cer- tifies, as required by this title, that— (i) continued postponement is made nec- essary by an identifiable harm to the mili- tary defense, intelligence operations, law en- forcement, or conduct of foreign relations; and (ii) the identifiable harm is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in dis- closure. (h) REQUIREMENTS FOR EXECUTIVE AGEN- CIES.—Executive agencies shall— (1) transmit digital records electronically in accordance with section 2107 of title 44, United States Code; (2) charge fees for copying unidentified anomalous phenomena records; and (3) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the standards established by section 552(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code. SEC. ll 06. GROUNDS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF UNIDENTI- FIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS. Disclosure of unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records or particular information in unidentified anomalous phenomena records to the public may be postponed subject to the limitations of this title if there is clear and convincing evidence that— (1) the threat to the military defense, in- telligence operations, or conduct of foreign relations of the United States posed by the public disclosure of the unidentified anoma- lous phenomena record is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in dis- closure, and such public disclosure would re- veal— (A) an intelligence agent whose identity currently requires protection; (B) an intelligence source or method which is currently utilized, or reasonably expected to be utilized, by the Federal Government and which has not been officially disclosed, the disclosure of which would interfere with the conduct of intelligence activities; or (C) any other matter currently relating to the military defense, intelligence operations, or conduct of foreign relations of the United States, the disclosure of which would demon- strably and substantially impair the na- tional security of the United States; (2) the public disclosure of the unidentified anomalous phenomena record would reveal the name or identity of a living person who provided confidential information to the Federal Government and would pose a sub- stantial risk of harm to that person; (3) the public disclosure of the unidentified anomalous phenomena record could reason- ably be expected to constitute an unwar- ranted invasion of personal privacy, and that invasion of privacy is so substantial that it outweighs the public interest; or (4) the public disclosure of the unidentified anomalous phenomena record would com- promise the existence of an understanding of confidentiality currently requiring protec- tion between a Federal Government agent VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:27 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00511 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13JY6.178 S13JYPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2956 July 13, 2023 and a cooperating individual or a foreign government, and public disclosure would be so harmful that it outweighs the public in- terest. SEC. ll 07. ESTABLISHMENT AND POWERS OF THE UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS REVIEW BOARD. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established as an independent agency a board to be known as the ‘‘Unidentified Anomalous Phe- nomena Records Review Board’’. (b) APPOINTMENT.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint, without regard to political af- filiation, 9 citizens of the United States to serve as members of the Review Board to en- sure and facilitate the review, transmission to the Archivist, and public disclosure of government records relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena. (2) PERIOD FOR NOMINATIONS.—(A) The President shall make nominations to the Re- view Board not later than 90 calendar days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (B) If the Senate votes not to confirm a nomination to the Review Board, the Presi- dent shall make an additional nomination not later than 30 days thereafter. (3) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— (A) The President shall make nominations to the Review Board after considering persons recommended by the following: (i) The majority leader of the Senate. (ii) The minority leader of the Senate. (iii) The Speaker of the House of Rep- resentatives. (iv) The minority leader of the House of Representatives. (v) The Secretary of Defense. (vi) The National Academy of Sciences. (vii) The UAP Disclosure Foundation. (viii) The American Historical Association. (ix) Such other persons and organizations as the President considers appropriate. (B) If an individual or organization de- scribed in subparagraph (A) does not rec- ommend at least 2 nominees meeting the qualifications stated in paragraph (5) by the date that is 45 days after the date of the en- actment of this Act, the President shall con- sider for nomination the persons rec- ommended by the other individuals and orga- nizations described in such subparagraph. (C) The President may request an indi- vidual or organization described in subpara- graph (A) to submit additional nominations. (4) QUALIFICATIONS.—Persons nominated to the Review Board— (A) shall be impartial citizens, none of whom shall have had any previous or current involvement with any legacy program or controlling authority relating to the collec- tion, exploitation, or reverse engineering of technologies of unknown origin or the exam- ination of biological evidence of living or de- ceased non-human intelligence; (B) shall be distinguished persons of high national professional reputation in their re- spective fields who are capable of exercising the independent and objective judgment nec- essary to the fulfillment of their role in en- suring and facilitating the review, trans- mission to the public, and public disclosure of records related to the government’s under- standing of, and activities associated with unidentified anomalous phenomena, tech- nologies of unknown origin, and non-human intelligence and who possess an appreciation of the value of such material to the public, scholars, and government; and (C) shall include at least— (i) 1 current or former national security of- ficial; (ii) 1 current or former foreign service offi- cial; (iii) 1 scientist or engineer; (iv) 1 economist; (v) 1 professional historian; and (vi) 1 sociologist. (c) SECURITY CLEARANCES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—All Review Board nomi- nees shall be granted the necessary security clearances and accesses, including any and all relevant Presidential, departmental, and agency special access programs, in an accel- erated manner subject to the standard proce- dures for granting such clearances. (2) QUALIFICATION FOR NOMINEES.—All nominees for appointment to the Review Board under subsection (b) shall qualify for the necessary security clearances and ac- cesses prior to being considered for con- firmation by the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. (d) CONFIRMATION HEARINGS.— (1) HOLDING HEARINGS.—Unless the Senate designates a different committee of jurisdic- tion, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate shall hold confirmation hearings, and do so within 30 days after the first date in which the Sen- ate is in session after the nomination of a minimum of 3 individuals for appointment to the Review Board, including the Executive Director established under section ll 08(a). (2) COMMITTEE VOTING.—Unless the Senate designates a different committee of jurisdic- tion, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate shall vote on the nominations, and do so within 14 days after the first date on which the Senate is in session after the confirmation hearings, and shall report its results to the full Senate immediately. (3) SENATE VOTING.—The Senate shall vote on each nominee to confirm or reject within 14 days after the first date on which the Sen- ate is in session after reported by the Com- mittee on Homeland Security and Govern- mental Affairs or by a different committee as determined by the Senate. (e) VACANCY.—A vacancy on the Review Board shall be filled in the same manner as specified for original appointment within 30 days of the occurrence of the vacancy. (f) REMOVAL OF REVIEW BOARD MEMBER.— (1) IN GENERAL.—No member of the Review Board shall be removed from office, other than— (A) by impeachment and conviction; or (B) by the action of the President for inef- ficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in of- fice, physical disability, mental incapacity, or any other condition that substantially impairs the performance of the member’s du- ties. (2) NOTICE OF REMOVAL.—(A) If a member of the Review Board is removed from office, and that removal is by the President, not later than 10 days after the removal, the President shall submit to the leadership of Congress, the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives, or to alter- native committees of jurisdiction as deter- mined by the Senate and the House of Rep- resentatives, a report specifying the facts found and the grounds for the removal. (B) The President shall publish in the Fed- eral Register a report submitted under sub- paragraph (A), except that the President may, if necessary to protect the rights of a person named in the report or to prevent undue interference with any pending pros- ecution, postpone or refrain from publishing any or all of the report until the completion of such pending cases or pursuant to privacy protection requirements in law. (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—(A) A member of the Review Board removed from office may ob- tain judicial review of the removal in a civil action commenced in the United States Dis- trict Court for the District of Columbia. (B) The member may be reinstated or granted other appropriate relief by order of the court. (g) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Review Board, other than the Executive Director under section ll 08(c)(1), shall be com- pensated at a rate equal to the daily equiva- lent of the annual rate of basic pay pre- scribed for level IV of the Executive Sched- ule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which the member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the Review Board. (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Review Board shall be allowed reasonable travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates for employees of agen- cies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from the member’s home or regular place of business in the performance of services for the Review Board. (h) DUTIES OF THE REVIEW BOARD.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall consider and render decisions on a deter- mination by a Government office to seek to postpone the disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena records. (2) CONSIDERATIONS AND RENDERING OF DECI- SIONS.—In carrying out paragraph (1), the Review Board shall consider and render deci- sions— (A) whether a record constitutes a uniden- tified anomalous phenomena record; and (B) whether a unidentified anomalous phe- nomena record or particular information in a record qualifies for postponement of disclo- sure under this title. (i) POWERS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall have the authority to act in a manner pre- scribed under this title, including author- ity— (A) to direct Government offices to com- plete identification aids and organize un- identified anomalous phenomena records; (B) to direct Government offices to trans- mit to the Archivist unidentified anomalous phenomena records as required under this title, including segregable portions of un- identified anomalous phenomena records and substitutes and summaries of unidentified anomalous phenomena records that can be publicly disclosed to the fullest extent; (C)(i) to obtain access to unidentified anomalous phenomena records that have been identified and organized by a Govern- ment office; (ii) to direct a Government office to make available to the Review Board, and if nec- essary investigate the facts surrounding, ad- ditional information, records, or testimony from individuals which the Review Board has reason to believe are required to fulfill its functions and responsibilities under this title; and (iii) request the Attorney General to sub- poena private persons to compel testimony, records, and other information relevant to its responsibilities under this title; (D) require any Government office to ac- count in writing for the destruction of any records relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence; (E) receive information from the public re- garding the identification and public disclo- sure of unidentified anomalous phenomena records; (F) hold hearings, administer oaths, and subpoena witnesses and documents; (G) use the Federal Acquisition Service in the same manner and under the same condi- tions as other Executive agencies; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:27 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00512 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13JY6.178 S13JYPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2957 July 13, 2023 (H) use the United States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as other Executive agencies. (2) ENFORCEMENT OF SUBPOENA.—A sub- poena issued under paragraph (1)(C)(iii) may be enforced by any appropriate Federal court acting pursuant to a lawful request of the Review Board. (j) WITNESS IMMUNITY.—The Review Board shall be considered to be an agency of the United States for purposes of section 6001 of title 18, United States Code. Witnesses, close observers, and whistleblowers providing in- formation directly to the Review Board shall also be afforded the protections provided to such persons specified under section 1673(b) of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Au- thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (50 U.S.C. 3373b(b)). (k) OVERSIGHT.— (1) SENATE.—Unless otherwise determined by the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate shall have continuing legislative oversight jurisdiction in the Senate with re- spect to the official 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. (2) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—Unless otherwise determined appropriate by the House of Representatives, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives shall have continuing legis- lative oversight jurisdiction in the House of Representatives with respect to the official conduct of the Review Board and the disposi- tion of postponed records after termination of the Review Board, and shall have access to any records held or created by the Review Board. (3) DUTY TO COOPERATE.—The Review Board shall have the duty to cooperate with the ex- ercise of oversight jurisdiction described in this subsection. (l) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Administrator of the General Services Administration shall provide administrative services for the Re- view Board on a reimbursable basis. (m) INTERPRETIVE REGULATIONS.—The Re- view Board may issue interpretive regula- tions. (n) TERMINATION AND WINDING DOWN.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board and the terms of its members shall terminate not later than September 30, 2030, unless ex- tended by Congress. (2) REPORTS.—Upon its termination, the Review Board shall submit to the President and Congress reports, including a complete and accurate accounting of expenditures dur- ing its existence and shall complete all other reporting requirements under this title. (3) TRANSFER OF RECORDS.—Upon termi- nation and winding down, the Review Board shall transfer all of its records to the Archi- vist for inclusion in the Collection, and no record of the Review Board shall be de- stroyed. SEC. ll 08. UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHE- NOMENA RECORDS REVIEW BOARD PERSONNEL. (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— (1) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall appoint 1 citizen of the United States, without regard to political af- filiation, to the position of Executive Direc- tor of the Review Board. This position counts as 1 of the 9 Review Board members under section ll 07(b)(1). (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The person appointed as Executive Director shall be a private cit- izen of integrity and impartiality who— (A) is a distinguished professional; and (B) is not a present employee of the Fed- eral Government; and (C) has had no previous or current involve- ment with any legacy program or controlling authority relating to the collection, exploi- tation, or reverse engineering of tech- nologies of unknown origin or the examina- tion of biological evidence of living or de- ceased non-human intelligence. (3) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—(A) A candidate for Executive Director shall be granted all the necessary security clearances and ac- cesses, including to relevant Presidential and department or agency special access and compartmented access programs in an accel- erated manner subject to the standard proce- dures for granting such clearances. (B) A candidate shall qualify for the nec- essary security clearances and accesses prior to being appointed by the President. (4) FUNCTIONS.—The Executive Director shall— (A) serve as principal liaison to the Execu- tive Office of the President and Congress; (B) serve as Chairperson of the Review Board; (C) be responsible for the administration and coordination of the Review Board’s re- view of records; (D) be responsible for the administration of all official activities conducted by the Re- view Board; (E) exercise tie-breaking Review Board au- thority to decide or determine whether any record should be disclosed to the public or postponed for disclosure; and (F) retain right-of-appeal directly to the President for decisions pertaining to execu- tive branch unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records for which the Executive Di- rector and Review Board members may dis- agree. (5) REMOVAL.—The Executive Director shall not be removed for reasons other for cause on the grounds of inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, physical dis- ability, mental incapacity, or any other con- dition that substantially impairs the per- formance of the responsibilities of the Exec- utive Director or the staff of the Review Board. (b) STAFF.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board, with- out regard to the civil service laws, may ap- point and terminate additional personnel as are necessary to enable the Review Board and its Executive Director to perform the duties of the Review Board. (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a person appointed to the staff of the Review Board shall be a citizen of integrity and impartiality who has had no previous or current involvement with any legacy program or controlling authority re- lating to the collection, exploitation, or re- verse engineering of technologies of un- known origin or the examination of biologi- cal evidence of living or deceased non-human intelligence. (3) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—(A) A candidate for staff shall be granted the necessary secu- rity clearances (including all necessary spe- cial access program clearances) in an accel- erated manner subject to the standard proce- dures for granting such clearances. (B)(i) The Review Board may offer condi- tional employment to a candidate for a staff position pending the completion of security clearance background investigations. During the pendency of such investigations, the Re- view Board shall ensure that any such em- ployee does not have access to, or responsi- bility involving, classified or otherwise re- stricted unidentified anomalous phenomena record materials. (ii) If a person hired on a conditional basis under clause (i) is denied or otherwise does not qualify for all security clearances nec- essary to carry out the responsibilities of the position for which conditional employment has been offered, the Review Board shall im- mediately terminate the person’s employ- ment. (4) SUPPORT FROM NATIONAL DECLASSIFICA- TION CENTER.—The Archivist shall assign one representative in full-time equivalent status from the National Declassification Center to advise and support the Review Board disclo- sure postponement review process in a non- voting staff capacity. (c) COMPENSATION.—Subject to such rules as may be adopted by the Review Board, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service and without re- gard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub- chapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates— (1) the Executive Director shall be com- pensated at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay for level II of the Executive Sched- ule and shall serve the entire tenure as one full-time equivalent; and (2) the Executive Director shall appoint and fix compensation of such other personnel as may be necessary to carry out this title. (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.— (1) AUTHORITY.—The Review Board may create advisory committees to assist in ful- filling the responsibilities of the Review Board under this title. (2) FACA.—Any advisory committee cre- ated by the Review Board shall be subject to chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code. (e) SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED.—An in- dividual employed in any position by the Re- view Board (including an individual ap- pointed as Executive Director) shall be re- quired to qualify for any necessary security clearance prior to taking office in that posi- tion, but may be employed conditionally in accordance with subsection (b)(3)(B) before qualifying for that clearance. SEC. ll 09. REVIEW OF RECORDS BY THE UN- IDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHE- NOMENA RECORDS REVIEW BOARD. (a) CUSTODY OF RECORDS REVIEWED BY RE- VIEW BOARD.—Pending the outcome of a re- view of activity by the Review Board, a Gov- ernment office shall retain custody of its un- identified anomalous phenomena records for purposes of preservation, security, and effi- ciency, unless— (1) the Review Board requires the physical transfer of records for reasons of conducting an independent and impartial review; or (2) such transfer is necessary for an admin- istrative hearing or other official Review Board function. (b) STARTUP REQUIREMENTS.—The Review Board shall— (1) not later than 90 days after the date of its appointment, publish a schedule in the Federal Register for review of all unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena records; (2) not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, begin its review of unidentified anomalous phenomena records under this title; and (3) periodically thereafter as warranted, but not less frequently than semiannually, publish a revised schedule in the Federal Register addressing the review and inclusion of any unidentified anomalous phenomena records subsequently discovered. (c) DETERMINATIONS OF THE REVIEW BOARD.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall direct that all unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records be transmitted to the Archi- vist and disclosed to the public in the Collec- tion in the absence of clear and convincing evidence that— (A) a Government record is not an uniden- tified anomalous phenomena record; or (B) a Government record, or particular in- formation within an unidentified anomalous VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:27 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00513 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13JY6.178 S13JYPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2958 July 13, 2023 phenomena record, qualifies for postpone- ment of public disclosure under this title. (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In approving postpone- ment of public disclosure of a unidentified anomalous phenomena record, the Review Board shall seek to— (A) provide for the disclosure of segregable parts, substitutes, or summaries of such a record; and (B) determine, in consultation with the originating body and consistent with the standards for postponement under this title, which of the following alternative forms of disclosure shall be made by the originating body: (i) Any reasonably segregable particular information in a unidentified anomalous phenomena record. (ii) A substitute record for that informa- tion which is postponed. (iii) A summary of a unidentified anoma- lous phenomena record. (3) CONTROLLED DISCLOSURE CAMPAIGN PLAN.—With respect to unidentified anoma- lous phenomena records, particular informa- tion in unidentified anomalous phenomena records, recovered technologies of unknown origin, and biological evidence for non- human intelligence the public disclosure of which is postponed pursuant to section ll 06, or for which only substitutions or summaries have been disclosed to the public, the Review Board shall create and transmit to the President and to the Archivist a Con- trolled Disclosure Campaign Plan, with clas- sified appendix, containing— (A) a description of actions by the Review Board, the originating body, the President, or any Government office (including a jus- tification of any such action to postpone dis- closure of any record or part of any record) and of any official proceedings conducted by the Review Board with regard to specific un- identified anomalous phenomena records; and (B) a benchmark-driven plan, based upon a review of the proceedings and in conformity with the decisions reflected therein, recom- mending precise requirements for periodic review, downgrading, and declassification as well as the exact time or specified occur- rence following which each postponed item may be appropriately disclosed to the public under this title. (4) NOTICE FOLLOWING REVIEW AND DETER- MINATION.—(A) Following its review and a de- termination that a unidentified anomalous phenomena record shall be publicly disclosed in the Collection or postponed for disclosure and held in the protected Collection, the Re- view Board shall notify the head of the origi- nating body of the determination of the Re- view Board and publish a copy of the deter- mination in the Federal Register within 14 days after the determination is made. (B) Contemporaneous notice shall be made to the President for Review Board deter- minations regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the executive branch of the Federal Government, and to the over- sight committees designated in this title in the case of records of the legislative branch of the Federal Government. Such notice shall contain a written unclassified justifica- tion for public disclosure or postponement of disclosure, including an explanation of the application of any standards contained in section ll 06. (d) PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY OVER REVIEW BOARD DETERMINATION.— (1) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OR POSTPONEMENT OF DISCLOSURE.—After the Review Board has made a formal determination concerning the public disclosure or postponement of disclo- sure of an unidentified anomalous phe- nomena record of the executive branch of the Federal Government or information within such a record, or of any information con- tained in a unidentified anomalous phe- nomena record, obtained or developed solely within the executive branch of the Federal Government, the President shall— (A) have the sole and nondelegable author- ity to require the disclosure or postpone- ment of such record or information under the standards set forth in section ll 06; and (B) provide the Review Board with both an unclassified and classified written certifi- cation specifying the President’s decision within 30 days after the Review Board’s de- termination and notice to the executive branch agency as required under this title, stating the justification for the President’s decision, including the applicable grounds for postponement under section ll 06, ac- companied by a copy of the identification aid required under section ll 04. (2) PERIODIC REVIEW.—(A) Any unidentified anomalous phenomena record postponed by the President shall henceforth be subject to the requirements of periodic review, down- grading, declassification, and public disclo- sure in accordance with the recommended timeline and associated requirements speci- fied in the Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan unless these conflict with the standards set forth in section ll 06. (B) This paragraph supersedes all prior de- classification review standards that may pre- viously have been deemed applicable to un- identified anomalous phenomena records. (3) RECORD OF PRESIDENTIAL POSTPONE- MENT.—The Review Board shall, upon its re- ceipt— (A) publish in the Federal Register a copy of any unclassified written certification, statement, and other materials transmitted by or on behalf of the President with regard to postponement of unidentified anomalous phenomena records; and (B) revise or amend recommendations in the Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan ac- cordingly. (e) NOTICE TO PUBLIC.—Every 30 calendar days, beginning on the date that is 60 cal- endar days after the date on which the Re- view Board first approves the postponement of disclosure of a unidentified anomalous phenomena record, the Review Board shall publish in the Federal Register a notice that summarizes the postponements approved by the Review Board or initiated by the Presi- dent, the Senate, or the House of Represent- atives, including a description of the subject, originating agency, length or other physical description, and each ground for postpone- ment that is relied upon to the maximum ex- tent classification restrictions permitting. (f) REPORTS BY THE REVIEW BOARD.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall report its activities to the leadership of Con- gress, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives, the President, the Archivist, and the head of any Government office whose records have been the subject of Review Board activity. (2) FIRST REPORT.—The first report shall be issued on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and subse- quent reports every 1 year thereafter until termination of the Review Board. (3) CONTENTS.—A report under paragraph (1) shall include the following information: (A) A financial report of the expenses for all official activities and requirements of the Review Board and its personnel. (B) The progress made on review, trans- mission to the Archivist, and public disclo- sure of unidentified anomalous phenomena records. (C) The estimated time and volume of un- identified anomalous phenomena records in- volved in the completion of the Review Board’s performance under this title. (D) Any special problems, including re- quests and the level of cooperation of Gov- ernment offices, with regard to the ability of the Review Board to operate as required by this title. (E) A record of review activities, including a record of postponement decisions by the Review Board or other related actions au- thorized by this title, and a record of the vol- ume of records reviewed and postponed. (F) Suggestions and requests to Congress for additional legislative authority needs. (4) COPIES AND BRIEFS.—Coincident with the reporting requirements in paragraph (2), or more frequently as warranted by new in- formation, the Review Board shall provide copies to, and fully brief, at a minimum the President, the Archivist, leadership of Con- gress, and the Chairs and Chairmen, as the case may be, and Ranking Members and Vice Chairmen, as the case may be, of such other committees as leadership of Congress deter- mines appropriate on the Controlled Disclo- sure Campaign Plan, classified appendix, and postponed disclosures, specifically address- ing— (A) recommendations for periodic review, downgrading, and declassification as well as the exact time or specified occurrence fol- lowing which specific unidentified anoma- lous phenomena records and material may be appropriately disclosed; (B) the rationale behind each postpone- ment determination and the recommended means to achieve disclosure of each post- poned item; (C) any other findings that the Review Board chooses to offer; and (D) an addendum containing copies of re- ports of postponed records to the Archivist required under subsection (c)(3) made since the date of the preceding report under this subsection. (5) NOTICE.—At least 90 calendar days be- fore completing its work, the Review Board shall provide written notice to the President and Congress of its intention to terminate its operations at a specified date. (6) BRIEFING THE ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RES- OLUTION OFFICE.—Coincident with the provi- sion in paragraph (5), if not accomplished earlier under paragraph (4), the Review Board shall brief the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office established pursuant to section 1683 of the National Defense Author- ization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373), or its successor, as subsequently des- ignated by Act of Congress, on the Con- trolled Disclosure Campaign Plan, classified appendix, and postponed disclosures. SEC. ll 10. DISCLOSURE OF RECOVERED TECH- NOLOGIES OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN AND BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF NON-HUMAN INTELLIGENCE. (a) EXERCISE OF EMINENT DOMAIN.—The Federal Government shall exercise eminent domain over any and all recovered tech- nologies of unknown origin and biological evidence of non-human intelligence that may be controlled by private persons or enti- ties in the interests of the public good. (b) AVAILABILITY TO REVIEW BOARD.—Any and all such material, should it exist, shall be made available to the Review Board for personal examination and subsequent disclo- sure determination at a location suitable to the controlling authority of said material and in a timely manner conducive to the ob- jectives of the Review Board in accordance with the requirements of this title. (c) ACTIONS OF REVIEW BOARD.—In carrying out subsection (b), the Review Board shall consider and render decisions— (1) whether the material examined con- stitutes technologies of unknown origin or biological evidence of non-human intel- ligence beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) whether recovered technologies of un- known origin, biological evidence of non- VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:27 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00514 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13JY6.178 S13JYPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2959 July 13, 2023 human intelligence, or a particular subset of material qualifies for postponement of dis- closure under this title; and (3) what changes, if any, to the current dis- position of said material should the Federal Government make to facilitate full disclo- sure. (d) REVIEW BOARD ACCESS TO TESTIMONY AND WITNESSES.—The Review Board shall have access to all testimony from unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena witnesses, close observers and legacy program personnel and whistleblowers within the Federal Govern- ment’s possession as of and after the date of the enactment of this Act in furtherance of Review Board disclosure determination re- sponsibilities in section ll 07(h) and sub- section (c) of this section. (e) SOLICITATION OF ADDITIONAL WIT- NESSES.—The Review Board shall solicit ad- ditional unidentified anomalous phenomena witness and whistleblower testimony and af- ford protections under section 1673(b) of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Author- ization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (50 U.S.C. 3373b(b)) if deemed beneficial in fulfilling Re- view Board responsibilities under this title. SEC. ll 11. DISCLOSURE OF OTHER MATERIALS AND ADDITIONAL STUDY. (a) MATERIALS UNDER SEAL OF COURT.— (1) INFORMATION HELD UNDER SEAL OF A COURT.—The Review Board may request the Attorney General to petition any court in the United States or abroad to release any information relevant to unidentified anoma- lous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence that is held under seal of the court. (2) INFORMATION HELD UNDER INJUNCTION OF SECRETARY OF GRAND JURY.—(A) The Review Board may request the Attorney General to petition any court in the United States to release any information relevant to uniden- tified anomalous phenomena, technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence that is held under the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury. (B) A request for disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena, technologies of un- known origin, and non-human intelligence materials under this title shall be deemed to constitute a showing of particularized need under rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Congress that— (1) the Attorney General should assist the Review Board in good faith to unseal any records that the Review Board determines to be relevant and held under seal by a court or under the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury; (2) the Secretary of State should contact any foreign government that may hold mate- rial relevant to unidentified anomalous phe- nomena, technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence and seek disclosure of such material; and (3) all heads of Executive agencies should cooperate in full with the Review Board to seek the disclosure of all material relevant to unidentified anomalous phenomena, tech- nologies of unknown origin, and non-human intelligence consistent with the public inter- est. SEC. ll 12. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. (a) PRECEDENCE OVER OTHER LAW.—When this title requires transmission of a record to the Archivist or public disclosure, it shall take precedence over any other provision of law (except section 6103 of the Internal Rev- enue Code of 1986 specifying confidentiality and disclosure of tax returns and tax return information), judicial decision construing such provision of law, or common law doc- trine that would otherwise prohibit such transmission or disclosure, with the excep- tion of deeds governing access to or transfer or release of gifts and donations of records to the United States Government. (b) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Noth- ing in this title shall be construed to elimi- nate or limit any right to file requests with any executive agency or seek judicial review of the decisions pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code. (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Nothing in this title shall be construed to preclude judicial re- view, under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, of final actions taken or re- quired to be taken under this title. (d) EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this title revokes or limits the existing authority of the President, any executive agency, the Senate, or the House of Representatives, or any other entity of the Federal Government to publicly disclose records in its possession. (e) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—To the extent that any provision of this title establishes a procedure to be followed in the Senate or the House of Representatives, such provision is adopted— (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, and is deemed to be part of the rules of each House, respectively, but appli- cable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in that House, and it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is in- consistent with such rules; and (2) with full recognition of the constitu- tional right of either House to change the rules (so far as they relate to the procedure of that House) at any time, in the same man- ner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House. SEC. ll 13. TERMINATION OF EFFECT OF TITLE. (a) PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO THE REVIEW BOARD.—The provisions of this title that per- tain to the appointment and operation of the Review Board shall cease to be effective when the Review Board and the terms of its members have terminated pursuant to sec- tion ll 07(n). (b) OTHER PROVISIONS.—(1) The remaining provisions of this title shall continue in ef- fect until such time as the Archivist certifies to the President and Congress that all un- identified anomalous phenomena records have been made available to the public in ac- cordance with this title. (2) In facilitation of the provision in para- graph (1), the All-domain Anomaly Resolu- tion Office established pursuant to section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373), or its successor as subsequently designated by Act of Congress, shall develop standardized unidentified anomalous phenomena declas- sification guidance applicable to any and all unidentified anomalous phenomena records generated by originating bodies subsequent to termination of the Review Board con- sistent with the requirements and intent of the Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan with respect to unidentified anomalous phe- nomena records originated prior to Review Board termination. SEC. ll 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA- TIONS. (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this title $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. (b) INTERIM FUNDING.—Until such time as funds are appropriated pursuant to sub- section (a), the President may use such sums as are available for discretionary use to carry out this title. SEC. ll 15. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this title or the applica- tion thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this title and the application of that provision to other persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances shall not be affected by the invalidation. SA 798. Mr. OSSOFF (for himself and Mr. ROUNDS) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activi- ties of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place in title V, insert the following: SEC. 5 ll . PROVISION OF FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM INFORMATION AS PART OF TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PRO- GRAM. Section 1142(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: ‘‘(20) Information, counseling, and applica- tion assistance, developed and provided in consultation with the Secretary of Agri- culture, regarding the supplemental nutri- tion assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the special supplemental nutri- tion program for women, infants, and chil- dren established by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), and any other Federal food and nutrition assistance program administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.’’. SA 799. Mr. OSSOFF submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize ap- propriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the De- partment of Energy, to prescribe mili- tary personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place in title VIII, in- sert the following: SEC. ll . MODIFICATION OF COMMERCIAL ITEM EXCEPTION TO CERTIFIED COST OR PRICING DATA REQUIREMENTS. Section 3703(a)(2) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘other than through a sole source acquisition of a com- mercial product or service that is not a com- mercially available off-the-shelf item (as that term is defined in section 104 of title 41)’’ after ‘‘commercial product or a commer- cial service’’. SA 800. Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Mr. DAINES, Ms. ROSEN, and Ms. ERNST) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activi- ties of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end of subtitle A of title XII, add the following: SEC. 1213. REPORT ON COORDINATION WITH PRI- VATE ENTITIES AND STATE GOVERN- MENTS WITH RESPECT TO THE STATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. (a) IN GENERAL.— The Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the fea- sibility of coordinating with private entities VerDate Sep 11 2014 14:27 Jul 14, 2023 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00515 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13JY6.178 S13JYPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE