Americans may soon know more about military encounters with UFOs.
A bipartisan group of senators is introducing an amendment this week to the National Defense Authorization Act that would mandate the release of records related to UFOs, also known as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.
The amendment would specifically require the National Archives and Records Administration to create the UAP Records Collections. The records in the collection would be available for the public to access unless an independent review board provides specific reasoning about why certain documents should stay classified.
"The American public has a right to learn about technologies of unknown origins, non-human intelligence, and unexplainable phenomena," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. "We are not only working to declassify what the government has previously learned about these phenomena, but to create a pipeline for future research to be made public."
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While a review board would have the authority to determine whether any files remain classified, the amendment would give the president authority to override its decision.
Last year, the director of National Intelligence released an unclassified report on the objects which found there had been more than 500 UAP sightings, mostly by "U.S. Navy and Air Force aviators," with more than 150 showing "unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities."
"There is a lot we still don’t know about these UAPs, and that is a big problem," said Sen. Marco Rubio, who supports the amendment. "We’ve taken some important steps over the last few years to increase transparency and reduce stigmas, but more needs to be done."
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An official said the division examining UAPs is looking into 650 instances, but "no credible evidence" has been found of extraterrestrial activity.
