The Intelligence and Armed Services committees of the U.S. Senate appear to be stepping up their efforts to uncover any secret government programs that may exist to study devices or manufactured material of unearthly origin.
On June 14, 2023, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) approved an Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 that contains UAP-related language proposed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who apparently expects to win approval of compatible language in the Senate Armed Services Committee within days. Gillibrand sits on both committees.
The texts of Gillibrand’s amendments have not yet been made public, but she revealed her general intent in an interview with Matt Laslo of WIRED, published on June 13, 2023. Laslo reported that the senator intended to seek approval on the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of a “mandate that no money can be spent on SAPs [Special Access Programs] unless it’s been reported to Congress.” The Senate Armed Services Committee begins a series of closed-door amending sessions (called “mark ups”) on the NDAA today (June 21, 2023), which are expected to conclude on June 23. In recent years the committee’s leadership and membership have advanced into law several expansive UAP-related measures, with bipartisan support.
Laslo’s article quoted Gillibrand as saying, “So if there are SAPs out there that are somehow outside of the normal chain of command and outside the normal appropriations process, they have to divulge that to Congress.” She also said, “We need to just look into whether there are rogue SAP programs that no one is providing oversight for. The goal for me will be to have a hearing on that at some point so that we can assess if these SAPs actually exist.”
Gillibrand has already met with success in the SSCI, although the details are not yet public. On June 14, SSCI Chairman Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) and ranking minority member Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) issued a release announcing that the SSCI had approved the FY 2024 Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) in a closed-door session earlier that day. A summary describing provisions of the bill included this bullet point: “Increases transparency by strengthening Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) funding and reporting requirements.” This referred to UAP language offered in the committee by Gillibrand, co-sponsored by Senators Michael Rounds (R-SD), John Cornyn (R-Tx.), and Rubio. Her proposal was adopted by the 17-member committee without dissent, after which the bill was approved unanimously. The language of the amendment will not be made public until the committee-approved bill is officially filed and given a bill number.
Hellbound and Down 