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| | | #REDIRECT [[https://kb42.info/index.php?title=Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act (UAPDA)]] |
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| From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
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| SA 2610. Mr. ROUNDS (for himself and Mr. Schumer) submitted an
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| amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to
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| authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities
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| of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
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| defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
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| personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
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| was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
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| At the appropriate place, insert the following:
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| DIVISION _--UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA DISCLOSURE
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| SEC. __01. SHORT TITLE.
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| This division may be cited as the ``Unidentified Anomalous
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| Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2024'' or the ``UAP Disclosure
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| Act of 2024''.
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| SEC. __02. FINDINGS, DECLARATIONS, AND PURPOSES.
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| (a) Findings and Declarations.--Congress finds and declares
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| the following:
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| (1) All Federal Government records related to unidentified
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| anomalous phenomena should be preserved and centralized for
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| historical and Federal Government purposes.
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| (2) All Federal Government records concerning unidentified
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| anomalous phenomena should carry a presumption of immediate
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| disclosure and all records should be eventually disclosed to
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| enable the public to become fully informed about the history
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| of the Federal Government's knowledge and involvement
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| surrounding unidentified anomalous phenomena.
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| (3) Legislation is necessary to create an enforceable,
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| independent, and accountable process for the public
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| disclosure of such records.
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| (4) Legislation is necessary because credible evidence and
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| testimony indicates that Federal Government unidentified
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| anomalous phenomena records exist that have not been
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| declassified or subject to mandatory declassification review
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| as set forth in Executive Order 13526 (50 U.S.C. 3161 note;
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| relating to classified national security information) due in
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| part to exemptions under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42
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| U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), as well as an over-broad interpretation
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| of ``transclassified foreign nuclear information'', which is
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| also exempt from mandatory declassification, thereby
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| preventing public disclosure under existing provisions of
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| law.
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| (5) Legislation is necessary because section 552 of title
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| 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the ``Freedom
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| of Information Act''), as implemented by the Executive branch
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| of the Federal Government, has proven inadequate in achieving
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| the timely public disclosure of Government unidentified
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| anomalous phenomena records that are subject to mandatory
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| declassification review.
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| (6) Legislation is necessary to restore proper oversight
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| over unidentified anomalous phenomena records by elected
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| officials in both the executive and legislative branches of
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| the Federal Government that has otherwise been lacking as of
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| the enactment of this Act.
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| (7) Legislation is necessary to afford complete and timely
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| access to all knowledge gained by the Federal Government
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| concerning unidentified anomalous phenomena in furtherance of
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| comprehensive open scientific and technological research and
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| development essential to avoiding or mitigating potential
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| technological surprise in furtherance of urgent national
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| security concerns and the public interest.
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| (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this division are--
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| (1) to provide for the creation of the unidentified
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| anomalous phenomena Records Collection at the National
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| Archives and Records Administration; and
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| (2) to require the expeditious public transmission to the
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| Archivist and public disclosure of such records.
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| SEC. __03. DEFINITIONS.
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| In this division:
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| (1) Archivist.--The term ``Archivist'' means the Archivist
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| of the United States.
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| (2) Close observer.--The term ``close observer'' means
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| anyone who has come into close proximity to unidentified
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| anomalous phenomena or non-human intelligence.
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| (3) Collection.--The term ``Collection'' means the
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| Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records Collection
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| established under section __04.
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| (4) Controlled disclosure campaign plan.--The term
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| ``Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan'' means the Controlled
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| Disclosure Campaign Plan required by section __09(c)(3).
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| (5) Controlling authority.--The term ``controlling
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| authority'' means any Federal, State, or local government
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| department, office, agency, committee, commission, commercial
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| company, academic institution, or private sector entity in
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| physical possession of technologies of unknown origin or
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| biological evidence of non-human intelligence.
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| (6) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
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| the Office of Government Ethics.
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| (7) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' means
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| an Executive agency, as defined in subsection 552(f) of title
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| 5, United States Code.
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| (8) Government office.--The term ``Government office''
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| means any department, office, agency, committee, or
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| commission of the Federal Government and any independent
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| office or agency without exception that has possession or
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| control, including via contract or other agreement, of
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena records.
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| (9) Identification aid.--The term ``identification aid''
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| means the written description prepared for each record, as
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| required in section __04.
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| (10) Leadership of congress.--The term ``leadership of
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| Congress'' means--
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| (A) the majority leader of the Senate;
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| (B) the minority leader of the Senate;
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| (C) the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
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| (D) the minority leader of the House of Representatives.
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| (11) Legacy program.--The term ``legacy program'' means all
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| Federal, State, and local government, commercial industry,
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| academic, and private sector endeavors to collect, exploit,
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| or reverse engineer technologies of unknown origin or examine
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| biological evidence of living or deceased non-human
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| intelligence that pre-dates the date of the enactment of this
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| Act.
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| (12) National archives.--The term ``National Archives''
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| means the National Archives and Records Administration and
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| all components thereof, including presidential archival
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| depositories established under section 2112 of title 44,
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| United States Code.
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| (13) Non-human intelligence.--The term ``non-human
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| intelligence'' means any sentient intelligent non-human
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| lifeform regardless of nature or ultimate origin that may be
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| presumed responsible for unidentified anomalous phenomena or
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| of which the Federal Government has become aware.
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| (14) Originating body.--The term ``originating body'' means
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| the Executive agency, Federal Government commission,
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| committee of Congress, or other Governmental entity that
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| created a record or particular information within a record.
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| (15) Prosaic attribution.--The term ``prosaic attribution''
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| means having a human (either foreign or domestic) origin and
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| operating according to current, proven, and generally
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| understood scientific and engineering principles and
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| established laws-of-nature and not attributable to non-human
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| intelligence.
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| (16) Public interest.--The term ``public interest'' means
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| the compelling interest in the prompt public disclosure of
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena records for historical and
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| Governmental purposes and for the purpose of fully informing
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| the people of the United States about the history of the
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| Federal Government's knowledge and involvement surrounding
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena.
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| (17) Record.--The term ``record'' includes a book, paper,
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| report, memorandum, directive, email, text, or other form of
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| communication, or map, photograph, sound or video recording,
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| machine-readable material, computerized, digitized, or
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| electronic information, including intelligence, surveillance,
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| reconnaissance, and target acquisition sensor data,
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| regardless of the medium on which it is stored, or other
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| documentary material, regardless of its physical form or
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| characteristics.
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| (18) Review board.--The term ``Review Board'' means the
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| Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records Review Board
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| established by section __07.
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| (19) Technologies of unknown origin.--The term
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| ``technologies of unknown origin'' means any materials or
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| meta-materials, ejecta, crash debris, mechanisms, machinery,
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| equipment, assemblies or sub-assemblies, engineering models
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| or processes, damaged or intact aerospace vehicles, and
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| damaged or intact ocean-surface and undersea craft associated
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| with unidentified anomalous phenomena or incorporating
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| science and technology that lacks prosaic attribution or
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| known means of human manufacture.
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| (20) Temporarily non-attributed objects.--
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| (A) In general.--The term ``temporarily non-attributed
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| objects'' means the class of objects that temporarily resist
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| prosaic attribution by the initial observer as a result of
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| environmental or system limitations associated with the
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| observation process that nevertheless ultimately have an
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| accepted human origin or known physical cause. Although some
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena may at first be interpreted
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| as temporarily non-attributed objects, they are not
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| temporarily non-attributed objects, and the two categories
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| are mutually exclusive.
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| (B) Inclusion.--The term ``temporarily non-attributed
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| objects'' includes--
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| (i) natural celestial, meteorological, and undersea weather
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| phenomena;
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| [[Page S4944]] | |
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| (ii) mundane human-made airborne objects, clutter, and
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| marine debris;
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| (iii) Federal, State, and local government, commercial
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| industry, academic, and private sector aerospace platforms;
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| (iv) Federal, State, and local government, commercial
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| industry, academic, and private sector ocean-surface and
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| undersea vehicles; and
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| (v) known foreign systems.
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| (21) Third agency.--The term ``third agency'' means a
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| Government agency that originated a unidentified anomalous
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| phenomena record that is in the possession of another
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| Government agency.
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| (22) Unidentified anomalous phenomena.--
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| (A) In general.--The term ``unidentified anomalous
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| phenomena'' means any object operating or judged capable of
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| operating in outer-space, the atmosphere, ocean surfaces, or
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| undersea lacking prosaic attribution due to performance
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| characteristics and properties not previously known to be
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| achievable based upon commonly accepted physical principles.
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| Unidentified anomalous phenomena are differentiated from both
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| attributed and temporarily non-attributed objects by one or
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| more of the following observables:
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| (i) Instantaneous acceleration absent apparent inertia.
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| (ii) Hypersonic velocity absent a thermal signature and
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| sonic shockwave.
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| (iii) Transmedium (such as space-to-ground and air-to-
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| undersea) travel.
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| (iv) Positive lift contrary to known aerodynamic
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| principles.
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| (v) Multispectral signature control.
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| (vi) Physical or invasive biological effects to close
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| observers and the environment.
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| (B) Inclusions.--The term ``unidentified anomalous
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| phenomena'' includes what were previously described as--
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| (i) flying discs;
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| (ii) flying saucers;
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| (iii) unidentified aerial phenomena;
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| (iv) unidentified flying objects (UFOs); and
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| (v) unidentified submerged objects (USOs).
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| (23) Unidentified anomalous phenomena record.--The term
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| ``unidentified anomalous phenomena record'' means a record
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| that is related to unidentified anomalous phenomena,
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| technologies of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence
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| (and all equivalent subjects by any other name with the
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| specific and sole exclusion of temporarily non-attributed
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| objects) that was created or made available for use by,
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| obtained by, or otherwise came into the possession of--
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| (A) the Executive Office of the President;
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| (B) the Department of Defense and its progenitors, the
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| Department of War and the Department of the Navy;
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| (C) the Department of the Army;
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| (D) the Department of the Navy;
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| (E) the Department of the Air Force, specifically the Air
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| Force Office of Special Investigations;
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| (F) the Department of Energy and its progenitors, the
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| Manhattan Project, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the
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| Energy Research and Development Administration;
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| (G) the Office of the Director of National Intelligence;
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| (H) the Central Intelligence Agency and its progenitor, the
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| Office of Strategic Services;
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| (I) the National Reconnaissance Office;
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| (J) the Defense Intelligence Agency;
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| (K) the National Security Agency;
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| (L) the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency;
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| (M) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration:
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| (N) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
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| (O) the Federal Aviation Administration;
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| (P) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
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| (Q) the Library of Congress;
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| (R) the National Archives and Records Administration;
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| (S) any Presidential library;
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| (T) any Executive agency;
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| (U) any independent office or agency;
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| (V) any other department, office, agency, committee, or
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| commission of the Federal Government;
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| (W) any State or local government department, office,
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| agency, committee, or commission that provided support or
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| assistance or performed work, in connection with a Federal
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| inquiry into unidentified anomalous phenomena, technologies
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| of unknown origin, or non-human intelligence; and
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| (X) any private sector person or entity formerly or
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| currently under contract or some other agreement with the
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| Federal Government.
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| SEC. __04. UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS
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| COLLECTION AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS
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| ADMINISTRATION.
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| (a) Establishment.--
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| (1) In general.--(A) Not later than 60 days after the date
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| of the enactment of this Act, the Archivist shall commence
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| establishment of a collection of records in the National
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| Archives to be known as the ``Unidentified Anomalous
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| Phenomena Records Collection''.
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| (B) In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Archivist shall
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| ensure the physical integrity and original provenance (or if
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| indeterminate, the earliest historical owner) of all records
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| in the Collection.
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| (C) The Collection shall consist of record copies of all
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| Government, Government-provided, or Government-funded records
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| relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena, technologies of
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| unknown origin, and non-human intelligence (or equivalent
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| subjects by any other name with the specific and sole
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| exclusion of temporarily non-attributed objects), which shall
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| be transmitted to the National Archives in accordance with
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| section 2107 of title 44, United States Code.
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| (D) The Archivist shall prepare and publish a subject
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| guidebook and index to the Collection.
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| (2) Contents.--The Collection shall include the following:
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| (A) All unidentified anomalous phenomena records,
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| regardless of age or date of creation--
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| (i) that have been transmitted to the National Archives or
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| disclosed to the public in an unredacted form prior to the
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| date of the enactment of this Act;
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| (ii) that are required to be transmitted to the National
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| Archives; and
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| (iii) that the disclosure of which is postponed under this
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| Act.
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| (B) A central directory comprised of identification aids
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| created for each record transmitted to the Archivist under
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| section __05.
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| (C) All Review Board records as required by this Act.
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| (b) Disclosure of Records.--All unidentified anomalous
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| phenomena records transmitted to the National Archives for
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| disclosure to the public shall--
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| (1) be included in the Collection; and
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| (2) be available to the public--
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| (A) for inspection and copying at the National Archives
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| within 30 days after their transmission to the National
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| Archives; and
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| (B) digitally via the National Archives online database
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| within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed 180 days
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| thereafter.
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| (c) Fees for Copying.--
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| (1) In general.--The Archivist shall--
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| (A) charge fees for copying unidentified anomalous
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| phenomena records; and
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| (B) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the standards
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| established by section 552(a)(4) of title 5, United States
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| Code.
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| (2) Amount of fees.--The amount of a fee charged by the
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| Archivist pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) for the copying of an
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena record shall be such amount
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| as the Archivist determines appropriate to cover the costs
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| incurred by the National Archives in making and providing
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| such copy, except that in no case may the amount of the fee
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| charged exceed the actual expenses incurred by the National
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| Archives in making and providing such copy.
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| (d) Additional Requirements.--
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| (1) Use of funds.--The Collection shall be preserved,
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| protected, archived, digitized, and made available to the
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| public at the National Archives and via the official National
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| Archives online database using appropriations authorized,
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| specified, and restricted for use under the terms of this
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| Act.
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| (2) Security of records.--The National Security Program
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| Office at the National Archives, in consultation with the
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| National Archives Information Security Oversight Office,
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| shall establish a program to ensure the security of the
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| postponed unidentified anomalous phenomena records in the
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| protected, and yet-to-be disclosed or classified portion of
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| the Collection.
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| (e) Oversight.--
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| (1) Senate.--The Committee on Homeland Security and
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| Governmental Affairs of the Senate shall have continuing
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| legislative oversight jurisdiction in the Senate with respect
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| to the Collection.
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| (2) House of representatives.--The Committee on Oversight
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| and Accountability of the House of Representatives shall have
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| continuing legislative oversight jurisdiction in the House of
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| Representatives with respect to the Collection.
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| SEC. __05. REVIEW, IDENTIFICATION, TRANSMISSION TO THE
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| NATIONAL ARCHIVES, AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF
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| UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS BY
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| GOVERNMENT OFFICES.
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| (a) Identification, Organization, and Preparation for
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| Transmission.--
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| (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of
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| the enactment of this Act, each head of a Government office
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| shall--
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| (A) identify and organize records in the possession of the
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| Government office or under the control of the Government
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| office relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena; and
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| (B) prepare such records for transmission to the Archivist
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| for inclusion in the Collection.
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| (2) Prohibitions.--(A) No unidentified anomalous phenomena
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| record shall be destroyed, altered, or mutilated in any way.
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| (B) No unidentified anomalous phenomena record made
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| available or disclosed to the public prior to the date of the
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| enactment of this Act may be withheld, redacted, postponed
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| for public disclosure, or reclassified.
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| (C) No unidentified anomalous phenomena record created by a
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| person or entity outside the Federal Government (excluding
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| names or identities consistent with the requirements of
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| section __06) shall be withheld, redacted, postponed for
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| public disclosure, or reclassified.
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| (b) Custody of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records
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| Pending Review.--During the review by the heads of Government
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| offices under subsection (c) and pending review activity by
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| the Review Board, each head of a Government office shall
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| retain custody of the unidentified anomalous phenomena
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| records of the office for purposes of preservation, security,
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| and efficiency, unless--
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| (1) the Review Board requires the physical transfer of the
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| records for purposes of conducting an independent and
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| impartial review;
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| (2) transfer is necessary for an administrative hearing or
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| other Review Board function; or
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| [[Page S4945]]
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| (3) it is a third agency record described in subsection
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| (c)(2)(C).
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| (c) Review by Heads of Government Offices.--
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| (1) In general.--Not later than 300 days after the date of
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| the enactment of this Act, each head of a Government office
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| shall review, identify, and organize each unidentified
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| anomalous phenomena record in the custody or possession of
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| the office for--
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| (A) disclosure to the public;
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| (B) review by the Review Board; and
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| (C) transmission to the Archivist.
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| (2) Requirements.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the head
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| of a Government office shall--
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| (A) determine which of the records of the office are
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena records;
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| (B) determine which of the unidentified anomalous phenomena
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| records of the office have been officially disclosed or made
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| publicly available in a complete and unredacted form;
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| (C)(i) determine which of the unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena records of the office, or particular information
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| contained in such a record, was created by a third agency or
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| by another Government office; and
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| (ii) transmit to a third agency or other Government office
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| those records, or particular information contained in those
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| records, or complete and accurate copies thereof;
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| (D)(i) determine whether the unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena records of the office or particular information in
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena records of the office are
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| covered by the standards for postponement of public
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| disclosure under this division; and
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| (ii) specify on the identification aid required by
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| subsection (d) the applicable postponement provision
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| contained in section __06;
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| (E) organize and make available to the Review Board all
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena records identified under
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| subparagraph (D) the public disclosure of, which in-whole or
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| in-part, may be postponed under this division;
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| (F) organize and make available to the Review Board any
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| record concerning which the office has any uncertainty as to
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| whether the record is an unidentified anomalous phenomena
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| record governed by this division;
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| (G) give precedence of work to--
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| (i) the identification, review, and transmission of
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena records not already publicly
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| available or disclosed as of the date of the enactment of
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| this Act;
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| (ii) the identification, review, and transmission of all
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| records that most unambiguously and definitively pertain to
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena, technologies of unknown
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| origin, and non-human intelligence;
| |
| (iii) the identification, review, and transmission of
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena records that on the date of
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| the enactment of this Act are the subject of litigation under
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| section 552 of title 5, United States Code; and
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| (iv) the identification, review, and transmission of
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena records with earliest
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| provenance when not inconsistent with clauses (i) through
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| (iii) and otherwise feasible; and
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| (H) make available to the Review Board any additional
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| information and records that the Review Board has reason to
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| believe the Review Board requires for conducting a review
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| under this division.
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| (3) Priority of expedited review for directors of certain
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| archival depositories.--The Director of each archival
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| depository established under section 2112 of title 44, United
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| States Code, shall have as a priority the expedited review
| |
| for public disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena
| |
| records in the possession and custody of the depository, and
| |
| shall make such records available to the Review Board as
| |
| required by this division.
| |
| (d) Identification Aids.--
| |
| (1) In general.--(A) Not later than 45 days after the date
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| of the enactment of this Act, the Archivist, in consultation
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| 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 anomalous
| |
| phenomena record subject to review under this division
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| whether in hardcopy (physical), softcopy (electronic), or
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| 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
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| unidentified anomalous phenomena record subject to review
| |
| under this division where ever and how ever stored in
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| hardcopy (physical), softcopy (electronic), or digitized data
| |
| format.
| |
| (2) Requirements for government offices.--Upon completion
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| of an identification aid using the standard form of
| |
| identification prepared and made available under subparagraph
| |
| (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 phenomena
| |
| record, the identification aid describes;
| |
| (B) transmit to the Review Board a printed copy for each
| |
| physical unidentified anomalous phenomena record and an
| |
| electronic copy for each softcopy or digitized data
| |
| unidentified 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 phenomena
| |
| record the identification aid describes, 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 additional review by
| |
| the Review Board or another authorized office under this
| |
| division, and shall not be required to have such an
| |
| identification aid unless required by the Archivist.
| |
| (e) Transmission to the National Archives.--Each head of a
| |
| Government office shall--
| |
| (1) transmit to the Archivist, and make immediately
| |
| available to the public, all unidentified 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
| |
| division; and
| |
| (2) transmit to the Archivist upon approval for
| |
| postponement by the Review Board or upon completion of other
| |
| action authorized by this division, all unidentified
| |
| anomalous phenomena records of the Government office the
| |
| public disclosure of which has been postponed, in whole or in
| |
| part, under the standards of this division, to become part of
| |
| the protected, yet-to-be disclosed, or classified portion of
| |
| the Collection.
| |
| (f) Custody of Postponed Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena
| |
| Records.--An unidentified anomalous phenomena record the
| |
| public disclosure of which has been postponed shall, pending
| |
| transmission to the Archivist, be held for reasons of
| |
| security and preservation by the originating body until such
| |
| time as the information security program has been established
| |
| at the National Archives as required in section __04(d)(2).
| |
| (g) Periodic Review of Postponed Unidentified Anomalous
| |
| Phenomena Records.--
| |
| (1) In general.--All postponed or redacted records shall be
| |
| reviewed periodically by the originating agency and the
| |
| Archivist consistent with the recommendations of the Review
| |
| Board in the Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan under
| |
| section __09(c)(3)(B).
| |
| (2) Requirements.--(A) A periodic review under paragraph
| |
| (1) shall address the public disclosure of additional
| |
| unidentified anomalous phenomena records in the Collection
| |
| under the standards of this division.
| |
| (B) All postponed unidentified anomalous phenomena records
| |
| determined to require continued postponement shall require an
| |
| unclassified 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 Campaign 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 __09(d)(1).
| |
| (D) The periodic review of postponed unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena records shall serve to downgrade and declassify
| |
| security classified information.
| |
| (E) Each unidentified anomalous phenomena 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 certifies, as required by this division,
| |
| that--
| |
| (i) continued postponement is made necessary by an
| |
| identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence
| |
| operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations;
| |
| and
| |
| (ii) the identifiable harm is of such gravity that it
| |
| outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
| |
| (h) Requirements for Executive Agencies.--
| |
| (1) In general.--Executive agencies shall--
| |
| (A) transmit digital records electronically in accordance
| |
| with section 2107 of title 44, United States Code;
| |
| (B) charge fees for copying unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena records; and
| |
| (C) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the standards
| |
| established by section 552(a)(4) of title 5, United States
| |
| Code.
| |
| (2) Amount of fees.--The amount of a fee charged by the
| |
| head of an Executive agency pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) for
| |
| the copying of an unidentified anomalous phenomena record
| |
| shall be such amount as the head determines appropriate to
| |
| cover the costs incurred by the Executive agency in making
| |
| and providing such copy, except that in no case may the
| |
| amount of the fee charged exceed the actual expenses incurred
| |
| by the Executive agency in making and providing such copy.
| |
| | |
| SEC. __06. GROUNDS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF
| |
| UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA RECORDS.
| |
| | |
| Disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena records or
| |
| particular information in
| |
| | |
| [[Page S4946]]
| |
| | |
| unidentified anomalous phenomena records to the public may be
| |
| postponed subject to the limitations of this division if
| |
| there is clear and convincing evidence that--
| |
| (1) the threat to the military defense, intelligence
| |
| operations, or conduct of foreign relations of the United
| |
| States posed by the public disclosure of the unidentified
| |
| anomalous phenomena record is of such gravity that it
| |
| outweighs the public interest in disclosure, and such public
| |
| disclosure would reveal--
| |
| (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
| |
| demonstrably and substantially impair the national 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 substantial risk of harm
| |
| to that person;
| |
| (3) the public disclosure of the unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena record could reasonably be expected to constitute
| |
| an unwarranted 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 compromise the existence of an
| |
| understanding of confidentiality currently requiring
| |
| protection between a Federal Government agent and a
| |
| cooperating individual or a foreign government, and public
| |
| disclosure would be so harmful that it outweighs the public
| |
| interest.
| |
| | |
| SEC. __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
| |
| Phenomena 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 affiliation, 9 citizens of the United States to
| |
| serve as members of the Review Board to ensure 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 Review 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 President 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 Representatives.
| |
| (iv) The minority leader of the House of Representatives.
| |
| (v) The Secretary of Defense.
| |
| (vi) The National Academy of Sciences.
| |
| (vii) Established nonprofit research organizations relating
| |
| to unidentified anomalous phenomena.
| |
| (viii) The American Historical Association.
| |
| (ix) Such other persons and organizations as the President
| |
| considers appropriate.
| |
| (B) If an individual or organization described in
| |
| subparagraph (A) does not recommend at least 2 nominees
| |
| meeting the qualifications stated in paragraph (5) by the
| |
| date that is 45 days after the date of the enactment of this
| |
| Act, the President shall consider for nomination the persons
| |
| recommended by the other individuals and organizations
| |
| described in such subparagraph.
| |
| (C) The President may request an individual or organization
| |
| described in subparagraph (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 collection,
| |
| exploitation, or reverse engineering of technologies of
| |
| unknown origin or the examination of biological evidence of
| |
| living or deceased non-human intelligence;
| |
| (B) shall be distinguished persons of high national
| |
| professional reputation in their respective fields who are
| |
| capable of exercising the independent and objective judgment
| |
| necessary to the fulfillment of their role in ensuring and
| |
| facilitating the review, transmission to the public, and
| |
| public disclosure of records related to the government's
| |
| understanding of, and activities associated with unidentified
| |
| anomalous phenomena, technologies 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 official;
| |
| (ii) 1 current or former foreign service official;
| |
| (iii) 1 scientist or engineer;
| |
| (iv) 1 economist;
| |
| (v) 1 professional historian; and
| |
| (vi) 1 sociologist.
| |
| (5) Mandatory conflicts of interest review.--
| |
| (A) In general.--The Director shall conduct a review of
| |
| each individual nominated and appointed to the position of
| |
| member of the Review Board to ensure the member does not have
| |
| any conflict of interest during the term of the service of
| |
| the member.
| |
| (B) Reports.--During the course of the review under
| |
| subparagraph (A), if the Director becomes aware that the
| |
| member being reviewed possesses a conflict of interest to the
| |
| mission of the Review Board, the Director shall, not later
| |
| than 30 days after the date on which the Director became
| |
| aware of the conflict of interest, submit to the Committee on
| |
| Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and
| |
| the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of
| |
| Representatives a report on the conflict of interest.
| |
| (c) Security Clearances.--
| |
| (1) In general.--All Review Board nominees shall be granted
| |
| the necessary security clearances and accesses, including any
| |
| and all relevant Presidential, departmental, and agency
| |
| special access programs, in an accelerated manner subject to
| |
| the standard procedures 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 accesses
| |
| prior to being considered for confirmation by the Committee
| |
| on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
| |
| (d) Consideration by the Senate.--Nominations for
| |
| appointment under subsection (b) shall be referred to the
| |
| Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of
| |
| the Senate for consideration.
| |
| (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 inefficiency,
| |
| neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, physical disability,
| |
| mental incapacity, or any other condition that substantially
| |
| impairs the performance of the member's duties.
| |
| (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 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and
| |
| the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of
| |
| Representatives a report specifying the facts found and the
| |
| grounds for the removal.
| |
| (B) The President shall publish in the Federal Register a
| |
| report submitted under subparagraph (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 prosecution, 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 obtain judicial review of the removal
| |
| in a civil action commenced in the United States District
| |
| 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 __08(c)(1), shall be
| |
| compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the
| |
| annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the
| |
| Executive Schedule 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 agencies 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 determination by a Government office to seek
| |
| to postpone the disclosure of unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena records.
| |
| (2) Considerations and rendering of decisions.--In carrying
| |
| out paragraph (1), the Review Board shall consider and render
| |
| decisions--
| |
| (A) whether a record constitutes a unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena record; and
| |
| (B) whether a unidentified anomalous phenomena record or
| |
| particular information in a record qualifies for postponement
| |
| of disclosure under this division.
| |
| (i) Powers.--
| |
| (1) In general.--The Review Board shall have the authority
| |
| to act in a manner prescribed under this division, including
| |
| authority--
| |
| | |
| [[Page S4947]]
| |
| | |
| (A) to direct Government offices to complete identification
| |
| aids and organize unidentified anomalous phenomena records;
| |
| (B) to direct Government offices to transmit to the
| |
| Archivist unidentified anomalous phenomena records as
| |
| required under this division, including segregable portions
| |
| of unidentified 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
| |
| Government office;
| |
| (ii) to direct a Government office to make available to the
| |
| Review Board, and if necessary investigate the facts
| |
| surrounding, additional information, records, or testimony
| |
| from individuals which the Review Board has reason to believe
| |
| are required to fulfill its functions and responsibilities
| |
| under this division; and
| |
| (iii) request the Attorney General to subpoena private
| |
| persons to compel testimony, records, and other information
| |
| relevant to its responsibilities under this division;
| |
| (D) require any Government office to account 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 regarding the
| |
| identification and public disclosure 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 conditions as other Executive agencies;
| |
| and
| |
| (H) use the United States mails in the same manner and
| |
| under the same conditions as other Executive agencies.
| |
| (2) Enforcement of subpoena.--A subpoena 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 information 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 Authorization Act for
| |
| Fiscal Year 2023 (50 U.S.C. 3373b(b)).
| |
| (k) Oversight.--
| |
| (1) Senate.--The Committee on Homeland Security and
| |
| Governmental Affairs of the Senate shall have continuing
| |
| legislative oversight jurisdiction in the Senate with respect
| |
| 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 legislative oversight jurisdiction in
| |
| the House of Representatives with respect 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.
| |
| (3) Duty to cooperate.--The Review Board shall have the
| |
| duty to cooperate with the exercise of oversight jurisdiction
| |
| described in this subsection.
| |
| (4) Security clearances.--The Chairmen and Ranking Members
| |
| of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
| |
| Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and
| |
| Accountability of the House of Representatives, and staff of
| |
| such committees designated by such Chairmen and Ranking
| |
| Members, shall be granted all security clearances and
| |
| accesses held by the Review Board, including to relevant
| |
| Presidential and department or agency special access and
| |
| compartmented access programs.
| |
| (l) Support Services.--The Administrator of the General
| |
| Services Administration shall provide administrative services
| |
| for the Review Board on a reimbursable basis.
| |
| (m) Interpretive Regulations.--The Review Board may issue
| |
| interpretive regulations.
| |
| (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 extended 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 during its
| |
| existence and shall complete all other reporting requirements
| |
| under this division.
| |
| (3) Transfer of records.--Upon termination and winding
| |
| down, the Review Board shall transfer all of its records to
| |
| the Archivist for inclusion in the Collection, and no record
| |
| of the Review Board shall be destroyed.
| |
| | |
| SEC. __08. UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA 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
| |
| affiliation, to the position of Executive Director of the
| |
| Review Board. This position counts as 1 of the 9 Review Board
| |
| members under section __07(b)(1).
| |
| (2) Qualifications.--The person appointed as Executive
| |
| Director shall be a private citizen of integrity and
| |
| impartiality who--
| |
| (A) is a distinguished professional; and
| |
| (B) is not a present employee of the Federal Government;
| |
| and
| |
| (C) has had no previous or current involvement with any
| |
| legacy program or controlling authority relating to the
| |
| collection, exploitation, or reverse engineering of
| |
| technologies of unknown origin or the examination of
| |
| biological evidence of living or deceased non-human
| |
| intelligence.
| |
| (3) Mandatory conflicts of interest review.--
| |
| (A) In general.--The Director shall conduct a review of
| |
| each individual appointed to the position of Executive
| |
| Director to ensure the Executive Director does not have any
| |
| conflict of interest during the term of the service of the
| |
| Executive Director.
| |
| (B) Reports.--During the course of the review under
| |
| subparagraph (A), if the Director becomes aware that the
| |
| Executive Director possesses a conflict of interest to the
| |
| mission of the Review Board, the Director shall, not later
| |
| than 30 days after the date on which the Director became
| |
| aware of the conflict of interest, submit to the Committee on
| |
| Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and
| |
| the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of
| |
| Representatives a report on the conflict of interest.
| |
| (4) Security clearances.--(A) A candidate for Executive
| |
| Director shall be granted all the necessary security
| |
| clearances and accesses, including to relevant Presidential
| |
| and department or agency special access and compartmented
| |
| access programs in an accelerated manner subject to the
| |
| standard procedures for granting such clearances.
| |
| (B) A candidate shall qualify for the necessary security
| |
| clearances and accesses prior to being appointed by the
| |
| President.
| |
| (5) Functions.--The Executive Director shall--
| |
| (A) serve as principal liaison to the Executive 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 review of records;
| |
| (D) be responsible for the administration of all official
| |
| activities conducted by the Review Board;
| |
| (E) exercise tie-breaking Review Board authority 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 executive branch unidentified
| |
| anomalous phenomena records for which the Executive Director
| |
| and Review Board members may disagree.
| |
| (6) 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 disability,
| |
| mental incapacity, or any other condition that substantially
| |
| impairs the performance of the responsibilities of the
| |
| Executive Director or the staff of the Review Board.
| |
| (b) Staff.--
| |
| (1) In general.--The Review Board, without regard to the
| |
| civil service laws, may appoint 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.--
| |
| (A) In general.--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 relating to the collection, exploitation, or
| |
| reverse engineering of technologies of unknown origin or the
| |
| examination of biological evidence of living or deceased non-
| |
| human intelligence.
| |
| (B) Consultation with director of the office of government
| |
| ethics.--In their consideration of persons to be appointed as
| |
| staff of the Review Board under paragraph (1), the Review
| |
| Board shall consult with the Director--
| |
| (i) to determine criteria for possible conflicts of
| |
| interest of staff of the Review Board, consistent with ethics
| |
| laws, statutes, and regulations for employees of the
| |
| executive branch of the Federal Government; and
| |
| (ii) ensure that no person selected for such position of
| |
| staff of the Review Board possesses a conflict of interests
| |
| in accordance with the criteria determined pursuant to clause
| |
| (i).
| |
| (3) Security clearances.--(A) A candidate for staff shall
| |
| be granted the necessary security clearances (including all
| |
| necessary special access program clearances) in an
| |
| accelerated manner subject to the standard procedures for
| |
| granting such clearances.
| |
| (B)(i) The Review Board may offer conditional employment to
| |
| a candidate for a staff position pending the completion of
| |
| security clearance background investigations. During the
| |
| pendency of such investigations, the Review Board shall
| |
| ensure that any such employee does not have access to, or
| |
| responsibility involving, classified or otherwise restricted
| |
| unidentified anomalous phenomena record materials.
| |
| (ii) If a person hired on a conditional basis under clause
| |
| (i) is denied or otherwise does
| |
| | |
| [[Page S4948]]
| |
| | |
| not qualify for all security clearances necessary to carry
| |
| out the responsibilities of the position for which
| |
| conditional employment has been offered, the Review Board
| |
| shall immediately terminate the person's employment.
| |
| (4) Support from national declassification center.--The
| |
| Archivist shall assign one representative in full-time
| |
| equivalent status from the National Declassification Center
| |
| to advise and support the Review Board disclosure
| |
| 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 regard to the provisions of
| |
| chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title
| |
| relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates--
| |
| (1) the Executive Director shall be compensated at a rate
| |
| not to exceed the rate of basic pay for level II of the
| |
| Executive Schedule 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 division.
| |
| (d) Advisory Committees.--
| |
| (1) Authority.--The Review Board may create advisory
| |
| committees to assist in fulfilling the responsibilities of
| |
| the Review Board under this division.
| |
| (2) FACA.--Any advisory committee created by the Review
| |
| Board shall be subject to chapter 10 of title 5, United
| |
| States Code.
| |
| (e) Security Clearance Required.--An individual employed in
| |
| any position by the Review Board (including an individual
| |
| appointed as Executive Director) shall be required to qualify
| |
| for any necessary security clearance prior to taking office
| |
| in that position, but may be employed conditionally in
| |
| accordance with subsection (b)(3)(B) before qualifying for
| |
| that clearance.
| |
| | |
| SEC. __09. REVIEW OF RECORDS BY THE UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS
| |
| PHENOMENA RECORDS REVIEW BOARD.
| |
| | |
| (a) Custody of Records Reviewed by Review Board.--Pending
| |
| the outcome of a review of activity by the Review Board, a
| |
| Government office shall retain custody of its unidentified
| |
| anomalous phenomena records for purposes of preservation,
| |
| security, and efficiency, 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 administrative
| |
| 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 unidentified 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 division; 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 phenomena records be transmitted to
| |
| the Archivist and disclosed to the public in the Collection
| |
| in the absence of clear and convincing evidence that--
| |
| (A) a Government record is not an unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena record; or
| |
| (B) a Government record, or particular information within
| |
| an unidentified anomalous phenomena record, qualifies for
| |
| postponement of public disclosure under this division.
| |
| (2) Requirements.--In approving postponement 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
| |
| division, 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 information which is
| |
| postponed.
| |
| (iii) A summary of a unidentified anomalous phenomena
| |
| record.
| |
| (3) Controlled disclosure campaign plan.--With respect to
| |
| unidentified anomalous phenomena records, particular
| |
| information 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 __06, or for which
| |
| only substitutions or summaries have been disclosed to the
| |
| public, the Review Board shall create and transmit to the
| |
| President, the Archivist, the Committee on Homeland Security
| |
| and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on
| |
| Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives
| |
| a Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan, with classified
| |
| appendix, containing--
| |
| (A) a description of actions by the Review Board, the
| |
| originating body, the President, or any Government office
| |
| (including a justification of any such action to postpone
| |
| disclosure of any record or part of any record) and of any
| |
| official proceedings conducted by the Review Board with
| |
| regard to specific unidentified anomalous phenomena records;
| |
| and
| |
| (B) a benchmark-driven plan, based upon a review of the
| |
| proceedings and in conformity with the decisions reflected
| |
| therein, recommending precise requirements for periodic
| |
| review, downgrading, and declassification as well as the
| |
| exact time or specified occurrence following which each
| |
| postponed item may be appropriately disclosed to the public
| |
| under this division.
| |
| (4) Notice following review and determination.--(A)
| |
| Following its review and a determination that a unidentified
| |
| anomalous phenomena record shall be publicly disclosed in the
| |
| Collection or postponed for disclosure and held in the
| |
| protected Collection, the Review Board shall notify the head
| |
| of the originating body of the determination of the Review
| |
| Board and publish a copy of the determination in the Federal
| |
| Register within 14 days after the determination is made.
| |
| (B) Contemporaneous notice shall be made to the President
| |
| for Review Board determinations regarding unidentified
| |
| anomalous phenomena records of the executive branch of the
| |
| Federal Government, and to the oversight committees
| |
| designated in this division in the case of records of the
| |
| legislative branch of the Federal Government. Such notice
| |
| shall contain a written unclassified justification for public
| |
| disclosure or postponement of disclosure, including an
| |
| explanation of the application of any standards contained in
| |
| section __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 disclosure of an
| |
| unidentified anomalous phenomena record of the executive
| |
| branch of the Federal Government or information within such a
| |
| record, or of any information contained in a unidentified
| |
| anomalous phenomena record, obtained or developed solely
| |
| within the executive branch of the Federal Government, the
| |
| President shall--
| |
| (A) have the sole and nondelegable authority to require the
| |
| disclosure or postponement of such record or information
| |
| under the standards set forth in section __06; and
| |
| (B) provide the Review Board with both an unclassified and
| |
| classified written certification specifying the President's
| |
| decision within 30 days after the Review Board's
| |
| determination and notice to the executive branch agency as
| |
| required under this division, stating the justification for
| |
| the President's decision, including the applicable grounds
| |
| for postponement under section __06, accompanied by a copy of
| |
| the identification aid required under section __04.
| |
| (2) Periodic review.--(A) Any unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena record postponed by the President shall henceforth
| |
| be subject to the requirements of periodic review,
| |
| downgrading, declassification, and public disclosure in
| |
| accordance with the recommended timeline and associated
| |
| requirements specified in the Controlled Disclosure Campaign
| |
| Plan unless these conflict with the standards set forth in
| |
| section __06.
| |
| (B) This paragraph supersedes all prior declassification
| |
| review standards that may previously have been deemed
| |
| applicable to unidentified anomalous phenomena records.
| |
| (3) Record of presidential postponement.--The Review Board
| |
| shall, upon its receipt--
| |
| (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 accordingly.
| |
| (e) Notice to Public.--Every 30 calendar days, beginning on
| |
| the date that is 60 calendar days after the date on which the
| |
| Review 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 President, the Senate, or the House of
| |
| Representatives, including a description of the subject,
| |
| originating agency, length or other physical description, and
| |
| each ground for postponement that is relied upon to the
| |
| maximum extent classification restrictions permitting.
| |
| (f) Reports by the Review Board.--
| |
| (1) In general.--The Review Board shall report its
| |
| activities to the leadership of Congress, 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 subsequent 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.
| |
| | |
| [[Page S4949]]
| |
| | |
| (B) The progress made on review, transmission to the
| |
| Archivist, and public disclosure of unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena records.
| |
| (C) The estimated time and volume of unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena records involved in the completion of the Review
| |
| Board's performance under this division.
| |
| (D) Any special problems, including requests and the level
| |
| of cooperation of Government offices, with regard to the
| |
| ability of the Review Board to operate as required by this
| |
| division.
| |
| (E) A record of review activities, including a record of
| |
| postponement decisions by the Review Board or other related
| |
| actions authorized by this division, and a record of the
| |
| volume 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 information, the Review Board shall provide
| |
| copies to, and fully brief, at a minimum the President, the
| |
| Archivist, leadership of Congress, the Chairmen and Ranking
| |
| Members of the Committee on Homeland Security and
| |
| Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
| |
| Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives,
| |
| 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 determines appropriate
| |
| on the Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan, classified
| |
| appendix, and postponed disclosures, specifically
| |
| addressing--
| |
| (A) recommendations for periodic review, downgrading, and
| |
| declassification as well as the exact time or specified
| |
| occurrence following which specific unidentified anomalous
| |
| phenomena records and material may be appropriately
| |
| disclosed;
| |
| (B) the rationale behind each postponement determination
| |
| and the recommended means to achieve disclosure of each
| |
| postponed item;
| |
| (C) any other findings that the Review Board chooses to
| |
| offer; and
| |
| (D) an addendum containing copies of reports 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 before 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 resolution office.--
| |
| Coincident with the provision 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
| |
| Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373), or
| |
| its successor, as subsequently designated by Act of Congress,
| |
| on the Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan, classified
| |
| appendix, and postponed disclosures.
| |
| | |
| SEC. __10. DISCLOSURE OF RECOVERED TECHNOLOGIES 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
| |
| technologies of unknown origin and biological evidence of
| |
| non-human intelligence that may be controlled by private
| |
| persons or entities 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
| |
| disclosure determination at a location suitable to the
| |
| controlling authority of said material and in a timely manner
| |
| conducive to the objectives of the Review Board in accordance
| |
| with the requirements of this division.
| |
| (c) Actions of Review Board.--In carrying out subsection
| |
| (b), the Review Board shall consider and render decisions--
| |
| (1) whether the material examined constitutes technologies
| |
| of unknown origin or biological evidence of non-human
| |
| intelligence beyond a reasonable doubt;
| |
| (2) whether recovered technologies of unknown origin,
| |
| biological evidence of non-human intelligence, or a
| |
| particular subset of material qualifies for postponement of
| |
| disclosure under this division; and
| |
| (3) what changes, if any, to the current disposition of
| |
| said material should the Federal Government make to
| |
| facilitate full disclosure.
| |
| (d) Review Board Access to Testimony and Witnesses.--The
| |
| Review Board shall have access to all testimony from
| |
| unidentified anomalous phenomena witnesses, close observers
| |
| and legacy program personnel and whistleblowers within the
| |
| Federal Government's possession as of and after the date of
| |
| the enactment of this Act in furtherance of Review Board
| |
| disclosure determination responsibilities in section __07(h)
| |
| and subsection (c) of this section.
| |
| (e) Solicitation of Additional Witnesses.--The Review Board
| |
| shall solicit additional unidentified anomalous phenomena
| |
| witness and whistleblower testimony and afford protections
| |
| under section 1673(b) of the James M. Inhofe National Defense
| |
| Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (50 U.S.C. 3373b(b))
| |
| if deemed beneficial in fulfilling Review Board
| |
| responsibilities under this division.
| |
| | |
| SEC. __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 anomalous 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 unidentified 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 unknown origin, and non-human
| |
| intelligence materials under this division 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 material relevant to unidentified
| |
| anomalous phenomena, 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,
| |
| technologies of unknown origin, and non-human intelligence
| |
| consistent with the public interest.
| |
| | |
| SEC. __12. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
| |
| | |
| (a) Precedence Over Other Law.--When this division 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 Revenue Code of
| |
| 1986 specifying confidentiality and disclosure of tax returns
| |
| and tax return information), judicial decision construing
| |
| such provision of law, or common law doctrine that would
| |
| otherwise prohibit such transmission or disclosure, with the
| |
| exception 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.--Nothing in this division
| |
| shall be construed to eliminate 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 division shall be
| |
| construed to preclude judicial review, under chapter 7 of
| |
| title 5, United States Code, of final actions taken or
| |
| required to be taken under this division.
| |
| (d) Existing Authority.--Nothing in this division 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 division 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
| |
| applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed
| |
| in that House, and it supersedes other rules only to the
| |
| extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and
| |
| (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 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 manner,
| |
| and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of
| |
| that House.
| |
| | |
| SEC. __13. TERMINATION OF EFFECT OF DIVISION.
| |
| | |
| (a) Provisions Pertaining to the Review Board.--The
| |
| provisions of this division that pertain 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 section __07(n).
| |
| (b) Other Provisions.--(1) The remaining provisions of this
| |
| division shall continue in effect until such time as the
| |
| Archivist certifies to the President and Congress that all
| |
| unidentified anomalous phenomena records have been made
| |
| available to the public in accordance with this division.
| |
| (2) In facilitation of the provision in paragraph (1), the
| |
| All-domain Anomaly Resolution 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
| |
| declassification guidance applicable to any and all
| |
| unidentified anomalous phenomena records generated by
| |
| originating bodies subsequent to termination of the Review
| |
| Board consistent with the requirements and intent of the
| |
| Controlled Disclosure Campaign Plan with respect to
| |
| unidentified anomalous phenomena records originated prior to
| |
| Review Board termination.
| |
| | |
| [[Page S4950]]
| |
| | |
|
| |
| | |
| | |
| SEC. __14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
| |
| | |
| There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the
| |
| provisions of this division $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2025.
| |
| | |
| SEC. __15. CONFORMING REPEAL.
| |
| | |
| (a) Repeal.--Subtitle C of title XVIII of the National
| |
| Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law
| |
| 118-31) is hereby repealed.
| |
| (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 2
| |
| of such Act is amended by striking the items relating to
| |
| subtitle C of title XVIII.
| |
| | |
| SEC. __16. SEVERABILITY.
| |
| | |
| If any provision of this division or the application
| |
| thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
| |
| remainder of this division and the application of that
| |
| provision to other persons not similarly situated or to other
| |
| circumstances shall not be affected by the invalidation.
| |
| ______
| |