[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8497-S8499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4810. Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Heinrich, Mr.
Blunt, and Mr. Graham) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed
to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place in title XV, insert the
following:
SEC. ___. ESTABLISHMENT OF STRUCTURE AND AUTHORITIES TO
ADDRESS UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENA.
(a) Establishment of Anomaly Surveillance, Tracking, and
Resolution Office.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall, in
coordination with the Director of National Intelligence,
establish an office within an appropriate component of the
Department of Defense, or within a joint organization of the
Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence, to assume--
(A) the duties of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task
Force, as in effect on the day before the date of the
enactment of this Act; and
(B) such other duties as are required by this section.
(2) Designation.--The office established under paragraph
(1) shall be known as the ``Anomaly Surveillance, Tracking,
and Resolution Office'' (in this section referred to as the
``Office'').
(3) Termination or subordination of prior task force.--Upon
the establishment of the Anomaly Surveillance, Tracking, and
Resolution Office, the Secretary shall terminate the
Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force or subordinate it
to the Office.
(b) Facilitation of Reporting and Data Sharing.--The
Director and the Secretary shall each, in coordination with
each other, require that--
(1) each element of the intelligence community and the
Department, with any data that may be relevant to the
investigation of unidentified aerial phenomena, make such
data available immediately to the Office; and
(2) military and civilian personnel employed by or under
contract to the Department or an element of the intelligence
community shall have access to procedures by which they shall
report incidents or information, including adverse
physiological effects, involving or associated with
unidentified aerial phenomena directly to the Office.
(c) Duties.--The duties of the Office established under
subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) Developing procedures to synchronize and standardize
the collection, reporting, and analysis of incidents,
including adverse physiological effects, regarding
unidentified aerial phenomena across the Department and in
consultation with the intelligence community.
(2) Developing processes and procedures to ensure that such
incidents from each component of the Department and each
element of the intelligence community are reported and
incorporated in a centralized repository.
(3) Establishing procedures to require the timely and
consistent reporting of such incidents.
(4) Evaluating links between unidentified aerial phenomena
and adversarial foreign governments, other foreign
governments, or nonstate actors.
(5) Evaluating the threat that such incidents present to
the United States.
(6) Consulting with other departments and agencies of the
Federal Government, as appropriate, including the Federal
Aviation Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the
Department of Energy.
(7) Consulting with allies and partners of the United
States, as appropriate, to better assess the nature and
extent of unidentified aerial phenomena.
(8) Preparing reports for Congress, in both classified and
unclassified form, as required by subsections (h) and (i).
(d) Employment of Line Organizations for Field
Investigations of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, in coordination with
the Director, designate line organizations within the
Department of Defense and the intelligence community that
possess appropriate expertise, authorities, accesses, data,
systems, platforms, and capabilities to rapidly respond to,
and conduct field investigations of, incidents involving
unidentified aerial phenomena under the direction of the
Office.
(2) Personnel, equipment, and resources.--The Secretary, in
coordination with the Director, shall take such actions as
may be necessary to ensure that the designated organization
or organizations have available adequate personnel with
requisite expertise, equipment, transportation, and other
resources necessary to respond rapidly to incidents or
patterns of observations of unidentified aerial phenomena of
which the Office becomes aware.
(e) Utilization of Line Organizations for Scientific,
Technological, and Operational Analyses of Data on
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.--
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(1) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Director, shall designate one or more line organizations that
will be primarily responsible for scientific, technical, and
operational analysis of data gathered by field investigations
conducted under subsection (d), or data from other sources,
including testing of materials, medical studies, and
development of theoretical models to better understand and
explain unidentified aerial phenomena.
(2) Authority.--The Secretary and the Director shall
promulgate such directives as necessary to ensure that the
designated line organizations have authority to draw on
special expertise of persons outside the Federal Government
with appropriate security clearances.
(f) Intelligence Collection and Analysis Plan.--
(1) In general.--The head of the Office shall supervise the
development and execution of an intelligence collection and
analysis plan on behalf of the Secretary and the Director to
gain as much knowledge as possible regarding the technical
and operational characteristics, origins, and intentions of
unidentified aerial phenomena, including the development,
acquisition, deployment, and operation of technical
collection capabilities necessary to detect, identify, and
scientifically characterize unidentified aerial phenomena.
(2) Use of resources and capabilities.--In developing the
plan required by paragraph (1), the head of the Office shall
consider and propose, as appropriate, the use of any
resource, capability, asset, or process of the Department and
the intelligence community.
(g) Science Plan.--The head of the Office shall supervise
the development and execution of a science plan on behalf of
the Secretary and the Director to develop and test, as
practicable, scientific theories to account for
characteristics and performance of unidentified aerial
phenomena that exceed the known state of the art in science
or technology, including in the areas of propulsion,
aerodynamic control, signatures, structures, materials,
sensors, countermeasures, weapons, electronics, and power
generation, and to provide the foundation for potential
future investments to replicate any such advanced
characteristics and performance.
(h) Assignment of Priority.--The Director, in consultation
with, and with the recommendation of the Secretary, shall
assign an appropriate level of priority within the National
Intelligence Priorities Framework to the requirement to
understand, characterize, and respond to unidentified aerial
phenomena.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out
the work of the Office, including--
(1) general intelligence gathering and intelligence
analysis; and
(2) strategic defense, space defense, defense of controlled
air space, defense of ground, air, or naval assets, and
related purposes.
(j) Annual Report.--
(1) Requirement.--Not later than October 31, 2022, and
annually thereafter until October 31, 2026, the Secretary in
consultation with the Director, shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a report on unidentified
aerial phenomena.
(2) Elements.--Each report under paragraph (1) shall
include, with respect to the year covered by the report, the
following information:
(A) An analysis of data and intelligence received through
reports of unidentified aerial phenomena.
(B) An analysis of data relating to unidentified aerial
phenomena collected through--
(i) geospatial intelligence
(ii) signals intelligence;
(iii) human intelligence; and
(iv) measurement and signals intelligence.
(C) The number of reported incidents of unidentified aerial
phenomena over restricted air space of the United States.
(D) An analysis of such incidents identified under
subparagraph (C).
(E) Identification of potential aerospace or other threats
posed by unidentified aerial phenomena to the national
security of the United States.
(F) An assessment of any activity regarding unidentified
aerial phenomena that can be attributed to one or more
adversarial foreign governments.
(G) Identification of any incidents or patterns regarding
unidentified aerial phenomena that indicate a potential
adversarial foreign government may have achieved a
breakthrough aerospace capability.
(H) An update on the coordination by the United States with
allies and partners on efforts to track, understand, and
address unidentified aerial phenomena.
(I) An update on any efforts to capture or exploit
discovered unidentified aerial phenomena.
(J) An assessment of any health-related effects for
individuals who have encountered unidentified aerial
phenomena.
(K) The number of reported incidents, and descriptions
thereof, of unidentified aerial phenomena associated with
military nuclear assets, including strategic nuclear weapons
and nuclear-powered ships and submarines.
(L) In consultation with the Administrator of the National
Nuclear Security Administration, the number of reported
incidents, and descriptions thereof, of unidentified aerial
phenomena associated with facilities or assets associated
with the production, transportation, or storage of nuclear
weapons or components thereof.
(M) In consultation with the Chairman of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, the number of reported incidents, and
descriptions thereof, of unidentified aerial phenomena or
drones of unknown origin associated with nuclear power
generating stations, nuclear fuel storage sites, or other
sites or facilities regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
(N) The names of the line organizations that have been
designated to perform the specific functions imposed by
subsections (d) and (e) of this section, and the specific
functions for which each such line organization has been
assigned primary responsibility.
(3) Form.-- Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex.
(k) Semiannual Briefings.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act and not less frequently than
semiannually thereafter until December 31, 2026, the head of
the Office shall provide the classified briefings on
unidentified aerial phenomena to--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Select Committee
on Intelligence, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(2) First briefing.--The first briefing provided under
paragraph (1) shall include all incidents involving
unidentified aerial phenomena that were reported to the
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force or to the Office
after June 24, 2021, regardless of the date of occurrence of
the incident.
(3) Subsequent briefings.--Each briefing provided
subsequent to the first briefing described in paragraph (2)
shall include, at a minimum, all events relating to
unidentified aerial phenomena that occurred during the
previous 180 days, and events relating to unidentified aerial
phenomena that were not included in an earlier briefing due
to delay in an incident reaching the reporting system or
other such factors.
(4) Instances in which data was not shared.--For each
briefing period, the Chairman and Vice Chairman or Ranking
Member of the Committee on Armed Services and the Select
Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Committee on
Armed Services and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives shall receive an
enumeration of any instances in which data related to
unidentified aerial phenomena was denied to the Office
because of classification restrictions on that data or for
any other reason.
(l) Aerial and Transmedium Phenomena Advisory Committee.--
(1) Establishment.--(A) Not later than October 1, 2022, the
Secretary and the Director shall establish an advisory
committee for the purpose of--
(i) advising the Office in the execution of the duties of
the Office as provided by this subsection; and
(ii) advising the Secretary and the Director regarding the
gathering and analysis of data, and scientific research and
development pertaining to unidentified aerial phenomena.
(B) The advisory committee established under subparagraph
(A) shall be known as the ``Aerial and Transmedium Phenomena
Advisory Committee'' (in this subparagraph the
``Committee'').
(2) Membership.--(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the
Committee shall be composed of members as follows:
(i) 20 members selected by the Secretary as follows:
(I) Three members selected from among individuals
recommended by the Administrator of the National Astronautics
and Space Administration.
(II) Two members selected from among individuals
recommended by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration.
(III) Two members selected from among individuals
recommended by the President of the National Academies of
Sciences.
(IV) Two members selected from among individuals
recommended by the President of the National Academy of
Engineering.
(V) One member selected from among individuals recommended
by the President of the National Academy of Medicine.
(VI) Three members selected from among individuals
recommended by the Director of the Galileo Project at Harvard
University.
(VII) Two members selected from among individuals
recommended by the Board of Directors of the Scientific
Coalition for Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena Studies.
(VIII) Two members selected from among individuals
recommended by the President of the American Institute of
Astronautics and Aeronautics.
(IX) Two members selected from among individuals
recommended by the Director of the Optical Technology Center
at Montana State University.
(X) One member selected from among individuals recommended
by the president of the American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing.
(ii) Up to five additional members, as the Secretary, in
consultation with the Director, considers appropriate,
selected from among individuals with requisite expertise, at
least
[[Page S8499]]
3 of whom shall not be employees of any Federal Government
agency or Federal Government contractor.
(B) No individual may be appointed to the Committee under
subparagraph (A) unless the Secretary and the Directly
jointly determine that the individual--
(i) qualifies for a security clearance at the secret level
or higher;
(ii) possesses scientific, medical, or technical expertise
pertinent to some aspect of the investigation and analysis of
unidentified aerial phenomena; and
(iii) has previously conducted research or writing that
demonstrates scientific, technological, or operational
knowledge regarding aspects of the subject matter, including
propulsion, aerodynamic control, signatures, structures,
materials, sensors, countermeasures, weapons, electronics,
power generation, field investigations, forensic examination
of particular cases, analysis of open source and classified
information regarding domestic and foreign research and
commentary, and historical information pertaining to
unidentified aerial phenomena.
(C) The Secretary and Director may terminate the membership
of any individual on the Committee upon a finding by the
Secretary and the Director jointly that the member no longer
meets the criteria specified in this subsection.
(3) Chairperson.--The Secretary shall, in coordination with
the Director, designate a temporary Chairperson of the
Committee, but at the earliest practicable date the Committee
shall elect a Chairperson from among its members, who will
serve a term of 2 years, and is eligible for re-election.
(4) Expert assistance, advice, and recommendations.--(A)
The Committee may, upon invitation of the head of the Office,
provide expert assistance or advice to any line organization
designated to carry out field investigations or data analysis
as authorized by subsections (d) and (e).
(B) The Committee, on its own initiative, or at the request
of the Director, the Secretary, or the head of the Office,
may provide advice and recommendations regarding best
practices with respect to the gathering and analysis of data
on unidentified aerial phenomena in general, or commentary
regarding specific incidents, cases, or classes of
unidentified aerial phenomena.
(5) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2022, and not
later than December 31 of each year thereafter, the Committee
shall submit a report summarizing its activities and
recommendations to the following:
(A) The Secretary.
(B) The Director.
(C) The head of the Office.
(D) The Committee on Armed Services, the Select Committee
on Intelligence, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate.
(E) The Committee on Armed Services, the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(6) Relation to faca.--For purposes of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), the Committee shall be
considered an advisory committee (as defined in section 3 of
such Act, except as otherwise provided in the section or as
jointly deemed warranted by the Secretary and the Director
under section 4(b)(3) of such Act.
(7) Termination of committee.--The Committee shall
terminate on the date that is six years after the date of the
establishment of the Committee.
(m) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Select Committee
on Intelligence, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(2) The term ``intelligence community'' has the meaning
given such term in section 3 of the National Security Act of
1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).
(3) The term ``transmedium objects or devices'' means
objects or devices that are observed to transition between
space and the atmosphere, or between the atmosphere and
bodies of water, that are not immediately identifiable.
(4) The term ``unidentified aerial phenomena'' means--
(A) airborne objects that are not immediately identifiable;
(B) transmedium objects or devices; and
(C) submerged objects or devices that are not immediately
identifiable and that display behavior or performance
characteristics suggesting that they may be related to the
subjects described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
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