As scientists, scholars, and national security experts, we are focused on advancing the public good across numerous disciplines, furthering human understanding while maintaining America’s technological edge. With this perspective and a collective experience measured in centuries, we urge you to strengthen congressional oversight on the serious issue of unidentified anomalous phenomena (“UAP”).

Congress has demonstrated leadership on this topic by enacting requirements in recent years for military and intelligence community personnel to report UAP observations and by directing a joint program office within the Department of Defense to gather, analyze, and report UAP data.1 We applaud statutory protections afforded to government employees and contractors who allege the existence of UAP programs, which may be operating without congressional approval.2 And we support measures in last year’s defense authorization act—offered again this year—that prohibit taxpayer dollars for UAP activities not disclosed to the appropriate legislative authorities.3

Despite this progress, proper oversight remains elusive. Although the UAP Disclosure Act, a landmark transparency bill, passed the Senate in 2023, key provisions were deleted in conference.4 Proposed again this year, the Act was unfortunately omitted from the pending defense authorization bill despite strong bipartisan support from the Senate Majority Leader and key members of the Senate intelligence and defense committees.5 The eliminated provisions would have empowered an independent review board of subject matter experts to examine all relevant governmental UAP data regardless of security classification and provide the President with a thorough, truthful, and independent assessment of the UAP issue.6 Robust and accountable mechanisms for making such information available to researchers and the public were also left unenacted.7

These provisions offer the best possible path for meaningful oversight. Enacting them would address serious concerns—increasingly voiced by Congress and the American people—regarding major shortcomings in the government’s UAP policy.8 The Act’s review board is vital to ensuring that a comprehensive archive will be subjected to open and skeptical inquiry by scientists, scholars, the media, and Congress, and that the executive and legislative branches receive a full accounting of the government’s activities relating to UAP. Independent review of UAP records, activities, and material will serve to restore faith in our democratic institutions and ensure the Nation’s security. We therefore urge you to pass these provisions of the UAP Disclosure Act, as well as to act on other UAP legislation before Congress.9

We also encourage Members to vigorously seek answers through briefings, hearings, review of nominations, and all other appropriate means. We firmly believe that undue secrecy undermines faith in our government and is inconsistent with America’s long-term security, as well as its scientific and economic potential.