Heinrich, Bipartisan Group Of Senators Push For Full Funding Of UAP Office To Address Airborne National Security Risks

WASHINGTON – Amid heightened focus on airborne national security risks, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and a bipartisan group of senators are calling for full funding of the unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) office, formally known as the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

Senator Heinrich, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, worked with a bipartisan group of colleagues to help establish the AARO, which has access to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community UAP data and is required to provide Congress with briefings and reports on UAPs.

In a letter to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks and Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Stacey Dixon, the senators write, “AARO provides the opportunity to integrate and resolve threats and hazards to the U.S., while also offering increased transparency to the American people and reducing the stigma around this issue of high public interest.”

The senators continued, “AARO’s success will depend on robust funding for its activities and cooperation between the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. As such, we respectfully request your assistance in securing the necessary funding and organizational support for AARO’s success and longevity.”

Today’s letter was led by U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and also signed by U.S. Senators Warner (D-Va.), Graham (R-S.C.), Cramer (R-N.D.), Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kelly (D-Ariz.), Warren (D-Mass.), Kaine (D-Va.), Bennet (D-Colo.), Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

Read the full letter.

Senator Heinrich has played a key role in increasing resources that improve DoD and the Intelligence Community’s ability to resolve UAP sightings, improve data sharing, address national security concerns, and report health effects people may experience in relation to UAP events.

Following the U.S. forces shooting down three unknown objects that entered U.S. and Canadian airspace over the weekend, Senator Heinrich called for more public transparency, “Americans don’t want speculation on UAPs, they want answers. That’s why I came together with a bipartisan group of senators to ramp up the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community’s ability to provide Americans with the transparency they deserve. The latest unclassified report on UAPs lists over 360 new detections. However, nearly half of the detections remain uncharacterized and unattributed. Whether it’s a blip on the radar or, yes, a balloon in our skies, the Defense and Intelligence communities need to deliver, in a timely fashion, solid analysis and public-facing reports about any health or national security implications that may be presented.”

Background:

• Senator Heinrich helped secure language in the Intelligence Authorization Act, passed by Congress in 2020, that directed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to submit the report to the congressional intelligence and armed services committees on UAPs, including observed airborne objects that have not been identified.
• Upon the release of the report in June 2021 and review of its findings, Senator Heinrich and his colleagues expressed that there was a clear need for Congress to “devote real resources and take a unified approach to gathering data and understanding UAPs – especially given the national security implications.” – from June 2021 statement.
• Senator Heinrich joined Senator Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and a bipartisan group of colleagues to secure the inclusion of the UAP amendment in the FY22 NDAA. The language established an office that replaced the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Task Force and provided access to Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) data related to UAPs.
• As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Heinrich worked with colleagues to secure the inclusion of additional UAP language in the FY23 Intelligence Authorization Act. The provisions add more authorities and structure to the Office (now the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office), increase congressional oversight, mandate a review of historical IC involvement, and require greater IC and other federal agency participation in the work of the Office, to include the Department of Energy and the federal labs.