Lawmakers are once again pushing to protect whistleblowers connected to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) – because if the truth is out there, people should be able to share it without fear.
In a renewed bid to increase UAP transparency in the federal government, Reps. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have reintroduced the UAP Whistleblower Protection Act. The bill aims to safeguard federal personnel who disclose information about government efforts to research UAPs – a term used by federal agencies to describe objects or phenomena that defy conventional explanation.
The bill, refiled on Aug. 29, has been referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, as well as the Committees on Armed Services and Intelligence.
The bill, largely unchanged from Rep. Burchett’s original November 2024 version, would establish whistleblower protections for federal employees who disclose government-funded research into materials linked to UAPs. It aims to create legal safeguards for those who may face retaliation for coming forward with information about how taxpayer dollars are used to investigate unexplained objects.
“The public deserves answers,” Rep. Burchett said in previous remarks on the issue. “And the people who can provide them shouldn’t be punished for telling the truth.”
The push for legal protections reflects broader congressional interest in UAP transparency, an issue that has moved from the fringes to the mainstream in recent years. Lawmakers across party lines have raised concerns about the Pentagon’s efforts to investigate and report on such phenomena, including the role and effectiveness of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), which was established to centralize federal investigations of unexplained incidents across air, sea, and space.
In previous testimony to Congress, Jon Kosloski, director of the AARO, urged lawmakers to continue supporting the agency’s work.
He explained that “many cases are difficult to quickly release to the public but are reported to the appropriate committees in Congress that are authorized by law or House or Senate leadership to receive the information,” adding that declassifying reports is not a decision made unilaterally by AARO.
The timing of the bill comes as momentum builds on Capitol Hill. Last Wednesday, Rep. Luna announced a Sept. 9 hearing titled “Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection.” Hosted by the Oversight Committee’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, the hearing is expected to include witness testimony focused on transparency, whistleblower protections, and government accountability.