I missed this last week: The House of Representatives voted unanimously to “create a secure government system for reporting UFOs and to compel current and former officials to reveal what they might know about the mysterious phenomena by promising to protect them from reprisal,” as Politico put it.
They say bipartisanship is impossible today. Well, this measure passed unanimously as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, and was co-sponsored by congressional UFO — excuse me, UAP — enthusiast Mike Gallagher (R., Wis.) and Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.). D.C. may remain riven by partisan animosity, but some things rise above politics.
Indeed, Gallagher argues that there are national-security implications. He claims that his “primary interest . . . is to ensure that our military and intelligence community are armed with the best possible information, capital, and scientific resources to defeat our enemies and maintain military and technology superiority.” The hope is that easier mechanisms for reporting sightings of unexplained objects, as well as liberating former natsec personnel from non-disclosure agreements, will enhance the gathering of information about this abiding mystery.
Whatever the explanation for these sightings — even if it is, ultimately, mundane — it is worth finding such an explanation. If they’re enemy aircraft, then we should figure out how to counter them. If they’re aliens or our future selves, then we’ll have to figure out their intent. And if they’re entirely natural phenomena, well . . . that’s a little less exciting, but still worth knowing. Kudos to Gallagher and Gallego for taking this issue seriously.