UAP Disclosure Act — National Defense Authorization Act 2024

The Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed into law on December 22, 2023, included historically significant UAP-related provisions championed by Senators Chuck Schumer and Mike Rounds. The legislation: established a UAP Records Review Board with authority to declassify and release UAP-related government records, modeled explicitly on the JFK Assassination Records Act; required government contractors who had received government funding for UAP-related programs to report materials, records, and information to AARO; expanded AARO's mandate to investigate all historical UAP programs across the government; required the President to identify 'controlled UAP records' and develop a plan for their review and release; and protected whistleblowers who reported UAP information through official channels. The provision was significant because it explicitly acknowledged the possibility that private defense contractors may hold materials or technologies related to UAP programs that the government itself does not have full visibility into. The legislation was directly motivated by David Grusch's whistleblower testimony to Congress in July 2023 and the classified briefings that followed. The UAP Records Review Board provision represented the first time Congress legislated a formal mechanism to compel review and potential disclosure of classified UAP materials across both government and contractor channels.