The House of Representatives took a step disclosure advocates have been chasing since the original UAP Disclosure Act stalled in conference: it adopted Rep. Eric Burlison’s UAP Disclosure amendment to the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, then narrowly passed the House bill – H.R. 8800 – by a 216–212 vote on July 22.
Burlison announced the adoption on X. The Disclosure Foundation summarized the sequence the same day: House passage of the defense authorization after the UAP amendment cleared the floor process. The provision now heads into House–Senate negotiations. Nothing becomes law until a final NDAA clears both chambers and the president’s desk.
“House Adopts Burlison Amendment Establishing UAP Disclosure Framework” – Rep. Eric Burlison on X, July 22, 2026
What the Amendment Does
Burlison’s revised text (dated July 15, Version 2) tracks the architecture of the bipartisan Schumer–Rounds UAP Disclosure Act first introduced in 2023:
| Provision | Effect |
|---|---|
| UAP Records Review Board | Temporary federal board, presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed, to identify, collect, and push public release of government UAP records |
| Controlled Collection | Agencies and contractors feed records into a centralized archive for review |
| Eminent domain language | Authorizes the federal government to take possession – with compensation – of technologies of unknown origin or biological evidence of non-human intelligence held by private entities |
| Definitions | Retains contested terms including non-human intelligence and technologies of unknown origin |
The July 15 rewrite also shifted oversight references away from Armed Services and Intelligence committees toward the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee – a procedural change that helped clear Rules after an earlier version was boxed out of the June rules package. Advocacy accounts flagged the amendment as “Made in Order” on July 20; two days later it was on the House bill. Earlier coverage →
Congressional researcher Douglas Dean Johnson has noted that no UAP disclosure amendment had previously received a stand-alone roll-call vote on either chamber’s floor. Whether today’s adoption was recorded as a separate vote or moved inside a larger package, the practical result is the same for conference: House text now includes a full disclosure framework.
Senate Path Still Open
The House win is not the finish line.
Senators Chuck Schumer and Mike Rounds have reintroduced an updated UAP Disclosure Act as a Senate NDAA amendment. Their text and Burlison’s will have to be reconciled – or one version will win – in conference. Senate Armed Services work on the FY2027 bill has been tangled in broader spending disputes, so timing remains uncertain.
Must-pass defense bills are where UAP language has historically survived or died. The 2023–2024 Schumer–Rounds effort cleared the Senate and then was gutted in conference. Disclosure advocates will watch whether Miller-era White House pressure changes that endgame.
How It Fits the White House Stack
July’s executive and legislative tracks are converging:
- PURSUE – rolling public release of unresolved files
- NDA waiver – Fox News reports Trump directed DoW and the IC to abrogate NDAs for former employees and contractors briefing AARO or PURSUE
- UAP Governance Board / Science Advisory Council – interagency coordination and outside scientific review
- Burlison House amendment – statutory review board with subpoena-linked collection powers and eminent-domain authority over alleged private holdings
On July 21, Liberation Times reported that multiple sources believe a presidential speech confirming that some UFOs are of non-human origin has been prepared for Trump – while stressing that a draft is not a delivery date. Editor Christopher Sharp framed the moment as machinery assembling across the White House, agencies, and Congress, not as an imminent Oval Office announcement. A House-passed disclosure framework is exactly the legislative leg of that picture.
What to Watch Next
- Does Senate conference keep a review board with real collection authority, or strip it to reporting requirements?
- Does eminent-domain language for technologies of unknown origin and biologics survive contractor pushback?
- Do waived-NDA briefings at AARO/PURSUE produce declassified product that matches what a review board would eventually force into the open?
For now, the House has done what it refused to do for years: put a UAP Disclosure Act–style framework onto its defense bill. The Senate and the conference room decide whether that framework becomes statute – or another near miss.
Sources
- Rep. Eric Burlison on X – House adopts amendment (July 22, 2026)
- Disclosure Foundation / Disclosure Party on X – H.R. 8800 216–212 (July 22, 2026)
- Liberation Times – prepared Trump disclosure speech (July 21, 2026)
- Unknown Country – Rules clears revised Burlison amendment (July 21, 2026)
- UFOUAP – Burlison base tours and oversight
- UFOUAP – Trump NDA waiver for AARO/PURSUE
- Congress.gov – H.R. 8800 FY2027 NDAA
