Gallagher amendment would protect UAP/UFO military /government contractors whistleblowers from losing security clearances

AMENDMENT TO RULES COMMITTEE PRINT 117–54OFFERED BY MR. GALLAGHER OF WISCONSINAt the end of subtitle E of title XVI, add the following new section: 1 SEC. 16ll. UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENA REPORT ING PROCEDURES. 

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION FOR REPORTING.—Notwith4 standing the terms of any written or oral nondisclosure 5 agreement, order, or other instrumentality or means, that 6 could be interpreted as a legal constraint on reporting by 7 a witness of an unidentified aerial phenomena, reporting 8 in accordance with the system established under sub9 section (b) is hereby authorized and shall be deemed to 10 comply with any regulation or order issued under the authority of Executive Order 13526 (50 U.S.C. 3161 note; 12 relating to classified national security information) or 13 chapter 18 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 14 2271 et seq.). 

15 (b) SYSTEM FOR REPORTING.— 16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The head of the Office, 17 on behalf of the Secretary of Defense and the DirecVerDate Nov 24 2008 10:01 Jul 01, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 

C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\GALLWI_1 July 1, 2022 (10:01 a.m.) G:\M\17\GALLWI\GALLWI_166.XML g:\VHLD\070122\D070122.024.xml (846812|2) 2 1 tor of National Intelligence, shall establish a secure system for receiving reports of— 3 

(A) any event relating to unidentified aerial phenomena; and 5 (B) any Government or Government con6 tractor activity or program related to unidentified aerial phenomena. 8 (2) PROTECTION OF SYSTEMS, PROGRAMS, AND 9 ACTIVITY.—The system established pursuant to 10 paragraph (1) shall serve as a mechanism to prevent 11 unauthorized public reporting or compromise of 12 properly classified military and intelligence systems, 13 programs, and related activity, including all categories and levels of special access and compartmented access programs, current, historical, and future. 17 (3) ADMINISTRATION.—The system established 18 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be administered by 19 designated and widely known, easily accessible, and 20 appropriately cleared Department of Defense and intelligence community employees or contractors assigned to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task 23 Force or the Office. 24 (4) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—

The system 25 established under paragraph (1) shall provide for the VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:01 Jul 01, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 

C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\GALLWI_1 July 1, 2022 (10:01 a.m.) G:\M\17\GALLWI\GALLWI_166.XML g:\VHLD\070122\D070122.024.xml (846812|2) 3 1 immediate sharing with Office personnel and sup2 porting analysts and scientists of information pre3 viscously prohibited from reporting under any non4 disclosure written or oral agreement, order, or other 5 instrumentality or means, except in cases where the 6 cleared Government personnel administering such 7 system conclude that the preponderance of information available regarding the reporting indicates that 9 the observed object and associated events and activi10 ties likely relate to a special access program or compartmented access program that, as of the date of 12 the reporting, has been explicitly and clearly re13 ported to the congressional defense committees and 14 congressional intelligence committees, and is documented as meeting those criteria. 16 (5) INITIAL REPORT AND PUBLICATION.—Not 17 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 18 of this Act, the head of the Office, on behalf of the 19 Secretary and the Director, shall— 20 (A) submit to the congressional intelligence 21 committees, the congressional defense commit22 tees, and congressional leadership a report de23 tailing the system established under paragraph 24 (1); and VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:01 Jul 01, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 

C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\GALLWI_1 July 1, 2022 (10:01 a.m.) G:\M\17\GALLWI\GALLWI_166.XML g:\VHLD\070122\D070122.024.xml (846812|2) 4 1 (B) make available to the public on a 2 website of the Department of Defense informa3 tion about such system, including clear public 4 guidance for accessing and using such system 5 and providing feedback about the expected 6 timeline to process a report. 7 (6) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 1683 of the 8 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 9 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373) is amended— 10 (A) in subsection (h)— 11 (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting 12 ‘‘and congressional leadership’’ after ‘‘ap13 propriate congressional committees’’; and 14 (ii) in paragraph (2), by adding at the 15 end the following new subparagraph: 16 ‘‘(Q) A summary of the reports received 17 using the system established under title XVI of 18 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fis19 cal Year 2023.’’; and 20 (B) in subsection (l)— 21 (i) by re-designating paragraphs (2) 22 through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), 23 respectively; and 24 (ii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 25 the following new paragraph (2): VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:01 Jul 01, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 

C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\GALLWI_1 July 1, 2022 (10:01 a.m.) G:\M\17\GALLWI\GALLWI_166.XML g:\VHLD\070122\D070122.024.xml (846812|2) 5 1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘congressional leadership’ 2 means— 3 ‘‘(A) the majority leader of the Senate; 4 ‘‘(B) the minority leader of the Senate; 5 ‘‘(C) the Speaker of the House of Rep6 representatives; and 7 ‘‘(D) the minority leader of the House of 8 Representatives.’’. 9 (c) RECORDS OF NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS.— 

10 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF NONDISCLOSURE 11 AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of 13 Homeland Security, the heads of such other departments and agencies of the Federal Government that 15 have supported investigations of the types of events 16 covered by subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) 17 and activities and programs described subparagraph 18 (B) of such subsection, and contractors of the Federal Government supporting such activities and pro20 grams shall conduct comprehensive searches of all 21 records relating to nondisclosure orders or agreements or other obligations relating to the types of 23 events described in subsection (a) and provide copies 24 of all Relevant documents to the Office. VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:01 Jul 01, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 

C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\GALLWI_1 July 1, 2022 (10:01 a.m.) G:\M\17\GALLWI\GALLWI_166.XML g:\VHLD\070122\D070122.024.xml (846812|2) 6 1 (2) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The head of the Office shall— 3 (A) make the records compiled under paragraph (1) accessible to the congressional intelligence committees, the congressional defense 6 committees, and congressional leadership; and 7 (B) not later than September 30, 2023, 8 and at least once each fiscal year thereafter 9 through fiscal year 2026, provide to such committees and congressional leadership briefings 11 and reports on such records. 

12 (d) PROTECTION FROM LIABILITY AND PRIVATE 13 RIGHT OF ACTION.— 14 (1) PROTECTION FROM LIABILITY.—It shall not 15 be a violation of section 798 of title 18, United 16 States Code, or any other provision of law, and no 17 cause of action shall lie or be maintained in any 18 court or other tribunal against any person, for re19 porting any information through, and in compliance 20 with, the system established pursuant to subsection 21 (b)(1). 22 (2) PROHIBITION ON REPRISALS.—An employee 23 of a Federal agency and an employee of a contractor 24 for the Federal Government who has authority to 25 take, direct others to take, recommend, or approve VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:01 Jul 01, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 

C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\GALLWI_1 July 1, 2022 (10:01 a.m.) G:\M\17\GALLWI\GALLWI_166.XML g:\VHLD\070122\D070122.024.xml (846812|2) 7 1 any personnel action, shall not, with respect to such 2 authority, take or fail to take, or threaten to take 3 or fail to take, a personnel action, including the revocation or suspension of security clearances, with respect to any individual as a reprisal for any reporting as described in paragraph (1). 7 

(3) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—In a case in 8 which an employee described in paragraph (2) takes 9 a personnel action against an individual in violation 10 of such paragraph, the individual may bring a private civil action for all appropriate remedies, including injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive 13 damages, against the Government or other employer 14 who took the personnel action, in the United States 15 Court of Federal Claims. 16 (e) REVIEW BY INSPECTORS GENERAL.—Not later 17 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 18 the Inspector General of the Department of Defense and 19 the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community shall 20 each— 21 

(1) conduct an assessment of the compliance 22 with the requirements of this section and the operation and efficacy of the system established under 24 subsection (b); and VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:01 Jul 01, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\GALLWI_1 July 1, 2022 (10:01 a.m.) G:\M\17\GALLWI\GALLWI_166.XML g:\VHLD\070122\D070122.024.xml (846812|2) 8 1 (2) submit to the congressional intelligence 2 committees, the congressional defense committees, 3 and congressional leadership a report on their respective findings with respect to the assessments 5 they conducted under paragraph (1). 6 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) The term ‘‘congressional intelligence committees’’ has the meaning given such term in section 9 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 10 3003). 11 (2) The term ‘‘congressional leadership’’ 12 means— 13 (A) the majority leader of the Senate; 14 (B) the minority leader of the Senate; 15 (C) the Speaker of the House of Rep16 representatives; and 17 (D) the minority leader of the House of 18 Representatives. 19 (3) The term ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the 20 meaning given such term in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003). 22 (4) The term ‘‘Office’’ means the office established under section 1683(a) of the National Defense 24 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 25 3373(a)). VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:01 Jul 01, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 

C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\GALLWI_1 July 1, 2022 (10:01 a.m.) G:\M\17\GALLWI\GALLWI_166.XML g:\VHLD\070122\D070122.024.xml (846812|2) 9 1 (5) The term ‘‘personnel action’’ has the meaning given such term in section 1104(a) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3234(a)). 4 (6) The term ‘‘unidentified aerial phenomena’’ 5 has the meaning given such term in section 1683(l) 6 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 7 Year 2022\

 (50 U.S.C. 3373(l)). ◊ VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:01 Jul 01, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 C:\USERS\AJSCIASCIA\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\GALLWI_1 July 1, 2022 (10:01 a.m.) G:\M\17\GALLWI\GALLWI_166.XML g:\VHLD\070122\D070122.024.xml (846812|2)

LINK TO DOC

Russian troops give up snake Island

THE GUARDIAN: 

Ukrainian forces have pushed Russian forces from Snake Island, a strategic Black Sea island off the southern coast near the city of Odesa.

Russia portrayed the pullout from Snake Island off the port city of Odesa as a “goodwill gesture”. Ukraine’s military said the Russians fled the island in two speedboats after a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes.


Ukraine’s win will weaken any plans Russia may have for a future land attack on that stretch of coastline, Ukrainian officials say.

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, said Ukrainian-made Bohdana howitzers had played an important role in routing Russian forces from Snake Island, and he thanked foreign partners for their support.

“KABOOM!” Tweeted Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration. “No more Russian troops on Snake Island.”

Russia’s ministry of defence stated that it had completed its assigned tasks and was tactically withdrawing to allow for grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.“In order to organise humanitarian grain corridors as part of the implementation of joint agreements reached with the participation of the UN, the Russian Federation decided to leave its positions on Zmiinyi Island,” the defence ministry said.

Yermak described Russia’s claim of goodwill as a lie.

Ukrainian forces also reported a small win in the country’s southern Kherson region, which has been occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the invasion. Ukrainian forces now control the Kherson village of Potomkine, according to Ukraine’s military.

But Russia continues to carry out attacks in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, having secured almost all of Luhansk region this month, to fulfil its goal of securing the entire Donbas region. Six people were injured in an attack on the city of Slovyansk, according to its mayor, Vadym Lyakh.

Ukraine said it had forced Russian troops to flee overnight on two speed boats. The statement, by Ukraine’s southern command, said explosions could still be heard and the island was covered in smoke, appearing to indicate a battles may be continuing.

Snake Island was made famous when Russia first captured it in February. A Ukrainian soldier posted on the island told an attacking Russian warship to “go fuck yourself”, which has become one of the most popular Ukrainian slogans of resistance since the invasion.

The Ukrainian postal service issued a stamp showing a Ukrainian soldier giving the finger to the Russian cruiser Moskva.

The blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports by Russia has caused grain prices to soar, threatening famine in several countries.

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said in May that the island was critically important to both Russia and Ukraine. He said whoever controlled Snake Island controlled the land – and to some extent air – security of southern Ukraine. He said at the time that Ukraine believed Russia could use the island to launch an invasion of western Ukraine and send troops into Moldova’s Transnistria region, where Moscow already has troops stationed.

An adviser to Ukraine’s interior ministry, Vadym Denysenko, told Ukrainian TV that Snake Island’s recapture was a “huge victory” for Ukraine.

He said that after Ukraine destroyed Russia’s Mosvka warship, the Russians wanted to turn Snake Island into a anti-aircraft defense hub. He said they planned to then use the island to control the entire western part of the Black Sea and launch a land invasion, he said.

“Now the Russians cannot do anything in this area of the sea, except, unfortunately, shell Ukrainian cities with missiles from their ships,” Denysenko said.

Ukraine’s armed forces have reported carrying out several attacks on the island since it was captured. On 2 May the army released a video of strikes carried on two Russian patrol boats near Snake Island.

Attacks increased on the island in the last two weeks. A spokesperson for Ukrainian’s southern command said on Monday that there was “ongoing operation” to liberate the island but it was likely to go on for a long time. The southern command also released a video showing 10 strikes on the island, one of which allegedly shows the destruction of a Russian Pantsir-S1 air defence system.


The previous week, on 17 June, Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian tugboat that they said was carrying ammunition, weapons and personnel to the island. On 20 June Ukraine targeted gas platforms near Snake Island that Russia had reportedly been using. The explosion was so loud that people in Vylkove, the nearest Ukrainian land settlement, could hear it, according to residents interviewed by the Economist.

On 22 June Ukraine published a satellite image of the island. It said black dots represented places where it had successfully attacked Russian positions.

Russia appears to have responded by firing missiles into the Odesa region. Ukraine said six people were injured in the attack, including a child.


READ MORE HERE 

Nuclear scientist trapped in Ukraine rescued by US based project DYNAMO

TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa-based nonprofit has successfully rescued and exfiltrated an American nuclear scientist from Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine.

According to Project DYNAMO, Texas native John Spor was driven nearly 20 hours straight across Ukraine before crossing into Poland and reuniting with his family.

He reunited with his sister, Laurie, and his son, Sean, around 2 p.m. local time.


Project DYNAMO says Spor, who founded Texas Photonics Inc., has been hunted by Russian forces for months.


Spor was in Mariupol when Russia attacked in February. He's been in hiding ever since.


"Think of it like you’re being hunted because that’s kind of it felt. I couldn’t make a mistake" Spor said.


He is credited with designing "sensitive technology found in dozens of laser-guided weapons systems used by the U.S. military," a spokesperson for Project DYNAMO explained.


"It changes things, because most people that get captured by the Russians are nobody’s that they think are somebody’s. John’s actually somebody," co-founder of Project DYNAMO Bryan Stern said.


The organization says the Russians consider Spor a "high-value target" and that Chechen-Russian forces have ransacked his home and tried to find him in recent months.


"I had pretty well assumed that there was not a way to get out," Spor said. "I was skeptical that they was going to be able to get me out because of where I was I was way behind the Russian lines."


"Spor’s knowledge of sensitive U.S. military technology is of tremendous intelligence value to Russia," Project DYNAMO wrote in an email. "If he was captured and interrogated, his knowledge would cause exceptionally grave damage to U.S. national security and NATO forces."


Spor's sister Laurie asked lawmakers and the U.S. State Department for help rescuing Spor.


"There was no way for him to travel alone," she explained.


The State Department, in turn, recommended Project DYNAMO. The nonprofit has made headlines repeatedly in recent months. Project DYNAMO is veteran-run and donor-funded. It works to exfiltrate people from dangerous places around the world.


The mission to rescue Spor included more than a month of planning.

"On Tuesday, the team from Project DYNAMO led by Bryan Stern, co-founder of Project DYNAMO and a highly decorated U.S. military officer, moved Spor through Russian territory, crossing more than 30 Russian checkpoints and into Ukraine," the nonprofit said. "Stern employed a series of complex tactics and techniques, honed over many years of government service, to mask Spor, his location, and his movement from the clutches of Russian security services."


“Project DYNAMO has been with our family every step of the way through this nightmare. DYNAMO has been the answer to our family’s prayers,” Lauri Weigle, Spor’s sister, told Project DYNAMO. “We are in amazement that he is finally on his way to us and safe after months of hoping and praying.”


“I’m so grateful for Project DYNAMO and the support they have provided to me and my family during this time,” Sean told the nonprofit.


Project DYNAMO says it has now rescued more than 2,000 people from Ukraine. Anyone needing help is asked to register with the State Department's STEP program and then with Project DYNAMO here.

NASA team to study UAPs

 

NASA is commissioning a study team to start early in the fall to examine unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) – that is, observations of events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena – from a scientific perspective. The study will focus on identifying available data, how best to collect future data, and how NASA can use that data to move the scientific understanding of UAPs forward.

The limited number of observations of UAPs currently makes it difficult to draw scientific conclusions about the nature of such events. Unidentified phenomena in the atmosphere are of interest for both national security and air safety. Establishing which events are natural provides a key first step to identifying or mitigating such phenomena, which aligns with one of NASA’s goals to ensure the safety of aircraft. There is no evidence UAPs are extra-terrestrial in origin.

“NASA believes that the tools of scientific discovery are powerful and apply here also,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We have access to a broad range of observations of Earth from space – and that is the lifeblood of scientific inquiry. We have the tools and team who can help us improve our understanding of the unknown. That’s the very definition of what science is. That’s what we do.”

The agency is not part of the Department of Defense’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force or its successor, the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group. NASA has, however, coordinated widely across the government regarding how to apply the tools of science to shed light on the nature and origin of unidentified aerial phenomena.

The agency’s independent study team will be led by astrophysicist David Spergel, who is president of the Simons Foundation in New York City, and previously the chair of the astrophysics department at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. Daniel Evans, the assistant deputy associate administrator for research at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, will serve as the NASA official responsible for orchestrating the study.

“Given the paucity of observations, our first task is simply to gather the most robust set of data that we can,” said Spergel. “We will be identifying what data – from civilians, government, non-profits, companies – exists, what else we should try to collect, and how to best analyze it.”

The study is expected to take about nine months to complete. It will secure the counsel of experts in the scientific, aeronautics, and data analytics communities to focus on how best to collect new data and improve observations of UAPs.

“Consistent with NASA’s principles of openness, transparency, and scientific integrity, this report will be shared publicly,” said Evans. “All of NASA’s data is available to the public – we take that obligation seriously – and we make it easily accessible for anyone to see or study.”

Although unrelated to this new study, NASA has an active astrobiology program that focuses on the origins, evolution, and distribution of life beyond Earth. From studying water on Mars to probing promising “oceans worlds,” such as Titan and Europa, NASA’s science missions are working together with a goal to find signs of life beyond Earth.

Furthermore, the agency’s search for life also includes using missions such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and Hubble Space Telescope, to search for habitable exoplanets, while the James Webb Space Telescope will try to spot biosignatures in atmospheres around other planets – spotting oxygen and carbon dioxide in other atmospheres, for example, could suggest that an exoplanet supports plants and animals like ours does. NASA also funds space-based research that focuses on technosignatures – that is signatures of advanced technology in outer space -- from other planets.

Learn more about NASA’s astrobiology program online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/astrobiology/

U.S. SPEC OPS OPERATION CAPTURES SENIOR ISIS LEADER

US forces captured a senior ISIS leader who is known as a bomb maker during an operation in Syria on Thursday.

Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led coalition against The Islamic State, said no civilians were harmed in the operation and there were no damages incurred to coalition aircraft or assets.

“The mission was meticulously planned to minimize the risk of collateral damage, particularly any potential harm to civilians,” the coalition said in a statement.

The identity of the ISIS leader, described as “one of the group’s top leaders in Syria,” has not been released. Additional details on the operation were not immediately available.

“Coalition forces will continue to hunt the remnants of Daesh wherever they hide to ensure their enduring defeat,” Operation Inherent Resolve said.

In February, ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi blew himself up, killing his wife and two kids as US special forces swooped into the Syrian village of Atmeh.

U.S. defense official said there were no injuries to U.S. military personnel and no damage to aircraft involved in the raid.


"Coalition forces detained a senior Daesh leader during an operation in Syria June 16," Operation Inherent Resolve said in a statement. "The detained individual was assessed to be an experienced bomb maker and facilitator who became one of the group's top leaders in Syria."

A U.S. official told ABC News the name of the ISIS leader captured in the raid is Hani Ahmed al-Kurdi and described him as actively planning ISIS operations.

“Though degraded, ISIS remains a threat. We remain dedicated to its defeat. Last night’s operation, which took a senior ISIS operator off the battlefield, demonstrates our commitment to the security of the Middle East and to the enduring defeat of ISIS,” said Gen. Erik Kurilla, the commander of U.S. Central Command, in a statement. 

Video posts on twitter showed black hawk helicopters flying low over Syrian city last night, possibly flown by 160th SOAR  pilots made famous by the Bin Laden raid. LINK: 

click to enlarge