(NewsNation) — A bipartisan effort on transparency around UFOs, also known as unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAPs), is facing some pushback in Congress.
Sen. Chuck Schumer is one of the sponsors of a Senate measure that would require all classified government records dealing with UFOs and "nonhuman intelligence" be made public.
Interest in UFOs surged after whistleblower David Grusch said the Pentagon is operating a secret UFO retrieval program that even Congress doesn't know about. The revelations sparked a congressional hearing on the subject where whistleblowers said under oath that some government agencies have possession of crashed UAPs and that some are being kept with private contractors like Lockheed Martin.
If those allegations are true, the amendment also specifies that aircraft and any other recovered technology or biological evidence of nonhuman intelligence would become government property.
The measure goes further than any in history when it comes to explicitly making information on UFOs public. It's attached to the large annual defense bill, which lawmakers from the House and Senate have been meeting to hash out.
Multiple lawmakers told NewsNation there's an effort to weaken the language in the bill. Supporters are fighting to keep it as written today, while opponents are working to change it.
NewsNation caught up with the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith, who says the UFO bill is not his main priority. He explained where negotiations stand.
"The people who support the House language are not happy with the Schumer language," he said. "But it's being worked out."
NewsNation's Joe Khalil also spoke with Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Mike Rounds of South Dakota, both of whom worked on the amendment.
"Some of the language suggested by the House would really have created loopholes, which would have been unwise," Gillibrand said.
Rounds said the Senate measure also ensures there are still ways to protect items of national security and avoid giving away sensitive areas of research to adversaries. He noted the bill isn't a sign lawmakers distrust the Department of Defense, and other agencies may also have information.
"Those items aren't subject to DoD review or scrutiny. We just thought, look, it's time we actually do a comprehensive look at this and have a location where, year after year, the information could be compiled," he said.
They think the Senate version with stronger language will win out, but things are still being finalized. If the amendment is watered down, there will be major disappointment from those pushing for more UAP transparency.