Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., are spearheading a bipartisan proposal to increase the budget for a Senate office for unidentified aerial phenomena.
A total of 16 senators signed a letter to push for robust funding of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office in the fiscal year 2023 budget under the National Defense Authorization Act, according to a statement released Thursday by Gillibrand’s office.
AARO was created last year in an aim to report and resolve UAP sightings and potential threats through data from the Department of Defense and the intelligence community.
The letter sent to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Stacey Dixon, principal deputy director of national intelligence, cites a funding shortfall for AARO for fiscal year 2023. The senators also appealed to Hicks and Dixon, both recipients of the Wash100 Award, to cooperate with Congress in ensuring proper funding for the office in FY 2024 and 2025.
Gillibrand and Rubio led the establishment of AARO after their UAP legislation was amended in the FY 2022 NDAA. Gillibrand serves as chair of the Senate Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, and is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, for which Rubio is vice chairman.
