50 U.S.C. § 3373 — Establishment of All-domain Anomaly

Page 862 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3373 (2) there is a significant difference between domestic prices in the People’s Republic of China as compared to prices on international markets; or (3) there is a significant increase or vola- tility in price as a result of the Belt and Road Initiative of the People’s Republic of China. (c) Critical mineral evaluation For any mineral included on the list required by subsection (b) that is not already designated as critical by the Secretary of the Interior pur- suant to section 1606(c) of title 30, the Director shall— (1) determine, in consultation with the Sec- retary of the Interior, the Secretary of En- ergy, the Secretary of Commerce, the Sec- retary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the United States Trade Representative, whether the mineral is strategic and critical to the defense or national security of the United States; and (2) make a recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior regarding the designation of the mineral under section 1606(c) of title 30. (d) Annual updates The Director shall update the report required by subsection (a) and list required by subsection (b) not less frequently than annually. (e) Form Each report or list required by this section shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex. (f) Appropriate congressional committees de- fined In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres- sional committees’’ means— (1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on Foreign Rela- tions, the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on Appro- priations of the Senate; and (2) the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Com- mittee on Armed Services, the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on Homeland Security, and the Committee on Appropria- tions of the House of Representatives. (Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title VII, § 7003, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2577.) § 3373. Establishment of All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (a) Establishment of Office (1) In general Not later than 120 days after December 23, 2022, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, shall establish an office within a component of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, or with- in a joint organization of the Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of Na- tional Intelligence, to carry out the duties of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, as in effect on December 26, 2021, and such other duties as are required by this sec- tion, including those pertaining to unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena. (2) Designation The office established under paragraph (1) shall be known as the ‘‘All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Office’’). (b) Director and Deputy Director of the Office (1) Appointment of Director The head of the Office shall be the Director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Director of the Office’’), who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence. (2) Appointment of Deputy Director The Deputy Director of the Office shall be appointed by the Director of National Intel- ligence in coordination with the Secretary of Defense. (3) Reporting (A) In general The Director of the Office shall report di- rectly to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Principal Deputy Director of Na- tional Intelligence. (B) Administrative and operational and secu- rity matters The Director of the Office shall report— (i) to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security on all adminis- trative matters of the Office; and (ii) to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Principal Deputy Director of Na- tional Intelligence on all operational and security matters of the Office. (c) Duties The duties of the Office shall include the fol- lowing: (1) Developing procedures to synchronize and standardize the collection, reporting, and analysis of incidents, including adverse phys- iological effects, regarding unidentified anom- alous phenomena across the Department of Defense and the intelligence community, in coordination with the Director of National In- telligence, which shall be provided to the con- gressional defense committees, the congres- sional intelligence committees, and congres- sional leadership. (2) Developing processes and procedures to ensure that such incidents from each compo- nent of the Department and each element of the intelligence community are reported and stored in an appropriate manner that allows for the integration of analysis of such infor- mation. (3) Establishing procedures to require the timely and consistent reporting of such inci- dents. (4) Evaluating links between unidentified anomalous phenomena and adversarial foreign governments, other foreign governments, or nonstate actors. (5) Evaluating the threat that such incidents present to the United States. Page 863 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3373 (6) Coordinating with other departments and agencies of the Federal Government, as appro- priate, including the Federal Aviation Admin- istration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Oceanic and Atmos- pheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy. (7) As appropriate, and in coordination with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of De- fense, and the Director of National Intel- ligence, consulting with allies and partners of the United States to better assess the nature and extent of unidentified anomalous phe- nomena. (8) Preparing reports for Congress, in both classified and unclassified form, including under subsection (j). (d) Response to and field investigations of un- identified anomalous phenomena (1) Designation The Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence shall jointly designate from within their respective organizations an official, to be under the direction of the Direc- tor of the Office, responsible for ensuring the appropriate expertise, authorities, accesses, data, systems, platforms, and capabilities are available for the rapid response to, and sup- port for, the conduct of field investigations of incidents involving unidentified anomalous phenomena. (2) Ability to respond The Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence shall ensure field inves- tigations are supported by personnel with the requisite expertise, equipment, transpor- tation, and other resources necessary to re- spond rapidly to incidents or patterns of obser- vations involving unidentified anomalous phe- nomena. (e) Scientific, technological, and operational analyses of data on unidentified anomalous phenomena (1) Designation The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, shall designate one or more line organizations that will be primarily responsible for sci- entific, technical, and operational analysis of data gathered by field investigations con- ducted pursuant to subsection (d) and data from other sources, including with respect to the testing of materials, medical studies, and development of theoretical models, to better understand and explain unidentified anoma- lous phenomena. (2) Authority The Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence shall each issue such di- rectives as are necessary to ensure that each line organization designated under paragraph (1) has authority to draw on the special exper- tise of persons outside the Federal Govern- ment with appropriate security clearances. (f) Data; intelligence collection (1) Availability of data and reporting on un- identified anomalous phenomena (A) Availability of data The Director of National Intelligence, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall ensure that each element of the intel- ligence community with data relating to un- identified anomalous phenomena makes such data available immediately to the Of- fice. (B) Reporting The Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense shall each, in co- ordination with one another, ensure that military and civilian personnel of the De- partment of Defense or an element of the in- telligence community, and contractor per- sonnel of the Department or such an ele- ment, have access to procedures by which the personnel shall report incidents or infor- mation, including adverse physiological ef- fects, involving or associated with unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena directly to the Office. (2) Intelligence collection and analysis plan The Director of the Office, acting in coordi- nation with the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence, shall super- vise the development and execution of an in- telligence collection and analysis plan to gain as much knowledge as possible regarding the technical and operational characteristics, ori- gins, and intentions of unidentified anomalous phenomena, including with respect to the de- velopment, acquisition, deployment, and oper- ation of technical collection capabilities nec- essary to detect, identify, and scientifically characterize unidentified anomalous phe- nomena. (3) Use of resources and capabilities In developing the plan under paragraph (2), the Director of the Office shall consider and propose, as appropriate, the use of any re- source, capability, asset, or process of the De- partment and the intelligence community. (g) Science plan The Director of the Office, on behalf of the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Na- tional Intelligence, shall supervise the develop- ment and execution of a science plan to develop and test, as practicable, scientific theories to— (1) account for characteristics and perform- ance of unidentified anomalous phenomena that exceed the known state of the art in science or technology, including in the areas of propulsion, aerodynamic control, signa- tures, structures, materials, sensors, counter- measures, weapons, electronics, and power generation; and (2) provide the foundation for potential fu- ture investments to replicate or otherwise bet- ter understand any such advanced characteris- tics and performance. (h) Assignment of priority The Director of National Intelligence, in con- sultation with and with the recommendation of Page 864 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3373 the Secretary of Defense, shall assign an appro- priate level of priority within the National In- telligence Priorities Framework to the require- ment to understand, characterize, and respond to unidentified anomalous phenomena. (i) Detailees from elements of the intelligence community The heads of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Department of Energy, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the in- telligence elements of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security, and such other elements of the intelligence com- munity as the Director of the Office considers appropriate may provide to the Office a detailee of the element to be physically located at the Office. (j) Historical record report (1) Report required (A) In general Not later than 540 days after December 23, 2022, the Director of the Office shall submit to the congressional defense committees, the congressional intelligence committees, and congressional leadership a written report de- tailing the historical record of the United States Government relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena, including— (i) the records and documents of the in- telligence community; (ii) oral history interviews; (iii) open source analysis; (iv) interviews of current and former Government officials; (v) classified and unclassified national archives including any records any third party obtained pursuant to section 552 of title 5; and (vi) such other relevant historical sources as the Director of the Office con- siders appropriate. (B) Other requirements The report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall— (i) focus on the period beginning on Jan- uary 1, 1945, and ending on the date on which the Director of the Office completes activities under this subsection; and (ii) include a compilation and itemization of the key historical record of the involvement of the intelligence com- munity with unidentified anomalous phe- nomena, including— (I) any program or activity that was protected by restricted access that has not been explicitly and clearly reported to Congress; (II) successful or unsuccessful efforts to identify and track unidentified anom- alous phenomena; and (III) any efforts to obfuscate, manipu- late public opinion, hide, or otherwise provide incorrect unclassified or classi- fied information about unidentified anomalous phenomena or related activi- ties. (2) Access to records of the National Archives and Records Administration The Archivist of the United States shall make available to the Office such information maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration, including classified information, as the Director of the Office con- siders necessary to carry out paragraph (1). (k) Annual reports (1) Reports from All-domain Anomaly Resolu- tion Office (A) Requirement Not later than 180 days after December 23, 2022, and annually thereafter for four years, the Director of the Office shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re- port on unidentified anomalous phenomena. (B) Elements Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall include, with respect to the year covered by the report, the following infor- mation: (i) All reported unidentified anomalous phenomena-related events that occurred during the one-year period. (ii) All reported unidentified anomalous phenomena-related events that occurred during a period other than that one-year period but were not included in an earlier report. (iii) An analysis of data and intelligence received through each reported unidenti- fied anomalous phenomena-related event. (iv) An analysis of data relating to un- identified anomalous phenomena collected through— (I) geospatial intelligence; (II) signals intelligence; (III) human intelligence; and (IV) measurement and signature intel- ligence. (v) The number of reported incidents of unidentified anomalous phenomena over restricted airspace of the United States during the one-year period. (vi) An analysis of such incidents identi- fied under clause (v). (vii) Identification of potential aerospace or other threats posed by unidentified anomalous phenomena to the national se- curity of the United States. (viii) An assessment of any activity re- garding unidentified anomalous phe- nomena that can be attributed to one or more adversarial foreign governments. (ix) Identification of any incidents or patterns regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena that indicate a potential ad- versarial foreign government may have achieved a breakthrough aerospace capa- bility. (x) An update on the coordination by the United States with allies and partners on efforts to track, understand, and address unidentified anomalous phenomena. (xi) An update on any efforts underway on the ability to capture or exploit discov- ered unidentified anomalous phenomena. Page 865 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3373 (xii) An assessment of any health-related effects for individuals that have encoun- tered unidentified anomalous phenomena. (xiii) The number of reported incidents, and descriptions thereof, of unidentified anomalous phenomena associated with military nuclear assets, including stra- tegic nuclear weapons and nuclear-pow- ered ships and submarines. (xiv) In consultation with the Adminis- trator for Nuclear Security, the number of reported incidents, and descriptions there- of, of unidentified anomalous phenomena associated with facilities or assets associ- ated with the production, transportation, or storage of nuclear weapons or compo- nents thereof. (xv) In consultation with the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the number of reported incidents, and de- scriptions thereof, of unidentified anoma- lous phenomena or drones of unknown ori- gin associated with nuclear power gener- ating stations, nuclear fuel storage sites, or other sites or facilities regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (xvi) The names of the line organizations that have been designated to perform the specific functions under subsections (d) and (e), and the specific functions for which each such line organization has been assigned primary responsibility. (xvii) A summary of the reports received using the mechanism for authorized re- porting established under section 3373b of this title. (2) Form Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. (l) Semiannual briefings (1) Requirement Not later than December 31, 2022, and not less frequently than semiannually thereafter until December 31, 2026, the Director of the Of- fice shall provide to the appropriate congres- sional committees classified briefings on un- identified anomalous phenomena. (2) First briefing The first briefing provided under paragraph (1) shall include all incidents involving un- identified anomalous phenomena that were re- ported to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force or to the Office established under subsection (a) after June 24, 2021, regardless of the date of occurrence of the incident. (3) Subsequent briefings Each briefing provided subsequent to the first briefing described in paragraph (2) shall include, at a minimum, all events relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena that oc- curred during the previous 180 days, and events relating to unidentified anomalous phe- nomena that were not included in an earlier briefing. (4) Instances in which data was not shared For each briefing period, the Director of the Office shall jointly provide to the chairman or chair and the ranking member or vice chair- man of the congressional committees specified in subparagraphs (A) and (D) of subsection (n)(1) an enumeration of any instances in which data relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena was not provided to the Office be- cause of classification restrictions on that data or for any other reason. (m) Task Force termination Not later than the date on which the Sec- retary of Defense establishes the Office under subsection (a), the Secretary shall terminate the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. (n) Definitions In this section: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- mittees’’ means the following: (A) The Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representa- tives. (B) The Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representa- tives. (C) The Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. (D) The Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives. (E) The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives. (F) The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- nology of the House of Representatives. (2) Congressional defense committees The term ‘‘congressional defense commit- tees’’ has the meaning given such term in sec- tion 101(a) of title 10. (3) Congressional intelligence committees The term ‘‘congressional intelligence com- mittees’’ has the meaning given such term in section 3003 of this title. (4) Congressional leadership The term ‘‘congressional leadership’’ means— (A) the majority leader of the Senate; (B) the minority leader of the Senate; (C) the Speaker of the House of Represent- atives; and (D) the minority leader of the House of Representatives. (5) Intelligence community The term ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given such term in section 3003 of this title. (6) Line organization The term ‘‘line organization’’ means, with respect to a department or agency of the Fed- eral Government, an organization that exe- cutes programs and activities to directly ad- vance the core functions and missions of the Page 866 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3373 department or agency to which the organiza- tion is subordinate, but, with respect to the Department of Defense, does not include a component of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. (7) Transmedium objects or devices The term ‘‘transmedium objects or devices’’ means objects or devices that are— (A) observed to transition between space and the atmosphere, or between the atmos- phere and bodies of water; and (B) not immediately identifiable. (8) Unidentified anomalous phenomena The term ‘‘unidentified anomalous phe- nomena’’ means— (A) airborne objects that are not imme- diately identifiable; (B) transmedium objects or devices; and (C) submerged objects or devices that are not immediately identifiable and that dis- play behavior or performance characteristics suggesting that the objects or devices may be related to the objects described in sub- paragraph (A). (Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title XVI, § 1683, Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2118; Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title XVI, § 1673(c), div. F, title LXVIII, § 6802(a), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2961, 3586; Pub. L. 118–31, div. G, title III, § 7341, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 1062.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2023—Subsec. (k)(1). Pub. L. 118–31, § 7341(1), sub- stituted ‘‘All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office’’ for ‘‘Director of National Intelligence and Secretary of De- fense’’ in heading. Subsec. (k)(1)(A). Pub. L. 118–31, § 7341(2), substituted ‘‘Director of the Office shall’’ for ‘‘Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense shall joint- ly’’. 2022—Pub. L. 117–263, § 6802(a), amended section gen- erally. Prior to amendment, section established an of- fice, organizational structure, and authorities to ad- dress unidentified anomalous phenomena. Pub. L. 117–263, § 1673(c)(1), substituted ‘‘anomalous’’ for ‘‘aerial’’ wherever appearing. Subsec. (h)(1). Pub. L. 117–263, § 1673(c)(2)(A), inserted ‘‘and the congressional leadership’’ after ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’. Subsec. (h)(2)(Q). Pub. L. 117–263, § 1673(c)(2)(B), added subpar. (Q). Subsec. (l)(2) to (6). Pub. L. 117–263, § 1673(c)(3), added par. (2) and redesignated former pars. (2) to (5) as (3) to (6), respectively. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries LIAISON WITH COUNTER UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS TASK FORCE Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title X, § 1089, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2081, provided that: ‘‘(a) LIAISON REQUIRED.—The Director of the All-Do- main Anomaly Resolution Office of the Department of Defense shall designate one or more employees of the Office to act as a liaison with the Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems Task Force established under section 925 [of Pub. L. 118—159, 10 U.S.C. 130i note] to improve coordination of efforts and support enabling capabili- ties of mutual benefit. ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—An individual designated as a liaison under subsection (a) shall have the following re- sponsibilities: ‘‘(1) Conducting information sharing between the Office and the Task Force on identified or suspected Unmanned Aerial Systems events, including incident reporting, incident responses, and data on technical characterization of the known or suspected threats. ‘‘(2) Coordinating the development of technical ca- pabilities for sensing and response to threats. ‘‘(3) Developing coordinated tactics, techniques, and procedures for incident response.’’ LIMITATION REGARDING INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVI, § 1687(b), (c), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 621, provided that: ‘‘(b) LIMITATION REGARDING INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—Consistent with Department of De- fense Instruction Number 3204.01 (dated August 20, 2014, incorporating change 2, dated July 9, 2020; relating to Department policy for oversight of independent re- search and development), independent research and de- velopment funding relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena shall not be allowable as indirect expenses for purposes of contracts covered by such instruction, unless such material and information is made available the appropriate congressional committees and congres- sional leadership. ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: ‘‘(1) The term ‘appropriate congressional commit- tees’ means— ‘‘(A) the congressional defense committees [Com- mittees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives]; and ‘‘(B) the Permanent Select Committee on Intel- ligence of the House of Representatives and the Se- lect Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. ‘‘(2) The term ‘congressional leadership’ means— ‘‘(A) the majority leader of the Senate; ‘‘(B) the minority leader of the Senate; ‘‘(C) the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and ‘‘(D) the minority leader of the House of Rep- resentatives. ‘‘(3) The term ‘unidentified anomalous phenomena’ has the meaning given such term in section 1683(n) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373(n)), as amended by section 6802(a) of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fis- cal Year 2023 ([div. F of] Public Law 117–263).’’ COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES AUDITS AND BRIEFINGS ON UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHE- NOMENA HISTORICAL RECORD REPORT Pub. L. 117–263, div. F, title LXVIII, § 6803, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3594, as amended by Pub. L. 118–159, div. F, title LXVIII, § 6802, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2516, pro- vided that: ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘congres- sional leadership’ and ‘Office’ have the meanings given such terms in section 1683 of the National Defense Au- thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373), as amended by section 6802. ‘‘(b) AUDIT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2022], the Comptroller General of the United States shall iden- tify appropriately cleared personnel of the Govern- ment Accountability Office to audit the historical record report process described in section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373), as amended by section 6802, in- cluding personnel to conduct work on-site as appro- priate. ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—On a quarterly basis until the date that is 90 days after the delivery of the final volume of the Historical Record Report, and as appropriate and consistent with Government Auditing Standards, the Comptroller General of the United States shall provide the Office with informa- tion on the findings of any audits conducted by the personnel identified under paragraph (1). Page 867 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3373b 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘make’’. ‘‘(c) VERBAL BRIEFINGS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and semiannu- ally thereafter until the date that is 180 days after the delivery of the final volume of the Historical Record Report, the Comptroller General of the United States shall verbally brief the congressional intelligence com- mittees, the congressional defense committees, and congressional leadership on the progress of the Office with respect to the historical record report described in section 1683 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (50 U.S.C. 3373), as amended by sec- tion 6802, and compliance with legislative require- ments. ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict access of a committee of Congress under section 719(f) of title 31, United States Code, to an audit under subsection (b).’’ [For definition of ‘‘congressional intelligence com- mittees’’ as used in section 6803 of Pub. L. 117–263, set out above, see section 6002 of Pub. L. 117–263, set out as a note under section 3003 of this title.] § 3373a. Support for and oversight of Unidenti- fied Aerial Phenomena Task Force (a) Availability of data on unidentified aerial phenomena The Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly require that each element of the intelligence community and component of the Department of Defense with data relating to unidentified aerial phenomena makes 1 such data available immediately to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, or successor entity, and to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center. (b) Quarterly reports (1) In general Not later than 90 days after March 15, 2022, and not less frequently than quarterly there- after, the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, or successor entity, consistent with the protection of intelligence sources and methods, shall submit to the appropriate con- gressional committees a report on the findings of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, or successor entity. (2) Contents Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, the following: (A) All reported unidentified aerial phe- nomena-related events that occurred during the period covered by the report. (B) All reported unidentified aerial phe- nomena-related events that occurred during a period other than the period covered by the report but were not included in an ear- lier report. (3) Form Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in classified form. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- mittees’’ means the following: (A) The congressional intelligence com- mittees. (B) The Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Sen- ate. (2) Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force The term ‘‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force’’ means the task force established by the Department of Defense on August 4, 2020, to be led by the Department of the Navy, under the Office of the Under Secretary of De- fense for Intelligence and Security. (Pub. L. 117–103, div. X, title IV, § 413, Mar. 15, 2022, 136 Stat. 977.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DEFINITIONS For definitions of ‘‘congressional intelligence com- mittees’’ and ‘‘intelligence community’’ as used in this section, see section 2 of div. X of Pub. L. 117–103, set out as a note under section 3003 of this title. § 3373b. Unidentified anomalous phenomena re- porting procedures (a) Mechanism for authorized reporting (1) Establishment The Secretary of Defense, acting through the head of the Office and in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, shall es- tablish a secure mechanism for authorized re- porting of— (A) any event relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena; and (B) any activity or program by a depart- ment or agency of the Federal Government or a contractor of such a department or agency relating to unidentified anomalous phenomena, including with respect to mate- rial retrieval, material analysis, reverse en- gineering, research and development, detec- tion and tracking, developmental or oper- ational testing, and security protections and enforcement. (2) Protection of systems, programs, and activ- ity The Secretary shall ensure that the mecha- nism for authorized reporting established under paragraph (1) prevents the unauthorized public reporting or compromise of classified military and intelligence systems, programs, and related activity, including all categories and levels of special access and compart- mented access programs. (3) Administration The Secretary shall ensure that the mecha- nism for authorized reporting established under paragraph (1) is administered by des- ignated and appropriately cleared employees of the Department of Defense or elements of the intelligence community or contractors of the Department or such elements assigned to the Office. (4) Sharing of information (A) Prompt sharing within Office The Secretary shall ensure that the mech- anism for authorized reporting established under paragraph (1) provides for the sharing of an authorized disclosure to personnel and