Inside the First UFO Disclosure Forum on Capitol Hill

The Disclosure Foundation held the first public forum of its kind on Capitol Hill June 25th, bringing senators, House members, scientists, and former officials into the Kennedy Caucus Room under the theme humanity at the edge of discovery. The nonpartisan nonprofit also released new polling. According to the Disclosure Foundation, a survey of 303 adults taken this month found that nearly nine in ten Republicans and nearly nine in ten Democrats want the government to release more information about UAP, the term officials now use in place of UFO.

New development came from Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida. She said her team is handing the White House a list of names to be granted immunity, working with Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, so that credible whistleblowers can share what they know without facing retribution for violating their security clearances or, in some cases, the Espionage Act. Luna added that she has not personally seen any of the material. As reported by NewsNation, the White House has publicly said it does not have information on these alleged programs, which leaves the same administration being asked to protect whistleblowers unable to confirm what they claim to know.

Jordan Flowers, executive director of the Disclosure Foundation, laid out a legal path for witnesses. In reference to a legal memo his team prepared, Flowers said a person can make a protected disclosure to Congress in a classified setting even under a nondisclosure agreement, and that no one has ever been prosecuted for doing so.

The legislative side moved as well. According to remarks from former Defense Department official Marik von Rennenkampff, Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota announced he would reintroduce the UAP Disclosure Act with Senator Chuck Schumer. The bill defines a legacy program as a secret government effort to retrieve and reverse engineer craft of unknown origin, and it references non-human intelligence throughout the text.

Representative Eric Burlison announced that MIT Lincoln Laboratory has agreed to hand over a 1952 recording catalogued as a flying saucer talk, briefed by Edward Ruppelt, who led Project Grudge and Project Blue Book. According to Burlison’s office, the recording is tied to the July 1952 events over the capital known as the Invasion of Washington. Burlison argues sensitive material may sit with private contractors because they fall outside Freedom of Information Act requests, a point whistleblower David Grusch has also made.

On the economy, Jordan Flowers, also a former investment banker, rejected the idea that disclosure would crash the markets, noting that earlier file releases came and went with markets steady. A different view comes from Helen McCaw, a former Bank of England analyst, who, as reported by The Times of London, wrote to governor Andrew Bailey urging a contingency plan and warning of what she called ontological shock and a possible collapse in confidence. The day closed on the same open question raised throughout, whether the government is even capable of holding a secret this large for this long.

Sources

Disclosure Foundation. (2026, June 25). Disclosure Forum 2026: Humanity at the edge of discovery | Kennedy Caucus Room [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/live/3004GwnxwzM

NewsNation. (2026, June 25). UFO disclosure: The truth about alien life | Hot Take with Jesse Weber [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiLlRegrMqY

NewsNation. (2026, June 26). UAP Disclosure Forum in DC: Key takeaways. https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/uap-disclosure-2026-forum-takeaways/

NewsNation. (2026, June 26). What protections could shield UAP whistleblowers? | On Balance [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA_-07BBSpE

The Times. (n.d.). Bank of England must plan for financial crisis sparked by aliens. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/bank-of-england-must-prepare-for-ufo-announcement-f3mh8l9vh