Representatives Tim Burchett (R-TN) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) have introduced HR 5060, the UAP Whistleblower Protection Act, which would extend existing federal whistleblower protections to cover disclosures about taxpayer-funded UAP research and material recovery programmes.
The bill is separate from Burchett’s HR 8197 to terminate AARO and targets a different problem: the fear of retaliation that current and former federal employees face when reporting what they know about classified UAP programmes.
What the Bill Does
HR 5060 amends multiple sections of federal law to protect six categories of workers:
Federal civilian employees, FBI personnel, Department of Defence members, DoD contractors, federal civilian contractors, and intelligence community workers would all be shielded from retaliation (demotion, firing, discipline, or reassignment) for disclosing information about how taxpayer money is being spent on UAP-related investigations, research, or material evaluation.
The protections are not new legal mechanisms. The bill extends existing whistleblower statutes already on the books for each category of worker to explicitly cover UAP-related disclosures. This closes a gap that current and former intelligence officials have identified: while general whistleblower protections exist, the classified nature of alleged UAP programmes creates ambiguity about whether those protections apply.
Why It Matters
David Grusch, the former intelligence official who testified under oath before Congress in July 2023, stated that he faced professional retaliation after filing complaints through official channels about alleged UAP crash retrieval programmes. Multiple other witnesses who testified in closed sessions have described similar experiences.
The Intelligence Community Inspector General found Grusch’s complaint “credible and urgent” in 2023, but the practical question of whether federal employees can safely come forward about UAP-specific programmes remains unresolved. HR 5060 aims to remove that ambiguity.
Legislative Status
The bill was introduced in August 2025 and referred to the House committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Armed Services, and Intelligence. It has not yet received a committee vote.
Burchett and Luna, who also lead the House Oversight Task Force investigating Pentagon compliance with UAP disclosure demands, have positioned the bill as part of a broader legislative strategy. Luna’s task force has been pressing the Pentagon for 46 classified UAP videos since March, and Burchett’s AARO termination bill would restructure how the government handles UAP investigations.
Together, the three bills form a coordinated push: force the release of existing material, protect the people who can explain it, and replace the office that critics say has failed to investigate it properly.