this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2023
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Bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) aimed to establish a process with the ostensible goal of revealing the existence of “non-human intelligence” to the public. But the legislation, which is co-sponsored by three Republican and two Democratic senators, is now in jeopardy.

In comments yesterday on the Senate floor, Schumer stated that “House Republicans are also attempting to kill another commonsense, bipartisan measure passed by the Senate, which I was proud to cosponsor… to increase transparency around what the government does and does not know about unidentified aerial phenomena.”

According to reports, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, are leading efforts to prevent any meaningful version of this provision from being added to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

Members of Congress generally clamor for enhanced government oversight — a core function of the legislative branch — and transparency. So what could cause a small group of influential lawmakers to suddenly resist it?

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (2 children)

They can account for it, but the government can't just make all of their defense spending public knowledge.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

One of the things the UAP investigations has found is that no, they cannot account for it. Even at the highest levels of clearance, some things are buried beneath mountains of different security designations, and it is at least as likely (and probably much more so) that there is embezzlement happening there than there is alien craft, etc.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

some things are buried beneath mountains of different security designations

You say this but then claim it’s embezzlement.

It’s much more likely that the Pentagon keeps this info guarded so it doesn’t end up in a bathroom in Mar-a-Lago.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

The Pentagon does not have the authority to withhold information from properly-vetted members of Congress - they have been denying access through various loopholes to anyone.

In fact, one of the things discovered this year is that several major defense contractors have had ongoing "projects" for decades in which each part of the project is so compartmentalized that, quite simply, no one can even begin to suggest what the project is actually doing. These are not uncommon right now in the more confidential areas of our government, but the strange thing is the utter impermeability of them.

There are significant amounts of Senators and House members, of both sides, who suspect an embezzlement operation basically funneling cash chasing projects that will never materialize as anything

The more you dig into this the crazier it gets. I'm not even talking about the actual UAPs, just potentially of billions of embezzled funds with nothing to show for it and nothing that will ever come of it

I believe citizens absolutely have a right to know if this kind of theft is happening.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

The more you dig into it after a short few minutes you realize you don't know what they say in closed sessions.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

They still don't account for it, they just get free money from US tax payers. The DoD is getting free hand outs.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

They don't publicly account for it. That's different than not accounting for it at all.

I'm 100% in favor of funneling much of the defense budget into social programs like universal healthcare and free college, but I also know that it's silly to expect the Pentagon and DoD to release spending details on top secret defense projects.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

They don't even account for it within the government. They have failed their 6th consecutive audit. The issue isn't that the public doesn't know where the funds are going, it's that not even Congress knows how the money is being used.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Congress can’t be trusted anymore than Trump when it comes to national security secrets.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Are you suggesting that the DoD should operate with no oversight and be allowed to fail their audits every year? I understand a breakdown in trust with politicians, but there needs to be some accountability.