AARO Shutdown Bill (H.R. 8197) Introduced to Terminate UAP Office
UFO News coverage of legislation introduced by tim-burchett to eliminate aaro entirely.
Bill Provisions (H.R. 8197)
Introduced April 6, 2026, the bill would:
- Require the Secretary of Defense to shut down AARO within 60 days
- Redistribute AARO’s responsibilities among other DoD departments
- Legally prohibit the Secretary of Defense or Director of National Intelligence from establishing any replacement centralized office, blocking simple rebranding
Political Context
- anna-paulina-luna has championed the shutdown effort
- Luna exited a classified AARO briefing in April 2024, later calling it unsubstantial
- By September 2025, Luna publicly characterized former AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick as “a documented liar on the congressional record”
- chris-mellon described AARO’s historical report as “the most error-ridden government document he had encountered in decades of service”
Current Status
- Bill referred to House Committee on Armed Services and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- No vote scheduled
- AARO has not released its 2025 annual report
- AARO has not briefed media in nearly a year
Significance
The bill represents the most extreme congressional response to dissatisfaction with AARO, going beyond reform to outright termination. The prohibition on creating a replacement office distinguishes this from typical government reorganization.
Cross-References
- aaro — the office targeted for termination
- tim-burchett — bill sponsor
- anna-paulina-luna — key advocate for AARO shutdown
- chris-mellon — critic of AARO’s historical report
- uap-disclosure — the bill reflects deep frustration with AARO’s transparency record
- us-congress-uap-caucus — congressional oversight dynamics