In the 2,000+ page version of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2022 passed by the House is a provision that mandates the formal establishment of a federal office, organizational structure, and authorities to investigate unidentified aerial phenomena, aka UFOs. It's expected to pass the Senate, although it may still be struck. Via NextGov:

“I think it's probably the most significant legislation to target this topic since probably 1969, since (Project) Blue Book,” Tim McMillan, a retired police lieutenant and writer who co-founded the science and technology news website The Debrief, told Nextgov on Thursday. “In fact, there were a lot of specific things that were named and outlined in the legislation, some of which are still included now, that have not been discussed before.”

The provision was supported by many lawmakers, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and co-sponsor Sen. Marco Rubio, who expressed concerns about briefings she received from the UAP Task Force investigators.

Her NDAA text outlines a wide range of the potential office’s responsibilities—and it’s inclusions shed new light on some of what the government knows but hasn’t widely shared regarding some of these encounters.

For instance, according to the legislation “‘unidentified aerial phenomena’ means—(A) airborne objects that are not immediately identifiable; (B) transmedium objects or devices; and (C) submerged objects or devices that are not immediately identifiable and that display behavior or performance characteristics suggesting that the objects or devices may be related to the objects” previously referred to in the text.

“The significance is the inclusion of both. Some objects have been observed moving into and out of the ocean (a liquid) and into the atmosphere (a gas) seemingly unencumbered by traditional Newtonian physics and aerodynamic pressures,” (former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Christopher) Mellon wrote. “Some of these same objects may also be able to operate in the vacuum of space, clearly impossible for conventional air-breathing means of propulsion.”

The point is, if this passes, an accountable federal office will be established to investigate -- and not actively debunk.