Attorney and Former Marine Intelligence Analyst Proposes UAP Registration Act as Alternative to Stalled Disclosure Legislation

On April 27, 2025, The Debrief published an op-ed by Sean Munger, an attorney practicing in Massachusetts and a graduate of Suffolk University Law School, who also served as an intelligence analyst with the United States Marine Corps, including with its Warfighting Laboratory and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Munger introduces a proposed legislative framework he calls the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Registration Act (UAPRA) and argues it represents a superior vehicle for UAP disclosure compared to existing congressional efforts.

The op-ed critiques the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act (UAPDA), co-sponsored by Senators Mike Rounds and Charles Schumer, which Munger states has "failed twice to become law in its intended form" due to "behind-the-scenes political maneuvering." Munger's central objection is that the UAPDA's proposed nine-person review board — appointed entirely by the Executive Branch and confirmed by the Senate — "centralizes control of UAP materials and intelligence within the same institutions that have historically concealed them," creating risks of politicization, opacity, and bureaucratic obstruction rather than genuine transparency.

The UAPRA, as described by Munger, would require any private or government entity in possession of NHI-origin technology or biological materials to register those holdings and submit to government inspection. Munger explicitly states the Act would not default to eminent domain but would instead respect existing property rights while mandating a statutory public record. He draws regulatory analogies to the Atomic Energy Commission (established 1946), the FDA, the FAA, and the FCC, arguing that other sensitive industries have been successfully brought under transparent federal oversight using comparable frameworks.

Munger identifies two primary justifications for the legislation: addressing allegations from government insiders and whistleblowers that an unregulated UAP industry has been operating under executive-order sanction for decades, and anticipating future discoveries by commercial space firms or scientific entities that might encounter materials of non-human origin. He argues that a public registry of NHI material holdings — even if specific technical details remain classified for national security reasons — would itself constitute meaningful disclosure to the public and reduce institutional stigma around UAP research in scientific and academic communities.

The op-ed notes ancillary benefits including federal tax revenue from a newly regulated sector and elimination of the bureaucratic bottlenecks Munger associates with the UAPDA's review board structure. A full initial draft of the proposed UAP Registration Act was linked within the article. Munger states his goal is to "re-energize legislative efforts," promote debate, and establish the legal and institutional infrastructure for what he characterizes as an emerging phase of engagement with UAP and non-human intelligence.