Eric Burlison
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Contents 9
| Type | Person |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Burlison |
Eric Wayne Burlison (born 2 October 1976) is an American Republican politician. He has represented Missouri's 7th congressional district in the US House of Representatives since January 2023, and was re-elected in 2024.[1] Since 2025 he has served on the House Oversight Committee's Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, which has held hearings on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). He brought former intelligence officer David Grusch onto his staff as a special adviser and is the House sponsor of the UAP Disclosure Act amendments to the 2026 and 2027 defence bills.[1][2][3][4] He describes himself as a sceptic on the subject.[5] The earlier version of this article called him one of the most active members of Congress on UAP; that comparison is not made in the sources read here, though the record below shows his involvement.
Early life and career
Burlison graduated from Parkview High School in Springfield, Missouri, in 1995. He received a BA in philosophy in 2000 and an MBA in 2002 from Southwest Missouri State University. He worked at CoxHealth as a software engineer and then business analyst, and later for Cerner until his election to Congress.[1]
Missouri legislature
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He was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2008 and represented District 133 (Greene County) from 2009 to 2016. There he chaired the Committee on Professional Registration and Licensing. His bills included Missouri's entry into the Health Care Compact (2011), adding dyslexia to a state grant programme for special education (2014), and ending concealed-carry permit requirements (2016).[1] In 2018 he was elected to the Missouri Senate for the 20th District, where he chaired the Small Business and Industry committee. A 2022 self-defence bill of his drew bipartisan opposition, including from law enforcement.[1]
US House of Representatives
Burlison won the 7th district in 2022 with 70.9 per cent of the vote, and his term began on 3 January 2023.[1] He belongs to the Freedom Caucus and supported Donald Trump's 2024 campaign. In the 119th Congress he chairs the Oversight subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs and sits on the DOGE subcommittee and the declassification task force.[1] On secrecy more broadly, he has said Americans are "sick and tired" of secrets over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.[1]
UAP work
In 2024 Burlison petitioned House leaders to create a committee to study UAP. Instead, a task force with no subpoena power was set up within the Oversight Committee to examine UAP among other topics. He was serving on it by 2025.[1] In March 2025 he brought David Grusch on as a special adviser. Grusch had told a 2023 Oversight hearing that the government had recovered "non-human" biologics.[2] Burlison has said he believes purported UAP are either angels or manmade objects.[1] In a September 2025 interview with the Springfield station KY3, he said:[5]
- His stance. He remained "a skeptic" who did not believe in "little green men" from other solar systems: "I'm from the Show-Me-State, you are going to have to show me."
- His concern. His main interest was oversight of spending: "we are spending a lot of money on this topic, and there is no oversight".
- Obstruction. He said someone in House administration had blocked the panel from receiving a full briefing from AARO the previous year. He also said an earlier attempt to add UAP disclosure to the defence bill had been ruled non-germane by staff.
- Pilots. He cited F-18 pilots forming associations to advocate for their safety after near misses with unidentified objects.
The UAP Disclosure Act amendments
On 29 August 2025 Burlison submitted the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2025 as an amendment to the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act. Quoting the saying that "sunlight is the best disinfectant", he described it as follows:[3]
- It would prohibit the destruction or alteration of UAP records.
- It would create a UAP Records Collection at the National Archives.
- It would set up an independent UAP Records Review Board to oversee review and declassification.
- Records would have to be released within 25 years unless the President certified a clear national-security reason for delay.
- Congress would keep ongoing oversight.
On 22 July 2026 the House adopted his UAP Disclosure Act as an amendment to the FY2027 NDAA. That version would require agencies to identify, preserve and send covered UAP records to the National Archives on a statutory timeline. It would extend disclosure requirements to covered government contractors and create an independent, Senate-confirmed Review Board with subpoena power. His office said it would support President Trump's Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). The bill then moved to the Senate.[4] See UAP Disclosure Act.
The September 2025 hearing and the Yemen video
On 9 September 2025 the task force, chaired by Anna Paulina Luna, held a hearing titled "Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection". Witnesses included former Air Force geospatial intelligence specialist Dylan Borland and former Air Force military police officer Jeffrey Nuccetelli, both describing sightings near military bases. Journalist George Knapp also testified.[2][5] At the hearing Burlison played a 2024 video recorded by US forces. According to ABC News it showed a "U.S. military Hellfire missile bouncing off a bright, shiny object" being tracked off the coast of Yemen.[1] Knapp told KY3 that the missile "bounced right off, and it kept going".[5] Analysts disagreed:[1]
- Avi Loeb. In an initial assessment the next day, Avi Loeb concluded the object was most likely a Samad drone, probably launched by Ansar Allah (the Houthis). The War Zone reached the same view.
- Later analysis. According to Interesting Engineering, later analysis found the object was likely a weather balloon and that its apparent speed was an optical illusion caused by parallax.
The Nazca mummies
In July 2025 Burlison travelled to Mexico to examine the so-called Nazca mummies. These are a popular hoax: bodies presented as three-fingered extraterrestrials.[1]
Personal life
Burlison lives outside Springfield with his wife and two daughters. He is a Protestant who attends Destiny Church in Republic, Missouri. He was named Big Brother of the Year in 2005 by Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks.[1]
References
- Eric Burlison — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Justin Papp, "Up next on Congress' transparency list: UFOs", Roll Call (9 Sept 2025) · rollcall.com · archived copy
- "Rep. Burlison Introduces UAP Disclosure Act of 2025 as Amendment to NDAA", office of Rep. Eric Burlison (29 Aug 2025) · burlison.house.gov
- "House Adopts Burlison Amendment Establishing UAP Disclosure Framework", office of Rep. Eric Burlison (22 July 2026) · burlison.house.gov
- "Southwest Missouri congressman wants transparency when it comes to funding in UAP or UFO investigations", KY3 (11 Sept 2025) · ky3.com
Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia article “Eric Burlison”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
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This page was last edited on 31 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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