S.Res. 66 is a Senate resolution introduced on February 15, 2023, that formally condemns China's use of a high-altitude surveillance balloon over U.S. territory as a violation of U.S. sovereignty. The resolution was agreed to by the Senate and calls on the President to keep Congress fully informed through comprehensive briefings on the incident and related Chinese surveillance activities.
What did the balloon do and how did the U.S. respond?
NORAD first tracked the balloon on January 28, 2023, before it entered U.S. airspace. The Department of Defense publicly announced it on February 2, 2023, and the Secretary of Defense stated the balloon was being used to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States. On February 4, 2023, a U.S. Air Force aircraft shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina at the direction of the President.
The balloon traveled near sensitive national security facilities, including Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. The Secretary of State also postponed a planned trip to China, calling the incident an irresponsible act and a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law.
What does the resolution actually do?
The Senate condemns China's violation of U.S. sovereignty and denounces the Chinese Communist Party's false claims that the balloon was a weather balloon that veered off course due to force majeure. The resolution also states it should be U.S. policy to act promptly, responsibly, and decisively to deter and stop foreign aerial surveillance platforms from violating U.S. sovereignty.
The resolution calls on the President to provide Congress with detailed briefings covering a full account of known airspace violations by China, a timeline of the February 2023 incident, an assessment of what surveillance data China may have collected, and a description of plans to deter future intelligence collection activities in U.S. airspace.
Is this connected to the broader UAP discussion?
The resolution notes that the substantial increase in the detection of unidentified aerial phenomena since February 4, 2023, warrants further investigation and attention to domain awareness gaps identified by U.S. Northern Command. The resolution does not draw a direct link between the Chinese balloon program and UAP, but it does flag the spike in detections as a separate concern worth attention.
Who sponsored this resolution?
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the resolution, and it drew a broad, bipartisan group of co-sponsors including Sens. Collins, Menendez, Peters, Manchin, Baldwin, Durbin, Klobuchar, Wyden, Kelly, Cortez Masto, Coons, Capito, Murkowski, Lummis, Grassley, Scott of Florida, Cramer, Blackburn, Hagerty, Britt, and Braun. The resolution was considered and agreed to by the Senate.