The U.S. government is withholding information on UFOs from Congress and the American people, which is eroding public trust and endangering national security, according to members of the House of Representatives.
UFOs were once considered a fringe topic, the province of hoaxsters and conspiracy theorists.
But amid mounting evidence of unexplained, potentially other-worldly, aircraft with advanced capabilities, the House’s Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs convened a hearing on July 26 to shed light on the matter.
Mounting Evidence
The existence of UAPs has been an open secret among pilots for years, witnesses told the subcommittee.Congress created the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to track the phenomena in 2022. The office has charted at least 171 reports of UAPs that appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities, according to Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.).
David Grusch, a former National Reconnaissance officer who served on the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force at the Department of Defense, told the subcommittee that the U.S. government had conducted recovery operations on downed UAPs for years while keeping that information secret from Congress.
“My testimony is based on information I have been given by individuals with a longstanding track record of legitimacy and service to this country—many of whom also shared compelling evidence in the form of photography, official documentation, and classified oral testimony,” Mr. Grusch said.
The existence of UAPs, as UFOs are now called, was confirmed by Ryan Graves, a former F-18 pilot with service in Operation Enduring Freedom.
“I have witnessed advanced UAP on multiple sensor systems firsthand, and I’m here to voice the concerns of countless commercial aircrew and military veterans who have confided their similar encounters with me,” Mr. Graves told the subcommittee. “I can tell you that advanced UAP are a national security and an aviation safety problem.”
David Fravor, a retired Navy commander and F-18 pilot, told of being on a training mission in 2004 when dispatched to investigate an ariel phenomenon that had been appearing on the command ship’s radar for about two weeks.
He reported seeing a “small, white, Tic Tac-shaped object” moving rapidly across the water’s surface despite having no rotors or visible means of propulsion.
“As we pulled [our] nose onto the object at approximately one-half of a mile with the object just left of our nose, it rapidly accelerated and disappeared right in front of our aircraft. Our wingman, roughly 8,000ft above us, also lost visual,” Mr. Fravor said.
Public Trust
The volume of unreported evidence for the existence of these unexplained phenomena presents two problems, according to lawmakers. The first is that it undermines public trust in the government.“The sightings of UAPs have rarely been explained by the people who have firsthand accounts of these situations,” said Rep. Paulina Luna (R-Fla.)
“This is largely due to the lack of transparency by our own government and the failure of our elected leaders to make good on their promises to release explanations and footage and mountains of over-classified documents that continue to be hidden from the American people.”
Mr. Moskowitz said secrecy on the matter degrades the political process.
“Unfortunately, we live in a time in which many people distrust government and our institutions. And overclassification of information away from the American public or even Congress contributes to today’s politics,” he said.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) described the lack of trust in more colorful terms.
“This is a nonpartisan issue. This has nothing to do with party politics. I think the cover-up goes a lot deeper than that,” Mr. Burchett said, referring to the stonewalling he has encountered in seeking information on the subject.
“I think it’s time for this country to take back our country. We need to tell the folks at the Pentagon they work for us. ... We don’t work for them,” he said.
National Security
Lawmakers also expressed concern over the national security implications of keeping UAP information secret.“UAPs, whatever they may be, may pose a serious threat to our military or civilian aircraft, and that must be understood,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia (R-Calif.).
“If we, in fact, have programs that possess this technology, it needs to have oversight from those people that the citizens of this great country elected to office to represent what is best for the United States and in the best interest of its citizens,” Mr. Fravor said.
While there is a legitimate need to protect military secrets, that should not prevent the government from being accountable to the American people, according to Mr. Moskowitz.
Open Minds
Lawmakers acknowledged that the topic itself invites derision but insisted that it should be treated seriously and with an open mind.“We’re not bringing little green men or flying saucers into the hearing,” Mr. Burchett said.
“We’re just going to get to the facts. I think an open mind is absolutely the best,” Mr. Garcia added.
“We should come to this hearing with an open mind, and we should not let our existing ideas restrict us on either side,” Mr. Garcia said. “We should look at this hearing with and believe that everything is on the table as it relates to UAPs.”
White House Comment
The day prior to the hearing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there is no evidence that the government has proven the existence of alien life forms.“As you know, we take interest in aerial phenomena seriously. And so the Department of Defense established the All Domain Anamoly Resolution Office last year to coordinate efforts to detect, identify, and attribute identifying objects. So my understanding is that they have not discovered any verifiable information to sustain claims on extraterrestrials,” she told reporters on July 25, referring further inquiry to the Department of Defense.
