Congressional Hearing on UFOs Faces Obstacles and Skepticism
The topic of UFOs and UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena) has gained renewed attention in recent months, especially after the release of a declassified report by the U.S. intelligence community in June 2023, reports comicbook.com.
The report acknowledged that there were 144 cases of UAP sightings by military personnel between 2004 and 2021, of which only one could be explained with high confidence.
The report also stated that UAPs pose a potential threat to national security and flight safety, and that more research and data collection are needed to understand their nature and origin.
In response to the report, a House Oversight subcommittee held a hearing on July 7, 2023, where they heard testimonies from former intelligence officials, military pilots, and UFO researchers.
The hearing was intended to shed more light on the UAP phenomenon and to demand more transparency and accountability from the government agencies involved in investigating it.
However, some of the subcommittee members have expressed frustration and disappointment with the lack of cooperation and information they have received from the Pentagon and other agencies.
They claim that they have faced “roadblocks” and “stonewalling” in their efforts to obtain more evidence and witnesses for future hearings.
They also say that they have encountered skepticism and ridicule from some of their colleagues and the public, who dismiss the UFO issue as a fringe or conspiracy theory.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), one of the subcommittee members, said at a recent event hosted by The Hill that future hearings may be impossible unless a special UAP-related select committee was formed.
“We’re running into a lot of roadblocks there, and that’s the problem with this whole thing. It just creates more and more conspiracy theories because our federal government is so arrogant and so bloated, and they’ll just run out the clock,” he said.
“I’m guilty of this as well, but Americans want their pizzas in 30 minutes or less, and that’s about our dadgum attention span.”
Burchett, along with Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), have submitted a formal request to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) regarding the formation of a select committee on UAPs, but they have not heard back from him yet.
Despite the challenges, some of the subcommittee members remain hopeful and determined to pursue the truth about UFOs and UAPs. They argue that this is not only a matter of national security, but also of scientific curiosity and public interest.
Rep. Moskowitz said that he hears from people more on this subject than anything else. “Not the Trump indictments, not Hunter Biden. They are talking about the UAP hearing because there’s great interest in this government transparency issue,” he said.
The subcommittee members also stressed that they are not jumping to any conclusions about the origin or identity of the UAPs, whether they are extraterrestrial or not.
They said that they are simply following the evidence wherever it leads, and that they are open to all possibilities. They also urged the public to keep an open mind and not to dismiss or ridicule the witnesses who have come forward with their accounts of encountering UAPs.
The subcommittee members hope that their hearing will inspire more people to come forward with their own experiences or information about UFOs and UAPs, and that it will also encourage more funding and support for scientific research on this topic.
They believe that this is an opportunity to advance human knowledge and understanding of the universe we live in.
