The cottage industry of cable series and streaming documentaries about UFOs may be set for a boom as bi-partisan Congressional efforts aimed at increasing transparency around what the U.S. Government knows about so-called Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (previously known as UFOs) have gained major momentum in recent days.
Last week, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) announced the House Oversight Committee would hold hearings on the topic after a high-ranking whistleblower came forward in June and, according to Politico, “after the Pentagon and other national security agencies have said in recent months that they are investigating unidentified aircraft and hundreds of new reports of UFOs.”
Burchett, who with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has taken the lead on the hearings, said point-blank last week: “That’s what it is about: aliens…I think people deserve to know.”
Today, Burchett announced on Twitter that the first hearing on UAPs would take place next Wednesday.
The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on UAPs on Wednesday, 7/26.
— Rep. Tim Burchett (@RepTimBurchett) July 17, 2023
We’re done with the cover-ups.
On the Senate side last week, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL) Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Todd Young (R-IN) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) announced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 to be known as the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023. The Amendment, modeled on the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, is meant to would increase transparency around UFOs, ensure government record keeping around such phenomena and set clear, quick timetables for the public release of records.
“For decades, many Americans have been fascinated by objects mysterious and unexplained and it’s long past time they get some answers,” said Schumer in a statement. “The American public has a right to learn about technologies of unknown origins, non-human intelligence, and unexplainable phenomena. We are not only working to declassify what the government has previously learned about these phenomena but to create a pipeline for future research to be made public.”
The Executive Branch is also opening up about what it sees as a growing issue.
During a White House press briefing on Monday, National Security Council spokesperson Ret. Rear Admiral John Kirby answered a question from NewsNation’s Blake Burman about whether increased encounters with UFOs are a “legitimate issue” and “real concern” for the country.
“We wouldn’t have stood up an organization at the Pentagon to analyze and — and try to collect and — and coordinate the way these sightings are reported if we didn’t take it seriously. Of course, we do,” replied Kirby.
“I mean, some of these phenomena, we know, have already had an impact on our training ranges for — you know, when pilots are out trying to do training in the air and they see these things, they’re not sure what they are, and it can have an impact on their ability to perfect their skills. It’s already had an impact here, and we just want to better understand it.”
Kirby was careful, however, not to get into Mars Attacks! territory, though.
“Now, we’re not saying what they are or what they’re not. We’re saying that there’s something our pilots are seeing. We’re saying it has had an effect on some of our training operations. And so, we want to get to the bottom of it. We want to understand it better.”
