U.S. House Oversight Committee to hold UFO hearing today
Congress will hear testimony from three witnesses regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, a new term that encompasses not just unidentified flying objects
U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs is scheduled to hold a hearing today to discuss “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency”
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. eastern in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Watch it here.
Congressman Chuck Edwards (R, NC-11), serves on the full committee, but Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R, NC-05), serves on the subcommittee.
An unexplained aerial phenomenon, a still photograph taken from a video recorded by the U.S. Navy.
Funding and the Department of Defense
The Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force was created in 2020. (The term UAP has reportedly since been broadened to refer to unidentified anomalous phenomena.) “The Department of Defense established the UAPTF to improve its understanding of, and gain insight into, the nature and origins of UAPs. The mission of the task force is to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security,” according to the release at the time.
In July 2022 the Defense Department set up the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to “identify unidentified anomalous phenomena that might pose a threat to national security and the operations of the military and federal agencies,” according to their website. “UAP are anything in space, in the air, on land, in the sea or under the sea that can't be identified and might pose a threat to U.S. military installations or operations,” the Department of Defense said in April. The DOD said that they are working to better understand and respond to UAP.
On April 19, 2023, Dr. Sean M. Kirkpatrick, Director of the AARO, testified at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on emerging threats and capabilities. “Humans are subject to deception and illusions, sensors to unexpected responses and malfunctions, and in some cases intentional interference,” he said.
“Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency”
Today’s witnesses and testimonies:
Ryan Graves, Executive Director, Americans for Safe Aerospace
“If UAP are foreign drones, it is an urgent national security problem. If it is something else, it is an issue for science. In either case, it is a concern for (the) safety of flight,” Graves said in his pre-written testimony.
Commander David Fravor (Ret.), Former Commanding Officer, United States Navy
“What concerns me is that there is no ‘Oversight’ from our elected officials on anything associated with our government possessing or working on craft that we believe are not from this world. This issue is not about full public disclosure that could undermine national security, but it is about ensuring that our system of checks and balances works across all work done in our government using taxpayer funds,” said Fravor in his pre-written testimony.
David Grusch, Former National Reconnaissance Officer Representative, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force, Department of Defense
“I am driven by a commitment to truth and transparency, rooted in our inherent duty to uphold the United States Constitution and protect the American People. I am asking Congress to hold our Government to this standard and thoroughly investigate these claims. But as I stand here under oath now, I am speaking to the facts as I have been told them,” Grusch said in his pre-written testimony.
Watch the hearing here.
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About Annie Dance
Annie Dance has been a journalist for over 20 years and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a concentration in Journalism from Manhattan College. She completed 42 credits for a Master of Arts in Communication degree at Fairfield University. She has been published in local, national, and international publications, including Hearst newspapers and websites, CTInsider.com, NewsTimes.com, and others. She is the Founding Editor of Western NC Deaf Community, a public Facebook group, where she covers deaf issues and leads discussions for ways deaf people can get better access to news and information in the 19 counties of western North Carolina. She was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss as a child and is an accessibility advocate, especially for the use of closed captioning.
Dance has experience in government affairs, media, and public policy. She is a registered unaffiliated voter and strives for fairness, truth and accuracy.
Dance has family roots in Raleigh. She served on local and state commissions in Connecticut for several years prior to moving to Rutherford County, North Carolina in 2020. She worked on local, state, and federal Republican candidates’ campaigns, including Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District.
She aims to shine a light on important issues and hold officials accountable with Cops & Congress.