This week, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers formally requested the creation of a select committee to investigate the federal government’s response to UFOs as interest in mysterious sightings and concerns about flight safety continues to grow.
A letter sent on Tuesday to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) noted that “recent” whistleblower testimony and “new evidence” pertaining to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), which is the government’s preferred term for UFOs, underscore the need for a select panel under the auspices of the House Oversight Committee.
“Given the Oversight Committee’s role as the principal investigative body in the House of Representatives and its broad authority to investigate ‘any matter’ at ‘any time’ under House Rule X, we believe it is proper for the committee to investigate and assess how transparent and accountable the federal government is when it comes to UAP,” the letter says.
My colleagues and I formally requested that the Speaker establish a select committee focused on UAP.
Transparency is coming. pic.twitter.com/Sptwy05fI3
— Rep. Eric Burlison (@RepEricBurlison) March 13, 2024
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) posted a copy of the letter to X on Wednesday. It was signed by Burlison and Reps. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Andy Ogles (R-TN), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Troy Nehls (R-TX), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
House members previously asked then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for a select committee shortly after a public hearing last summer featuring retired Air Force Maj. David Grusch, a former U.S. intelligence and military official who claims the government has a UFO retrieval program and is wrongfully keeping Congress in the dark, and former military pilots who talked about UAP encounters and potential risks.
The new letter says the federal government has offered “little clarity” on UAP incidents as it continues to reveal certain findings, bemoans a “lack of cooperation and evasion of congressional scrutiny” from the Pentagon and Intelligence Committee, and notes that it is “unclear” how much U.S. taxpayer funds are being spent on analyzing and studying UAP.
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“Respectfully, we request that the select subcommittee be fully staffed and granted access to all material and information, both classified and unclassified, provided or derived from the Federal Government relating to UAP that formerly or currently is protected by any form of special access or restricted access,” the letter says.
“Additionally, the select subcommittee should be granted access to all material and information, both classified and unclassified, possessed by the Federal Government relating to all non-earth or exotic UAP material,” it adds.