Documents / Hearing transcript
This is the transcript of a joint hearing held November 13, 2024 by two subcommittees of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, chaired by Rep. Nancy Mace. The witnesses were Tim Gallaudet, Luis Elizondo, Michael Shellenberger and Michael Gold. They addressed government secrecy, AARO's transparency, a Pentagon document on the alleged Immaculate Constellation program, threats to pilot safety, and UAP activity near nuclear and military sites. Members also discussed UAP disclosure legislation.
6 While these agencies have been helpful to us in understanding the challenges that come from collecting UAP data, none of them have been able to substantiate the claims made at this hearing last year by David Grusch, despite our Committee Members endlessly questioning these agencies inside and outside of the SCIF. I hope our witnesses today will be able to provide evidence and content that is worthwhile to our pursuits of illuminating govern- ment waste and increasing transparency. To help alleviate some of the roadblocks, I am supportive of measures that were included in last year’s National Defense Au- thorization Act to increase transparency and improve record- keeping measures when it comes to UAPs, but I believe there is still more work to go. I co-led the Safe Airspace for Americans Act with Ranking Mem- ber Garcia, which requires the Federal Aviation Administration to develop procedures to collect UAP data from civilian aviators. I look forward to working with Members of Congress to see if this legislation and other UAP legislation crosses the finish line. I am deeply alarmed by the reporting of the massive drone swarm that flew over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia last De- cember. Langley is the home of the First Fighter Wing, which maintains half of the F–22s in the U.S. Air Force inventory. Re- ports of this incident indicate these drones were roughly 20 feet long, flying more than 100 miles an hour in an altitude of over 3,000 feet, yet the origin of these drones and their operators re- mains a mystery. This incident and other sightings near sensitive military installa- tions highlights the complexity of the UAP challenge facing our In- telligence, Defense, and Homeland Security Committees. Whether these phenomena are a result of foreign adversaries de- veloping advanced technologies, or something else entirely, we must take them seriously, investigate them thoroughly, and assess their implications on national defense. The repeated UAP sightings around sensitive military sites un- derscores the need for innovative defensive strategies beyond tradi- tional measures. They also highlight the urgent need for updated policies to address emerging threats, as well as more effective interagency cooperation and intelligence sharing. However, none of this is going to be possible without trans- parency. For far too long, critical information about UAPs has been either classified or ignored, leaving the American public and Con- gressmen without clarity needed to make informed decisions. Declassifying reports and fostering a more open dialog about UAPs will not only increase the public trust but also encourage col- laboration between government, the scientific community, and our allies. Quite frankly, there has been things that have been kept se- cret that is, I think, old enough that there is no reason it should not be released regardless of any so-called, you know, private infor- mation. A transparent approach will allow us to share insights, identify patterns, and development new strategic defenses. As we continue to investigate these phenomena, we must do so with the mindset of protecting our country, advancing scientific discovery, and up-
Hearing transcript, from the hearings collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 52 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.