Documents / Hearing transcript
This is the printed transcript of a September 9, 2025 hearing held by the U.S. House Oversight Committee's Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, chaired by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. The witnesses were Jeffrey Nuccetelli, Alexandro Wiggins, George Knapp, Dylan Borland and Joe Spielberger. They described UAP incursions at Vandenberg Air Force Base from 2003 to 2005 and a tic-tac-shaped object seen from USS Jackson in 2023. Members criticized AARO and called for whistleblower protections and the UAP Disclosure Act.
“Edwards Air Force Base”1 page
4 And the witnesses today are not alone. In fact, they are far from it. In fact, 34 senior military government and intelligent officials have broken their silence. This includes Senator, now Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Senator Rounds, Senator Gillibrand, General Jim Clapper, the former director of the government’s UAP Task Force, the former head of aviation security for the White House National Security Council, the former Secretary of Defense, and many more. Again, to quote Secretary of State Rubio in an upcoming docu- mentary known as The Age of Disclosure, even Presidents have been operating on a need-to-know basis that begins to spin out of control. And to quote Senator Gillibrand, who also went public in this documentary, ‘‘It is not acceptable to have secret parts of this government that no one ever sees.’’ It is time for the fundamental truths of UAP to be revealed to our Nation’s leaders and the public. It is time for this government to exercise transparency. Mrs. LUNA. And with that, I yield to Ranking Member Crockett for the opening statement. OPENING STATEMENT OF RANKING MEMBER JASMINE CROCKETT, REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS Ms. CROCKETT. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. At a time of increasing distrust in government, it is important for Congress to take action to restore the government’s credibility. Bringing transparency to an issue of great public interest is a step toward doing just that, so I thank Chairwoman Luna for calling this bipartisan hearing to discuss unidentified anomalous phe- nomena, or UAP, which is today’s term for what was commonly known as UFOs, unidentified flying objects. And while some people think of flying saucers when they hear these terms, it is vital that we focus on the real-world impact of UAPs on critical infrastruc- ture, civilian safety, and national security. There is good reason to believe that most UAPs have origins far closer to home. Currently, NASA has not found any evidence that any UAPs have an extraterrestrial origin. Our adversaries are working to develop new capabilities to gain military advantages, and those efforts are a likely explanation for the mysteries that we have observed. Nevertheless, the Federal Government has a responsibility to the American people to investigate and provide transparent disclosures about every incident. The Federal Government is equally obligated to protect those who report what they have seen, especially to com- manding officers and supervisors. And Congress should do every- thing in its power to protect whistleblowers and conduct oversight of agencies that are failing to provide that protection. Democracy depends on transparency, and transparency often relies on the courage of individuals willing to risk their careers, reputations, and in some cases their personal safety to tell the truth. So, I look forward to hearing from the witnesses today. We should welcome their accounts and acknowledge the bravery they have shown to come before us. We must ensure that all whistle- blowers feel that they can come to Congress to tell their stories without fear of retaliation or professional consequences.
Hearing transcript, from the govinfo collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 54 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.