Restoring Public Trust Through Uap Transparency and Whistleblower Protection

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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.