Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth (hearing transcript)

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I believe we can always be more transparent. To me, this hearing
and others are simply about the truth and getting to the facts of
what these UAPs actually are.
It is very important that we show that Democrats and Repub-
licans in Congress can work together to cut through misinformation
and look for a serious and thoughtful way to have the discussion
in public.
Many of us have also called for additional public hearings to dis-
cuss UAPs. This should be a topic that continues on throughout the
Congress so we can gather more information, data, and work with
the relevant agencies to gather more information.
Finally, I just want to add that those that are here on this dais,
many of us have participated also in classified briefings as well,
and we have also gained a lot of important, I think, and interesting
information, at least I personally have.
And so, with that information, we want to continue today’s hear-
ing, and I thank all of our witnesses for being here.
And, with that, I would like to yield back.
Ms. MACE. Thank you, Mr. Garcia.
I would now like to recognize Mr. Grothman for a 5-minute intro-
duction.
Mr. GROTHMAN. Thank you.
Good morning. I would like to thank our witnesses for being here
one more time. This is a topic I have been interested in since
eighth grade.
I would like to thank Ms. Mace for working with me on this topic
and for making this a joint Subcommittee hearing.
Last year, the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border,
and Foreign Affairs held a historic hearing to understand the po-
tential national security risk of unidentified anomalous phe-
nomena, or UAPs. We heard from former Navy Commander David
Fravor, who shared firsthand experience with a UAP engaged
while on duty in the Pacific.
We learned from David Grusch, a former member of the intel-
ligence community, who revealed the supposed existence of secret
government programs hidden from congressional oversight.
Additionally, former military pilot Ryan Graves informed us of
the limited ways in which the military and commercial pilots can
report UAP sightings.
Since that last hearing, I have led several briefings with govern-
ment agencies to deepen my understanding with these issues.
First, the Department of Defense Inspector General’s Office in-
formed us that the Department of Defense does not have the
streamlined process for servicemembers to report UAP activity.
Since then, the Joint Chiefs have implemented standards for UAP
reporting across the services.
The intelligence community Inspector General informed us that
whistleblowers often fear retaliation for reporting mismanagement
of highly sensitive government projects or information.
Finally, AARO has expressed to the committee that, like any
other Federal Government agency, it has faced challenges in its es-
tablishment, specifically, in hiring staff to manage UAP historical
records and coordinating with other Federal agencies.