New UFO Hearings Begin Wednesday

House Republicans are seeking "systemic transparency" when they launch a new round of hearings on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) — aka UFOs — on Capitol Hill, Wednesday.

The House Oversight Committee is holding the joint subcommittee hearing in an effort "to further pull back the curtain on secret UAP research programs conducted by the U.S. government, and undisclosed findings they have yielded."

The hearing will, in part, follow up on information provided by whistleblower David Grusch, who asserted in July 2023 that the Pentagon has been operating a secret crash retrieval program for UFOs, something the Defense Department has denied.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., likened Wednesday's hearing to "peeling back the layers of an onion," telling NewsNation, "I think we're going to learn some things."

Last year's initial hearing documented at least 400 sightings, many of them by U.S. military pilots, and 11 near collisions. However, the Pentagon released a report in March saying there is "no evidence" of any government investigation that has "confirmed that any sighting of a UAP represented extraterrestrial technology." 

"The best pilots in the world, that are our pilots, are telling us that these things are flying in close proximity to their aircraft," Burchett told "NewsNation Prime."

"The American people are tired of the obfuscation and refusal to release information by the federal government. Americans deserve to understand what the government has learned about UAP sightings, and the nature of any potential threats these phenomena pose. We can only ensure that understanding by providing consistent, systemic transparency," the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation chair, Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs chair, Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., said in a release.

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