Congress puts politics aside to uncover the truth about aliens. Yes, really | Opinion
There must be a blue moon somewhere, because Democrats and Republicans in Congress are working together on a national security issue.
That national security issue? Aliens.
Yes, aliens.
A House Oversight subcommittee held a hearing Wednesday on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs), also known as UFOs. The hearing generated significant public interest; a livestream of the hearing had as many as 111,000 real-time viewers.
“We’re not going to bring flying saucers or little green men into the hearing,” Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, one of two Republicans in charge of the UAP inquiry, said. “Sorry to disappoint about half of y’all. We’re going to uncover the cover-up.”
The hearing featured former members of the U.S. military who described their own encounters with UAPs and expressed concern at the lack of government oversight and transparency regarding what they see as a possible national security threat.
One witness, a former intelligence official turned whistleblower, has alleged there is a covert government program to retrieve crashed alien spacecraft and that there has been “malevolent activity” by some UFOs. He also claimed to have personal knowledge of people being harmed or injured in efforts to cover up or conceal extraterritorial technology. (UFO historians have expressed doubt about the veracity of such claims, especially given the lack of concrete evidence.)
In recent weeks and months, UAPs have emerged as a bipartisan issue, as lawmakers push for transparency from the Pentagon and other intelligence agencies. A bipartisan group of senators, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, is hoping to advance legislation that would force the public release of UFO records.
At the start of Wednesday’s hearing, committee members voiced their desire to put politics aside.
“This is a nonpartisan issue,” one member said. “This has nothing to do with party politics … I think the cover-up goes a lot deeper than that.”
Another quipped, “It shouldn’t take the potential of non-human origin to bring us together.”
If only Congress brought this spirit of bipartisanship and urgency to everything it does!
Of course, U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), a member of the subcommittee, couldn’t resist getting a little dig in at the Biden administration. She pointed to the “pitiful response to the Chinese spy balloon debacle” earlier this year as another example of why Congress must “inject” transparency into government.
On Twitter, North Carolina congressman Greg Murphy appeared open to the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
“Are aliens real? There are a lot of strange findings in the world - we need to go by the objective science,” Murphy tweeted. “God surely can work in mysterious ways!”
In a separate tweet, Murphy said that the probe is an “incredible responsibility” that Congress must take seriously.
The hearing did not, however, provide any concrete evidence of alien life, perhaps to the chagrin of some viewers. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, and it certainly warrants further investigation. But Congress should tread carefully to avoid fueling conspiracies. We have yet to see evidence for some of the more outlandish claims made by witnesses, and the intense speculation may only lead us further from the truth instead of closer to it.
The government’s silence regarding UAPs may not actually belie something more sinister. But officials should note how their evasiveness and secrecy only drives conspiracies and public distrust. One might think they’d have learned that lesson after the JFK assassination files, but they must certainly learn it now.
If nothing else, Wednesday’s hearing was proof of how a once-taboo topic has slowly become mainstream, and a reminder that Congress can actually come together to do its job when it wants to. (Why can’t they do that more often?)
This story was originally published July 26, 2023 at 1:08 PM.
