Join Ross Coulthart for a LIVE Q&A on NewsNation’s YouTube, X and Facebook pages at 4p/3C today following a House hearing on UAPs. Coulthart will break down testimony from former NASA administrator Michael Gold, Pentagon insider Lue Elizondo, journalist Michael Shellenberger and Retired Navy Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet. Shellenberger will join Elizabeth Vargas Reports at 5p/4C to recap today’s hearing. Find out how to watch at JoinNN.com.
(NewsNation) — The four witnesses who testified before a U.S. House of Representatives committee on unidentified anomalous phenomena, aka UFOs, all presented possible solutions as federal lawmakers search for answers about the government’s role in providing more transparency in the possible existence of UAPs.
The witnesses took part in a hearing entitled “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth,” which is part of the committee’s ongoing efforts to provide more information about what the government knew or didn’t know about UAPs.
Lue Elizondo
Elizondo, a former Pentagon insider, testified during the hearing that the following recommendations need to be made moving forward.
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The former Pentagon official said that America’s greatness depends on three elements: a watchful Congress, a responsive executive branch and an informed public.
He proposed the three principal actions:
- Congress and the president should create a single point of contact responsible for a whole-of-government approach to the UAP issue. He said that the White House, CIA, NASA, the Pentagon, the U.S. Department of Energy and others currently play a role, but no one seems to be in charge. This, he said, has led to unchecked power and corruption.
- A national UAP strategy needs to be developed to promote transparency and help restore the American public’s trust at a time when trust is at an all-time low, he said. He said the strategy should include a whole-of-government approach, including the academic and scientific communities, the private sector and international partners and allies.
- Congress should create a protected environment so that whistleblowers, who he said are desperate to do the right thing, can come forward without fear. Elizondo said that whistleblowers suffer because of stigma, a code of silence and concerns over forms of retaliation.
- He said policies and procedures should ensure protection for whistleblowers. For those who refuse to cooperate, lawmakers should wield subpoena power against hostile witnesses and prevent additional funding to those UAP efforts that remain hidden from congressional oversight.
Timothy Gallaudet
The retired U.S. Navy rear admiral and former acting undersecretary and assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere testified in the hearing that he wants Congress to take the following action:
- Establish proper oversight of the executive branch’s management of UAP programs, information and materials
- Pass provisions of the UAP Disclosure Act involving the UAP Records Review Board into law
- After the UAP Disclosure Act is passed, Congress should consider strengthening it in a future reauthorization with additional provisions to establish a whole-of-government approach to UAP.
Michael Shellenberger
The independent journalist, who has written extensively about “Immaculate Constellation,” testified during Wednesday’s hearing that members of Congress have expressed growing frustration since 2021 over the military and intelligence community’s refusal to reveal “concrete” information.
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- Congressional leaders are seeking to expand upon the UAP transparency legislation that was passed in 2023. The UAP Disclosure Act would force the military, intelligence community and any private entity to turn over recovered “technologies of unknown origin” and associated “biological materials” and provide all UAP records to an independent review board for potential public disclosure, he said.
- The legislation would also expand protections for whistleblowers and require the Government Accountability Office to review the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office’s work.
- He added that while it is clear UAPs remain mysterious, it’s clear that the U.S. government is not being straight with the American people.
- He also called on Congress to work with President-elect Donald Trump to make government more transparent and release long-held secrets on everything from COVID origins to files associated with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and UAPs.
Michael Gold
The former NASA official testified that his former organization could assist in the process of providing more information about UAPs by doing the following:
- Review archival data
- Combat the stigmatization of UAP
- Reach out to international partners
- Solicit, archive, review and release civil and commercial UAP data
“In much as the same way that AARO is responsible for collecting UAP data for the national security community, NASA could serve a similar role for civilian and commercial operators,” Gold testified Wednesday. “Of course, a dramatic difference would be the data collected by NASA would be open to all, and the agency would continue its historic dedication to transparency and sharing scientific discoveries with the nation and world.”