Congress is inching closer toward lifting the lid on secret UFO data, held by the government for years, after a major hearing on sightings of unusual aerial objects.
Both Republicans and Democrats have called for further investigation after speaking to witnesses in late July, one of whom claimed the government was secretly operating "above congressional oversight."
The U.S. government has been slowly dripping information on its knowledge of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), the term being used to describe UFOs. In June, Pentagon official Sean Kirkpatrick said that the U.S. Defense Department had a database with 800 reports of "anomalous" objects it had recorded over decades.
However, the House Subcommittee hearing on UAPs in July attracted huge public attention and, crucially, could pave the way for substantive policy changes and even more forensic scrutiny.
Now, with speculation and interest at their most intense, the question remains what happens next after such an extraordinary hearing?
What Happens Next?
Some of the indications came from the hearing itself.
Ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, asked that "these discussions and these hearings" continue.
"Clearly, there's a lot of information that we don't know but it's also clear that we have to continue our investigation and accountability on asking the right questions and ensuring they're part of the public record," Garcia said.
Chair Rep. Glenn Grothman, a Republican from Wisconsin, added that he "assumed some legislation will come out of this".
Members of the committee were given five days after the hearing to submit any further questions to the witnesses. Newsweek has contacted a media representative for the subcommittee to ask if there had been any enquiries or responses.
What's Happened Since?
As Congress began its five-week recess in August, committee members won't reconvene until at least September. Newsweek understands the Committee on Oversight & Accountability has no updates on future investigations.
However, a number of members have spoken since the hearing.
Rep. Grothman, speaking to Wisconsin Public Radio, said that he expected to receive a "confidential briefing" from witnesses at the hearing "some time in the next month and a half" and called for legislation that would allow for the release of historical documents on UAPs.
"I think there should be legislation to say they should release these files eventually," Grothman said, adding the release of the information would help illuminate the credibility of claims. The chair also suggested establishing "some permanent sort of agency as a depository" for people who claim to have seen UAPs.
Newsweek has contacted Grothman and Garcia for comment.
Subcommittee member Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), also posted on X (formerly Twitter) calling for "a Select Committee on UAP with subpoena power."
Moskowitz joined Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) in writing to Speaker Kevin McCarthy the day after the hearing calling to establish such a committee "to go about the task of collecting information from the Pentagon and elsewhere for the benefit of the public."
So, while the exact timings and dates of future committee hearings and investigations have not been proposed, it appears that the cross-party support and interest will almost certainly guarantee more action on UAPs to come after the summer recess.
