WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Ahead of the House Oversight Committee hearing on UAPs this Wednesday, more lawmakers continue to demand answers on what the federal government knows about unidentified aerial phenomena and possible threats to national security.
A small group of Republicans says the Pentagon and Air Force recently blocked lawmakers from seeing images and information about UFOs as well as from reading testimony about seeing possible alien aircraft from witnesses, two of whom spoke with NewsNation directly.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R- Tenn., will lead Wednesday’s hearing, claiming that during a recent trip to Eglin Air Force base in Florida, he and other lawmakers expected to be part of a briefing on UFOs that allegedly was blocked by the Pentagon and other military leaders.
Staff at the base refused to answer questions brought up by whistleblowers who will testify at the hearing this week.
Burchett has accused military leaders of keeping UFO data hidden for decades.
“It had nothing to do with what we were told we would be down there for, and (Florida Rep.) Matt Gaetz basically said this meeting is over until you get us the info we asked for. And then, they said we weren’t eligible to see it, and now, they put out some release that myself and Rep. (Anna Paulina) Luna are not eligible to see that,” Buchett said. “That’s just a bunch of BS. The Pentagon knows better. This is why no one trusts the government.”
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio recently did an interview with The Hill, saying, “There’s no doubt that in this field, generally, there’s more than what we know. We’re trying to get to a process where at least some people in Congress do know.”
Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for an amendment to the Annual Defense Bill, creating a commission that could declassify documents about UFOs.
The White House team has answered questions about the push for answers recently, saying it takes the UFO issue seriously, and will always be transparent with Congress and the public as far as it can about national security concerns.