WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett was underwhelmed by the information House members received on Thursday during a closed-door House Oversight Committee meeting with members of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
During the meeting, representatives were briefed on NASA’s report that was released earlier this month regarding unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). Burchett said NASA claims they are not hiding any information, and all the data that it has is available to the public.
NASA’s report called for more data to be gathered, noting that while the agency has no evidence UAPs are extraterrestrial in origin, there is a lack of quality, systematically collected data that would be needed to fully evaluate the phenomenon.
But Burchett told NewsNation he doesn’t trust what the NASA representatives were telling them.
“Since 1947, our federal government has told us that these things do not exist. Now, 60% of the population thinks we’re not alone,” he said.
There has been a large bipartisan effort from Congress, demanding transparency from the Pentagon regarding UAPs. In July, the House Oversight Committee held a historic hearing on UAPs with testimony from three whistleblowers sharing their experiences and accounts with UAPs.
UAPs, known to most people as UFOs, have been in the headlines since one of the whistleblowers, David Grusch, came forward with his testimony. In light of the interest, some government agencies have stepped up efforts to give the subject more serious attention than it has previously received.
Most recently, the Pentagon launched a new website dedicated to releasing unclassified information on UAP sightings and collecting reports from civilians who have witnessed UAPs.
But Burchett remains skeptical about some of the federal agencies’ efforts on UAPs.