On November 13, 2024, two House subcommittees held a joint hearing titled "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth." Four witnesses testified about alleged government secrecy around UAPs, proposed reforms, and called on Congress to act. The hearing was chaired by Rep. Nancy Mace and co-chaired by Rep. Glenn Grothman, with members from both parties participating.
Who testified and what did they say?
Retired Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet testified that he received an urgent email in January 2015 about near-midair collisions with unidentified objects during a Navy exercise, and that the email disappeared from his account the next day without explanation. He said he concluded the information was classified within a special access program he was not read into. Luis Elizondo, a former Department of Defense official, testified that advanced technologies not made by any government are monitoring sensitive military installations, and that the U.S. is in possession of UAP technologies. He attributed these claims to his own experience and stated they reflect his personal assessment. Michael Shellenberger, a journalist, presented a 12-page document to the hearing describing an alleged unacknowledged special access program called Immaculate Constellation, which he said consolidates UAP observations from military collection platforms. Michael Gold, a former NASA official, testified that NASA could use its existing aviation safety reporting system to collect UAP data from civilian pilots.
What is the Immaculate Constellation document?
Shellenberger brought a 12-page document to the hearing that he said came from a current or former U.S. government official acting as a UAP whistleblower. Rep. Mace entered it into the congressional record during the hearing. According to Shellenberger's testimony, the document describes Immaculate Constellation as a strategic intelligence program that consolidates UAP observations from military and civilian collection platforms. The document reportedly describes UAP types including spheres, discs, triangles, and boomerang shapes, and details specific incidents such as orbs surrounding an F-22 and a small orange or red sphere descending toward a Navy aircraft carrier flight deck.
What concerns did members and witnesses raise about transparency?
Several members and witnesses said the government has withheld UAP information from Congress and the public. Rep. Mace noted that AARO has failed to share its budget publicly and that the Pentagon has failed six consecutive audits. Elizondo testified that a small group within the government has created a culture of suppression and intimidation, including unwarranted criminal investigations and threats to careers and security clearances. Shellenberger cited FOIA researcher John Greenewald, who said the government has been restricting more UAP information since 2017 and that AARO has been labeling documents with exemptions that prevent their release.
What reforms did witnesses recommend?
Gallaudet recommended that Congress establish oversight of the executive branch's UAP management, enact the UAP Disclosure Act to create a records review board, and mandate a whole-of-government approach. Elizondo called for a single point of contact for UAP across the government, a national UAP strategy, and stronger whistleblower protections. Gold recommended that NASA host UAP symposia, use artificial intelligence to search its archives for anomalous data, and expand use of its aviation safety reporting system to collect civilian UAP reports. Members also referenced the Safe Airspace for Americans Act, a bipartisan bill introduced after the committee's prior hearing, which would require the FAA to develop procedures for collecting UAP data from civilian pilots.
How does this hearing connect to prior congressional work?
This was the committee's second public UAP hearing. The first, held the prior year, featured testimony from former Navy Commander David Fravor, former intelligence community member David Grusch, and former military pilot Ryan Graves. Rep. Grothman noted that none of the agencies his committee subsequently briefed were able to substantiate the claims made by Grusch at that earlier hearing. Members also referenced classified briefings they had attended, with Reps. Garcia and Moskowitz each noting they had gained information through those settings.