MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network, today applauded members of the United States House of Representatives and, specifically, the House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation (C3) Subcommittee, for holding a hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) on May 17 in Washington D.C.
It was the first Congressional hearing held on the topic of UFOs, now described as UAP, in fifty years. You can watch the full hearing here.
The public hearing featured two witnesses, Ronald S. Moultrie, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, and Scott W. Bray, Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence. Neither witness disclosed any definite conclusions about what these UAPs might be. But MUFON described the hearing as a “critical first step in disclosing what is known” about UAP.
“MUFON is dedicated to the scientific study of UFOs and UAP in order to benefit humanity,” according to a statement from MUFON. “MUFON is the longest-serving organization of its kind, having been in existence since 1969. As an organization, MUFON has long investigated UAP sightings and has collected the critical data needed to educate the public on the UAP phenomenon and its potential impact on society.”
“I am excited that Congress is taking this critical first step in disclosing what is known,” said MUFON Executive Director David MacDonald. “Through our knowledge and database of sightings, we know that there are many unanswered questions. With over 10,000 reports a year, MUFON has a 92% rate of being able to explain the sightings. We hope that Congress and the Department of Defense continue to be transparent with the American people. MUFON stands ready to assist the government in any capacity.”
”After many years of being taboo, discussions regarding UAPs are becoming mainstream,” the group stated. “The hearing held on May 17th was the first Congressional hearing since a push in 1969 by then-Congressman Gerald Ford that led to an Air Force report and hearing. In advance of the hearing, MUFON has spoken with numerous Congressional officials, providing individuals with information and answers to questions they might have on UAPs.”
“MUFON has always worked closely with Congress. For example, information from MUFON has been instrumental for years in unfolding the process of disclosure. Information from the MUFON database was instrumental in convincing Harry Reid to seek funding for the AATIP program,” the group revealed.
“MUFON’s 1,100 volunteers nationwide, and 46 international chapters with 4,600 members globally, tuned in to watch the hearings this week. Now that the conversation regarding UAPs is mainstream, a more significant bipartisan collective effort is needed to push for better legislation and more in-depth information to be released to the public. MUFON stands ready to assist the federal government on UFO sightings and the best way to collect and handle the data from those sightings,” MUFON concluded.
Congressman André Carson (D-Ind.), Chairman of the House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee, delivered the following opening statement at the hearing, citing MUFON:
The Subcommittee will come to order. Without objection, the Chair may declare a recess at any time.
Before we get started today, I want to recognize with a moment of silence, the victims of the white supremacist hate crime in Buffalo, New York. This subcommittee has focused intently on that threat, in both open and closed hearings. It is utterly devastating to see more victims of this violence.
Buffalo, our heart breaks for you.
With that, I’d ask my colleagues to join me in a moment of silence.
We will turn now to the business of this hearing.
More than fifty years ago, the U.S. government ended Project Blue Book – an effort to catalog and understand sightings of objects in the air that could not otherwise be explained. For more than 20 years, that project had treated unidentified anomalies in our airspace as a national security threat to be monitored and investigated.
In 2017, we learned, for the first time, that the Department of Defense had quietly restarted a similar organization tracking what we now call Unidentified Aerial Phenomena – or UAPs.
Last year, Congress rewrote the charter for that organization, now called the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group, AOIMSG for short.
Today, we will bring that organization out of the shadows.
This hearing and our oversight work has a simple idea at its core:
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena are a potential national security threat. And they need to be treated that way.
For too long, the stigma associated with UAPs has gotten in the way of good intelligence analysis. Pilots avoided reporting, or were laughed at when they did. DOD officials relegated the issue to the back room, or swept it under the rug entirely, fearful of a skeptical national security community.
Today, we know better. UAPs are unexplained, it’s true. But they are real. They need to be investigated. And any threats they pose need to be mitigated.
Under Secretary Moultrie, Mr. Bray, thank you for coming to testify today. Your task, as I see it, has three parts.
First, we need you to update us on the status of AIMSOG. The legislation creating it was passed back in December. The deadline for implementation is fast approaching, but the group does not even have a named director. We need to know the status of the organization and any obstacles to getting up and running.
Second, you have to convince the audience today – and most especially our military and civilian aviators – the culture has changed. That those who report UAPs will be treated as witnesses, not as kooks.
Third, you need to show Congress and the American public, whose imagination you have captured, you are willing to follow the facts where they lead. I fear sometimes that DOD is focused more on emphasizing what it can explain, not investigating what it can’t.
I am looking for you to assure us today, that all conclusions are on the table.
One final note. We are mindful today that AIMSOG is not starting from scratch. This is the third version of this task force in DOD. And civil society groups like the Mutual UFO Network and others have been collecting data on this issue for years. I hope you’ll explain how you can leverage the knowledge and experience of prior work on this issue to move the AIMSOG along.
The last time Congress had a hearing on UAPs was a half-century ago. I hope that it does not take fifty years for Congress to hold another. Because transparency is desperately needed.
I’ll now turn to the Ranking Member for any comments he wishes to make.
Watch the full hearing here.
Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, also delivered an opening statement at the hearing:
Thank you, Chairman Carson, for holding this open hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena. Holding a portion of our discussion today in open session is critical to the cause of transparency and openness, which was Congress’s intent in authorizing and funding the new task force.
The larger effort that is being undertaken to study and characterize UAP reports is an important step towards understanding these phenomena - what we know and don’t know - and I look forward to hearing more during both this open session and in a classified setting how DOD and the IC are undertaking that task.
UAP reports have been around for decades, and yet we haven’t had an orderly way for them to be reported – without stigma – and to be investigated.
That needs to change. UAP reports need to be understood as a national security matter, and that message needs to go out across DOD, the IC, and the whole of the U.S. government. When we spot something we don’t understand or can’t identify in our air space, it’s the job of those we entrust with our national security to investigate. And report back.
That is why it is important we hold this open hearing for the public to hear directly from the Department of Defense on the steps it is taking to track, analyze, and transparently communicate the work that is being done on this issue.
It is also the responsibility of our government and this panel to share as much as we can with the American people – since excessive secrecy only breeds distrust and speculation. I look forward to hearing how the UAP task force is being stood up, what challenges they still face, and how this committee can help make sure the task force is able to shed light on one of the world’s most enduring mysteries.
I thank the Chair, and I yield back.