Is Congress Suppressing UAP Disclosures? What To Know

A growing number of politicians and commentators have alleged that several Republican Congressmen are plotting to stymie the investigation and release of secret government knowledge about Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.

In the past year, Congress has spoken to former U.S. military personnel about UAPs, a term that encompasses UFOs, and whether the government should be making greater efforts to release what information it has.

Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed for an amendment to the national defense bill in July that would compel information regarding UFOs to be released to the public. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, also voiced his support for the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide greater information about UFOs to the American people.

Schumer tacked the amendment on to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bill that is yet to receive full congressional approval.

If adopted, Schumer’s proposal would see President Biden appoint a nine-person review board to go over classified information related to UFOs and the presumption that material should be made public where possible. The president would, however, have the power to delay the declassification of documents if he believes there are national security concerns.

Whose Names Are Behind Alleged Plot?

However, according to multiple accounts, Republican representatives are now trying to thwart these efforts or restrict the amendment’s scope. Alabama Republican Representative Mike Rogers and Ohio Republican Representative Mike Turner are alleged by some to be leading efforts to strike down the amendment’s powers.

This week, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said on his show on X, formerly Twitter, that «Congressman Mike Rogers of Alabama, who is the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio, who is chairman of the House Intel Committee….Both of these men have been instructed to violate, in letter and in spirit, federal law, and to hide the truth about UFOs.»

Carlson, who was speaking to Tennessee Republican Representative Tim Burchett, later mentioned the now Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, and Mitch McConnell among the group that may «shut it down.»

While Burchett did not mention any congressional members by name, he said would be talking to the House Speaker to tell him «how important it [the Schumer amendment] is to this community and to transparency.» Newsweek has contacted a media representative for Burchett via email for comment.

Burchett is a member of the House Oversight Committee, which has held hearings on UAPs this year. He has called for Congress to have greater access to classified documents in support of its own investigations around UAP transparency.

Earlier this year, the Committee invited David Grusch, a United States Air Force veteran formerly of the National Reconnaissance Office, who said he was aware of «concerning reports from multiple esteemed and credentialed current and former military and intelligence community individuals» regarding the existence of a secret government UAP program.

Grusch also named Rogers and Turner during a recent interview on the podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, alleging they had been making attempts to block the legislation. Their names were also mentioned in reports by NewsNation.

«Why are you blocking the bill? And it’s not going to cost much, a couple (of) million a year max, you know, for the panel which is like vaporware in U.S. government speak, right?» Grusch said.

«If there’s nothing to see here, why are Mike Rogers and Mike Turner in the House blocking this bill that is in my opinion, the most important legislation for transparency in American history?»

Newsweek has contacted Roger’s, Turner’s, Johnson’s, and McConnell’s media representatives for comment.

Where Does The Amendment Stand Now?

The Congressional Record for this legislation does not show that either Turner or Rogers have voted on or yet led efforts to dismiss either Schumer’s amendment or sections of it such as the presidential-approved panel

As it stands, the Schumer amendment within the National Defense Authorization Act has passed the Senate. The House has now voted for the NDAA bill to be debated among conference committees. Changes may be put forward to alter the meaning of Schumer’s amendment but there is no verifiable evidence yet to suggest this will happen. Newsweek has contacted Chuck Schumer’s representatives via email for comment.

Wider interest in UAPs, both outside and within government, has grown considerably within the past year, with bipartisan support in Congress for greater government transparency over what it knows.

Earlier this month, retired U.S. Army Colonel Karl E. Nell told a symposium of Washington insiders that there would be «catastrophic» consequences for America if it did not initiate a coordinated disclosure plan.

At the event at Stanford University, Nell advocated for the «restoration of proper Federal government oversight over all UAP legacy (and ongoing) program efforts» and «transformative» research and technology programs.

Despite the renewed interest and increasing number of disclosures from and to the U.S. government, the data shared so far has been, in some cases, underwhelming.

Pentagon official Sean Kirkpatrick said in June that the U.S. Defense Department had a database with 800 reports of «anomalous» objects it had recorded over decades.

Many of those reported sightings remain unresolved, owing to technology and circumstances under which these sightings have been caught on film.

As was stated in a recently published Pentagon report, while there have been occasions where UAP had «concerning performance characteristics» such as «high-speed travel or unusual maneuverability» these were connected to a «very small percentage of UAP reports,» with most objects in the sky demonstrating «ordinary characteristics of readily explainable sources.»

Many sightings, it added, remained «technically unresolved» because of a lack of data. It added that it hoped that with an increase in the quality of data, the unidentified nature of most UAP «will likely resolve to ordinary phenomena and significantly reduce the amount of UAP case submissions.»