FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — "Good morning and welcome to the most exciting subcommittee in Congress this week!"
That’s how Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI), who is chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, started a hearing on Wednesday. The hearing was about a topic Grothman said his committee has never dealt with before: UFOs, or, more accurately, UAPs. UAP stands for unidentified aerial phenomena or unidentified anomalous phenomena, and Grothman said it is a topic of interest for many Americans, including himself.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Grothman and the rest of the committee heard from three former members of the military and intelligence communities, who testified about encounters with UAPS, including what they call “non-human biologics” and objects that move in ways that science can’t explain.
“As we convene here, UAP are in our air space, but they're grossly underreported,” said Lieutenant Ryan Graves, a former Navy F18 pilot. “These sightings are not rare or isolated. They are routine. Military aircrew and commercial pilots, trained observers whose lives depend on accurate identification are frequently witnessing these phenomena.”
The three witnesses said a big issue is a lack of government oversight on the issue of UAP.
David Fravor, a former Navy commander and pilot, recalled an incident in which he and his crew encountered a “TicTac”-shaped object.
“The TicTac object that we engaged in 2004 was far superior to anything we had on time, have today, or are looking to develop in the future… What is shocking to us is that the incident was never investigated,” Fravor said.
Grothman said he believes this could be a national security threat and plans to investigate further.
“They’re not just odd things,” Grothman said. “It’s things that are going at incredibly rapid rates. They stop on a dime and go up or down, fly differently than any known man-made aircraft would be able to fly. So it's relevant we get to the bottom of it.”
Here on Earth— more specifically in Fond du Lac, which is a part of Grothman’s district—some people say they're hoping to learn more.
"If they found something about UFOs, then they should say something about it. It should be public knowledge,” resident Gavin Hinz said.
Others think the government should hold off on extraterrestrial studies.
“I would say there are bigger concerns out there for our government to take care of,” Wisconsin resident Loren Wolfgram said.
For now, Grothman said he will be conducting closed-door interviews with these witnesses, and NASA will be working on an independent study on UAPs.
