I find it hard to believe that I’m actually typing this, but it’s true. After so many years of calls for more transparency from the government on the subject of UFOs (or unidentified aerial phenomena, as we’re supposed to call them now), a House subcommittee on intelligence will hold public hearings on the topic next week. This is the first time that such a hearing has taken place in more than half a century. Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal broke the news at the New York Times today. And as you will see below, there are many members of Congress who are openly applauding this decision and describing the need for further study of the phenomenon, along with the possible risk to national security that these craft may present. If you hit a paywall at the Times when trying to read the story, you can view it for free at the web archive.

A House subcommittee is scheduled to hold next week the first open congressional hearing on unidentified aerial vehicles in more than half a century, with testimony from two top defense intelligence officials.

The hearing, scheduled for next Tuesday, is intended to focus on the work of a group within the Pentagon that is following up on the national security and flight-safety questions raised by the report.

“Since this is an area of high public interest, any undue secrecy can serve as an obstacle to solving the mystery, or it could prevent us from finding solutions to potential vulnerabilities,” said Representative André Carson, Democrat of Indiana and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee’s subcommittee on counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and counterproliferation, which is holding the hearing. “This hearing is about examining steps that the Pentagon can take to reduce the stigma surrounding reporting by military pilots, and by civilian pilots.”

So many people have been calling for precisely this type of action for longer than I care to remember right now. It’s almost difficult to believe that it’s happening after more than 70 years of stonewalling, coverups, and flat-out lies. Of course, the Pentagon and our intelligence agencies will not go down without a fight. They have kept these secrets for a very long time and even the pressure of Congress may not convince them to show their cards. But if nothing else, this is an excellent start. Some of the congressional members who will be participating are not only asking for more cooperation, but raising the issue of the gross overclassification that the Pentagon has applied to nearly all material related to this subject.

As revealed by John Greenewald jr. today, one of the federal intelligence officials who will be testifying before Congress is Scott Bray, Director of Naval Intelligence Activity. Also testifying will be Ronald S. Moultrie, undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security. It’s also been confirmed that Moultrie is now heading up the AOIMSG, so if anyone knows what’s going on, it should be him.

Next week, one of the two individuals testifying at the House hearing on #UAP/#UFOs will be Scott Bray, Director of Naval Intelligence Activity.

He was the one who approved the "Security Classification Guide" on UAP, keeping an enormous amount of secrecy surrounding the issue. pic.twitter.com/tNUgfrLAWp

— John Greenewald, Jr. (@blackvaultcom) May 10, 2022

As John points out, Bray is one of the people who has been pushing to lock up all materials and information held by AOIMSG (formerly the UAP Task Force) with secret classifications. (Something we covered here in March.) Indiana Congressman Andre’ Carson is one of the members driving this initiative, and he wants to see more transparency.

Congress hasn't held a public hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena (UFO's) in over 50 years. That will change next week when I lead a hearing in @HouseIntel on this topic & the national security risk it poses. Americans need to know more about these unexplained occurrences.

— André Carson (@RepAndreCarson) May 10, 2022

Adam Schiff is getting in on the act as well. He was out on social media this morning praising the scheduling of the hearings and calling for more transparency.

There's much to learn about unidentified aerial phenomena.

But one thing is sure – the American people deserve full transparency.

Next week, @HouseIntel will give the public a chance to hear from experts on one of the greatest mysteries of our time.

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 10, 2022

While I would caution everyone not to get their hopes up too high just yet, it does feel as if we’re approaching the top of a very big slope that we’ve been climbing since 2017, at least in the latest chapter of ufology. Others have been seeking answers for nearly their entire lives. At the beginning of this push, it was primarily just Kirsten Gillibrand, Marco Rubio, Ruben Gallego, and a few others pursuing this issue. Now many more elected officials are joining the team. From some of their comments, it seems as if they were willing to let Gillibrand and Rubio stick their necks out first and wait to see if their political heads were chopped off. But now they have seen the growing support those leaders earned by dealing with the subject honestly. This is a bipartisan political winner, and the smart ones are hopping on the bandwagon.

Will they be able to force the hands of the military-industrial complex and the intelligence agencies and publicly shed more light on the topic? That remains to be seen. But I salute them for making the effort. And I would remind the members that all of these military and intelligence agencies have taxpayer-funded budgets. You control the purse strings. If they put up too much of a fight, you might remind them that the next Defense Authorization Act could potentially do with a serious haircut if they don’t want to play ball. Go get ’em.

When the hearings take place next week on Tuesday, May 17th, you will be able to watch them live online here, just in case you want to bookmark it and set a reminder.