Burlison Wants to Know How Much the Pentagon Spends on UFO Research
He also wants a special House committee to focus on the issue full time. It’s unclear whether the speaker will approve its creation.
Missouri Congressman Eric Burlison is calling for transparency about spending on investigations into unidentified phenomena and wants a special committee to focus on the issue full time. His demand comes after Pentagon reports rejected claims about extraterrestrial visitors and a secret program to reverse-engineer recovered materials.
Missouri Congressman Eric Burlison is urging the government to disclose how much it spends investigating unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and is calling for a special congressional committee to focus on the issue full time. He made the remarks in an interview with Blake Burman, NewsNation’s senior Washington correspondent.
“I think we owe it to the American people to disclose the expenses, all the money that’s being used to investigate these issues. It should be done transparently,” Burlison said.
His demand comes after the Pentagon’s UFO office released a report in March 2024 concluding that there was no verified evidence the phenomena were extraterrestrial in origin.
A Full-Time Committee
Burlison said members of Congress are cautious about taking up the issue and that three other issues also require resources. He has already approached House Speaker Mike Johnson; the next step is to send a formal letter. “We need a special committee so we have staff dedicated to this issue,” he said. Tim Burchett and other members of the bipartisan UFO caucus support the proposal.
The Report on Grusch’s Testimony
Another Pentagon report examined David Grusch’s testimony alleging the existence of a secret program to reverse-engineer materials recovered from crashes. The report said the programs described in testimony either did not exist or had been misidentified as national security programs unrelated to extraterrestrial technology.
Burlison was not convinced. He said members of Congress were not given full information about these programs or the reasons for their special access in classified briefings, even though, he claimed, government representatives had the opportunity to present evidence. It remains unclear whether the committee will be created or whether Johnson will approve it.
“If these programs are truly benefiting Americans and using taxpayers’ money responsibly, there’s no reason to hide the information,” he said.
Questions & answers
What is Burlison asking the government to do?
He wants the government to disclose spending on investigations into unidentified phenomena and to create a special congressional committee. He says the committee should have permanent staff working on the issue full time.
What has the Pentagon concluded about aliens?
In March 2024, the Pentagon published a report concluding that there was no verified evidence the phenomena were extraterrestrial in origin. Another report examined David Grusch’s testimony about a secret program to reverse-engineer recovered materials and concluded that the programs described did not exist or had been misidentified as national security programs unrelated to extraterrestrial technology.