A November hearing takes shape
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer wants to revive plans for a hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, after a September proposal fell victim to changes in the congressional calendar. Speaking to Sentinel’s partner Ask a Pol outside the Capitol on September 16, 2026, Comer said organizers had been aiming for the third week of September. “Well, they keep canceling days on us,” he explained. “So we’ll, we’ll try to pick it back up in November.” Ask a Pol reported that Speaker Mike Johnson had canceled the final two weeks of the September session.
Comer described the anticipated post-election session as an opportunity: “I think it’ll be an aggressive lame duck period.” But neither the subject nor the witness lineup had been settled. Asked what the hearing was supposed to cover, he answered, “I don’t know that we ever agreed on a topic.” Laslo also raised an earlier discussion concerning scientists, but Comer directed detailed questions to Representatives Tim Burchett, Anna Paulina Luna and Eric Burlison: “Burlison more than anybody.”
The project therefore remains a proposed hearing rather than an announced event with a confirmed agenda. Comer nevertheless made his position clear: “I’d like to have another one. I think there’s demand for it. It’s just getting good witnesses in is always a challenge.”
Potential witnesses to a helicopter encounter
One possible avenue emerged in an October 10 New York Post report. Burlison told the newspaper he would explore whether intelligence personnel who witnessed a reported encounter near an undisclosed West Coast military base could testify publicly. According to an FBI report, the incident occurred during a helicopter mission in late 2025. Witnesses described orange orbs flying alongside the aircraft, numerous smaller objects moving against a mountain backdrop, and one approaching object splitting in two.
Some witnesses have already met members of Congress behind closed doors, according to Burlison, but have not shared all the encounter’s video footage. He identified one witness as a career official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence who is not publicly known. Bringing such personnel into an open hearing presents a particular challenge: “There’s some people that are working for the agency that having them come forward publicly may expose other things,” Burlison said.
Burlison’s remarks identify potential witnesses, not a confirmed connection between that encounter and Comer’s proposed hearing. “That’s a good place to explore and I’m happy to look into that to see if that’s a possibility,” he told the Post.
Why firsthand military testimony matters
The July 26, 2023, hearing provides a precedent for putting military experience directly into the public congressional record. Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves, retired Navy Commander David Fravor and former intelligence officer David Grusch appeared before an Oversight subcommittee. Before their testimony, Chairman Glenn Grothman asked: “Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” All three answered affirmatively.
Firsthand testimony allows lawmakers to question witnesses about their own observations, duties and reporting procedures. Graves opened his statement by saying, “I have experienced advanced UAP firsthand.” He described how his squadron’s detections progressed from suspected radar errors to correlations with other sensors and visual identification.
For organizers, the purpose was to hear from people rather than rely solely on institutional briefings. “We’re going to have witnesses who can speak frankly to the public about their experiences,” Burchett said ahead of the 2023 hearing.
Access restrictions and congressional resistance
The obstacles extend beyond finding a date. At the 2023 hearing, Burchett described opposition encountered during preparations: “We have run into roadblocks from Members, from the intelligence community, the Pentagon.” He also said an amendment he proposed to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation would have brought airline pilots’ sighting reports to Congress. “But I was told that the intelligence community did not like that,” he said, “and the amendment was not even heard in committee.”
Luna identified another barrier: obtaining access to classified information. “We were even denied access to a classified briefing in a SCIF prior to this hearing,” she said in July 2023, referring to a secure facility used for classified discussions and difficulties arranging temporary clearance for Grusch. In prepared remarks for the September 9, 2025, hearing, she described further restrictions involving special access programs. According to Luna, the Defense Department told committee staff that access was limited to designated defense committees, while other members required approval from the chairs and ranking members of those committees.
Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz has likewise framed access as an oversight issue. In his prepared November 13, 2024, opening statement, he described questions from citizens and legislators being met with “stonewalling and responses of ‘I can’t tell you.’” He called for transparency “within reasonable national security limits” and said agencies “must maintain open lines of communication with Members of Congress.”
Protecting witnesses
Witness participation presents another roadblock, particularly for serving military personnel. In her September 2025 prepared remarks, Luna said military pilots had explained why they would not speak publicly: “Out of fear that speaking out would cost them their flight status, and potentially their careers.” She added, “We cannot protect our airspace if our best-trained observers are silenced.”
Graves described similar concerns under oath in 2023. “The stigma attached to UAP is real and powerful and challenges national security,” he told lawmakers. “It silences commercial pilots who fear professional repercussions, discourages witnesses.” For the potential intelligence witnesses discussed by Burlison, the additional question is how to describe their encounter publicly without exposing sensitive aspects of their work.
However, this leaves one question unanswered: what about the eyewitnesses to the alleged non-human craft described in the UAP Disclosure Act texts? With the release tomorrow of “Out of the Shadows”, the book by former UAPTF director Jay Stratton, could this be the first step towards witness testimony from those who have encountered these craft at military installations? Dr Lacatski, who coordinated the UAP investigation within the Defence Intelligence Agency, stated that the US had gained access to the interior of one of these crafts. However, he refused to answer when asked whether he had seen it himself. With hearings having taken place behind closed doors for years, when will the heart of the matter finally be addressed directly and publicly?