Burchett calls for government transparency on UAPs, spending: 'We deserve to know'
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) called for the government to reveal what it's spending taxpayer money on relating to Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) amid growing calls from lawmakers for increased transparency on the issue.
"They're spending tens of millions of dollars on this subject. And then they turn around tell us they don't exist," the Tennessee Republican told NewsNation's Blake Burman on "The Hill" Friday.
Burchett stressed the need for greater government transparency on extraterrestrial life while discussing the recent hiring of former intelligence officer and UFO whistleblower David Grusch by Rep. Burlison (R-Mo.).
"I think he can help us ask questions that need to be asked, that should be asked, that maybe we're not asking the right questions because we're not supposed experts on this," Burchett said of Grusch.
"I want to know what they're spending the money on," he later added.
The topic of UAPs has received greater attention from Congress in recent years, with congressional hearings in 2024 and 2023 diving deeper into whether or not government sectors are withholding evidence from lawmakers.
"They need to they need to disclose everything and do it now," Burchett said on Friday. "America needs to know. We need to demand that of our elected officials. Quit joking around about little green men and flying saucers. We're spending tens of millions of dollars on something that, goddamnit, we deserve to know. Give us the information."
Grusch, an Air Force veteran and former member of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, made headlines in 2023 after he claimed the government is withholding information about UFOs and UAP and that it has recovered nonhuman crafts with nonhuman species inside, among other things.
He was appointed to Burlison's office as a senior adviser for an initial period of four months, NewsNation reports.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.