A '...closed congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. on UFOs'?

United States Senate Armed Services Committee

The Armed Services Committee is a committee of the United States Senate, empowered with legislative oversight of the United States military.

It has seven subcommittees:

* Airland
* Cybersecurity
* Personnel
* Readiness and Management Support
* Seapower
* Strategic Forces
* Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

For a number of reasons, I have come to believe that if any subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee is interested in the formerly secret, Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP)/Advanced Aerospace Threat and Identification Program (AATIP), then it is the Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee.

The Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee

Responsibilities for this subcommittee include 'Policies and programs relating to science and technology...' The subcommittee oversights numerous areas of the US Department of Defense.including the Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence) under which the AAWSA/AATIP is believed to have been placed; plus the Defense Intelligence Agency, which in 2008 issued a solicitation for work on the AAWSA/AATIP.

The subcommittee's current members are:

Senators Joni Ernst; Roger Wicker;Deb Fischer; David Perdue; Ted Cruz; Tim Scott; Martin Heinrich; Bill Nelson; Jeanne Shaheen; Gary Peters.

I ran the names of these senators and various keywords through a search engine looking for any mention of an interest by them, in UFOs or related topics.

I found something on Senators Peters and Shaheen.

Senator Peters

On 1 August 2018, the Senate subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, held a hearing titled 'The Search for Life: Utilizing Science to Explore our Solar System and Make New Discoveries,' leading up to a NASA authorization bill. A number of NASA personnel and other experts were present to provide answers to the Senators' questions.

Senator Gary Peters asked whether there might be advanced civilizations we aren't able to find? Ellen Stofan, Director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, said that NASA is pursuing the correct way of looking for life...This knowledge could provide a basis for finding complex life elsewhere in the galaxy.

Senator Shaheen

Source: https://www.conwaydailysun.com/news/local/shaheen-unconcerned-by-ufos/article_2ce58abe-32f1-11e8-aead-8fdc3c9d8184.html

On 4 April 2018, there was an article in 'The Conway Daily Sun' by Daymond Steer. On 28 March 2018 Senator Shaheen, was a participant in a discussion on net neutrality at the Tech Village in Conway:

'...The Sun asked her about her stance on recent media reports of UFOs buzzing around the US. It turns out she's more concerned about foes on Earth than from outer space...After the meeting the Sun asked Shaheen for her thoughts on a spate of news stories about recent military and civilian encounters with unidentified flying objects that supposedly have capabilities well beyond advanced fighter planes.

"You know, we have not had anything around UFOs that I have seen in either the Armed Services Committee or any other committee that I'm on," replied Shaheen.

The Senator confirmed that she has seen some  TV news stories about UFOs and acknowledged that New Hampshire's is home to one of the most famous UFO cases of all time (The alleged Betty and Barney Hill abduction in 1961 on Route 3 near Lincoln.)

The Sun asked Shaheen if she would look into UFO cases since there were implications for national security. "I have to say, I'm a little more worried about Russian than I am UFOs these days," she said adding China.'

My thoughts

I wondered if there was a particular reason that the media had chosen to ask that question of Senator Shaheen? Therefore, I searched further on the Internet.

I found an 18 January 2009 newspaper article by Dean Merchant on the Seacoastonline.com website titled 'Call for Obama to open UFO files.'

'Last November, Paradigm Research group of Bethesda, MD, launched 'The Million Fax on Washington' campaign ' ...president-elect Barack Obama to end the Truth Embargo regarding extraterrestrial/UFO presence...

Dr Ted Loder, University of New Hampshire, professor emeritus, became interest in extraterrestrials in 1997 when then governor Jeanne Shaheen sent him at his own request, to a closed congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. On UFOs.

As then Gov Shaheen's representative, Dr Loder listened to top-secret military witnesses as they described their observations and sightings to members of Congress and the U.S. Senate. Based on what he heard, Loder came to believe in the alleged government cover ups of extraterrestrial technologies, technologies he feels the world desperately needs for safe, inexpensive and sustainable energy to solve global poverty. Loder is associated with the Disclosure project...'

My thoughts

What 1997 'closed congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. on UFOs?'

A bit of research found that this statement actually referred to a 9 April 1997 briefing  where 'Nearly 30 congressional offices were represented at the briefing which was held at the Georgetown Westin Hotel in Washington, DC.'

This briefing was organized by CSETI Steven Greer's group. It certainly wasn't an official 'hearing" of a Senate or other Congressional committee.

I couldn't find links to an interest in UFOs by any of the other members of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee. Can any blog readers assist?