11:39 AM PT -- UFO expert Jeremy Corbell -- who's long been calling on the U.S. government to take UFOs seriously -- is ecstatic about the way Congress is tackling the issue in some high-profile hearings that are shedding a bit more light on the unexplained phenomena.
Corbell came on "TMZ Live" Tuesday to give us his thoughts on what he makes of the discussions being held on Capitol Hill this week -- where different congressmen have called the UFOs described by the Pentagon as legitimate threats against our national security.
JC says here that he couldn't agree more, and is clearly over the moon at the idea that we as a society can finally talk about this subject out in the open and without ridicule ... which he's been working toward for years now.
On the issue of whether UFOs point to alien life in and of themselves -- he stops short of saying they're a smoking gun, but does say ... we don't know what they are, and we gotta get to the bottom of this thing once and for all. Finally, we can do it officially with Uncle Sam.
Congress is holding a hearing about unexplainable objects in the skies from experts who say they are baffled .... finally, after over 50 years, our government is taking UFOs seriously.
A House panel is hearing from experts Tuesday on 144 UAPs -- Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, aka UFOs. This comes after years of silence, cover-ups and retribution against Defense Dept. officials and others who dared to express the belief ... something is out there.
Rep. Andre Carson expressed a sentiment shared by many experts over the years ... that UAPs represent a serious national security threat and must be treated as such.
Carson echoed what TMZ presented in a FOX Network documentary ... profiling Navy pilots who said they were hesitant to even report these UAPs because they feared they'd be laughed at and viewed as wackos ... possibly compromising their position in the military.
Carson said, "For too long, the stigma associated with UAPs has gotten in the way of good intelligence analysis. Pilots avoided reporting or were laughed at when they did. DOD officials relegated the issue to the backroom or swept it under the rug entirely, fearful of a skeptical national security community," Carson said. "Today, we know better. UAPs are unexplained, it's true. But, they are real. They need to be investigated. And, any threats they pose need to be mitigated."
The Pentagon's UAP Task Force released a report last year, concluding more than 140 objects they analyzed could not be explained.
Pentagon officials say the number of UAPs has now surged to over 400 since last year's report was published.
Originally Published -- 8:34 AM PT