Within GAO Search
Why Congress Pushed GAO Into Roswell
Schiff's pressure turned Roswell from a local UFO controversy into a formal records accountability problem for GAO.
On this page
- Schiff's dissatisfaction with Defense answers
- How GAO framed the audit questions
- Why the missing files became the headline
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Introduction
Representative Steven Schiff’s most important contribution to the Roswell controversy was not discovering new evidence about the 1947 incident. Instead, he transformed Roswell from a dispute between UFO researchers and the military into a question of governmental accountability. Dissatisfied with the answers he received from the Department of Defense, the New Mexico congressman used his position in Congress to press for an independent records search by the United States General Accounting Office (GAO). That intervention led directly to the most extensive official audit ever conducted of federal records relating to Roswell and ultimately exposed the disappearance of some relevant military files.[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
For the history of the Roswell case—and especially for later debates surrounding surviving documents such as the Ramey memo—Schiff’s role matters because he changed the central question. Rather than asking whether aliens had crashed in New Mexico, the inquiry asked what records should exist, what records actually existed, and why some records could no longer be found.[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
Why Schiff Lost Confidence in Official Answers
By the early 1990s, Roswell had become a nationally known UFO controversy, and Schiff, whose congressional district included Roswell, faced continuing questions from constituents and researchers. He sought explanations from federal agencies, particularly the Department of Defense, regarding the government’s records and knowledge of the 1947 event. According to official accounts, the responses he received were unsatisfactory and did not resolve concerns about what documentation existed or had existed.[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
Schiff’s concern was not limited to the truth of UFO claims. His growing frustration centred on the inability of agencies to provide a clear documentary account. This shifted the issue from speculation about flying saucers to a more concrete oversight problem: if a significant military recovery operation occurred in 1947, what records should have been generated, where were they stored, and could they still be located?[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
That distinction proved crucial. Congressional oversight mechanisms are far better suited to investigating recordkeeping and agency compliance than adjudicating extraordinary claims. Schiff recognised that an audit of government files could produce verifiable findings even if it could not settle every claim made about Roswell.[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
How Schiff Pushed the GAO Into the Case
The turning point came when Schiff requested that the General Accounting Office conduct an independent investigation. The resulting GAO review was undertaken pursuant to a congressional request and focused on two practical questions: what reporting requirements would have applied to an event such as the Roswell recovery, and what government records concerning the incident could be found.[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
This was not a UFO investigation in the popular sense. The GAO approached Roswell as an audit problem. Auditors searched military, intelligence, archival and administrative repositories to determine whether records existed, whether they had been preserved properly, and whether gaps could be explained through normal records-management procedures.[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
Schiff’s request also triggered parallel activity within the Air Force. Official Air Force histories later acknowledged that their Roswell investigations were undertaken in response to questions raised through the GAO process and Schiff’s congressional inquiries. The 1994 Air Force report explicitly described itself as addressing Representative Schiff’s request.[DAF History]dafhistory.af.milDAF HistoryThe Roswell ReportThis report represents a joint effort by Col. Richard L. Weaver and 1st Lt. James. McAndrew to address the r…
How the GAO Reframed the Roswell Question
One of Schiff’s lasting effects was the way the audit reframed public discussion. The investigation did not begin by asking whether extraterrestrial craft existed. Instead, it examined the documentary trail that should accompany any significant military incident.
Under that framework, auditors searched for:
- Accident reports and investigative files.
- Unit histories and command correspondence.
- Message traffic between military headquarters.
- Intelligence and security records.
- Archival holdings across multiple federal agencies.[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
This approach imposed a standard historical method on a controversy that had often relied on recollections, rumours and competing narratives. Whether one accepted or rejected UFO claims, the existence or absence of records became an objective question capable of independent verification.[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
For later debates about the Ramey memo, this shift was significant. The memo appears in a surviving press photograph, but the broader archival environment identified by the GAO was unusually sparse. Schiff’s audit therefore established the context in which any surviving document must be evaluated: a record system with notable gaps rather than a complete paper trail.[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
Why Missing Files Became the Headline
The most consequential outcome of the audit was not the discovery of dramatic new Roswell records. Instead, investigators concluded that some records that might have been relevant had been destroyed.
The GAO reported that certain Roswell Army Air Field administrative records and outgoing message files from the period could no longer be located. More importantly, auditors were unable to determine precisely when some records had been destroyed, who had authorised the destruction, or under what authority it occurred.[U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govGENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE S SCHIFFU.S. Department of WarGovernment Records13 Jul 2021 — In our search for records concerning the Roswell crash, we learned that some govern…
This finding immediately became the most discussed result of the inquiry because it represented a documented fact rather than a disputed interpretation. Critics of official explanations viewed the missing files as suspicious. Government agencies argued that record destruction practices from the period, particularly for routine administrative materials, could explain the losses. The GAO itself did not conclude that the missing records proved a cover-up; it reported the absence of records and the inability to reconstruct their disposition fully.[U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govGENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE S SCHIFFU.S. Department of WarGovernment Records13 Jul 2021 — In our search for records concerning the Roswell crash, we learned that some govern…
The headline, therefore, was not that Schiff had uncovered evidence of extraterrestrial craft. It was that an independent federal audit had found weaknesses and uncertainties in the historical record itself. That finding continues to shape discussions of Roswell because it established that at least part of the documentary trail had vanished before modern investigators could examine it.[U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govGENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE S SCHIFFU.S. Department of WarGovernment Records13 Jul 2021 — In our search for records concerning the Roswell crash, we learned that some govern…
Schiff’s Lasting Impact on the Roswell Record
Steven Schiff’s role is best understood as a governance intervention rather than a UFO investigation. He used congressional oversight to compel agencies to account for their records and to answer questions they had previously handled informally. The result was a formal audit, a broad archival search, and a public report that remains one of the most important official documents in Roswell history.[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
His initiative changed the terms of debate. After the GAO inquiry, discussions of Roswell could no longer focus solely on witness testimony or later recollections. They also had to confront a documented archival reality: a limited surviving record, a handful of identifiable 1947 documents, and the confirmed disappearance of some potentially relevant files. In that sense, Schiff’s greatest influence was forcing Roswell into the realm of records accountability, where questions about evidence preservation became as important as questions about what happened in the New Mexico desert in 1947.[GAO]gao.govnsiadResults of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947…Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath…
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Endnotes
1.
Source: gao.gov
Title: nsiad 95 187
Link:https://www.gao.gov/products/nsiad
Source snippet
Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947...Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the 1947 weath...
2.
Source: media.defense.gov
Title: GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE S SCHIFF
Link:https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/13/2002761373/-1/-1/0/GENERAL_ACCOUNTING_OFFICE_S_SCHIFF.PDF
Source snippet
U.S. Department of WarGovernment Records13 Jul 2021 — In our search for records concerning the Roswell crash, we learned that some govern...
3.
Source: media.defense.gov
Title: AFD 101027 030
Link:https://media.defense.gov/2010/Oct/27/2001330219/-1/-1/0/AFD-101027-030.pdf
Source snippet
Air Force: "The Roswell Report: [Case Closed]({{ 'case-closed/' | relative_url }})"In July 1994, the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force concluded an exhaustive search for...
Published: July 1994
4.
Source: dafhistory.af.mil
Link:https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/AFD-101201-038.pdf
Source snippet
DAF HistoryThe Roswell ReportThis report represents a joint effort by Col. Richard L. Weaver and 1st Lt. James. McAndrew to address the r...
5.
Source: sgp.fas.org
Link:https://sgp.fas.org/othergov/roswell.html
Source snippet
Report on Roswell, NM UFO CrashIn March 1995, the CIA's Executive Director responded to our letter of inquiry by stating that earlier sea...
Published: March 1995
Additional References
6.
Source: gutenberg.org
Link:https://www.gutenberg.org/files/63659/old/63659-h/63659-h.htm
Source snippet
The Roswell Report: Case Closed, by James McAndrew—...The actual [Project Mogul]({{ 'project-mogul/' | relative_url }}) landing site, 75 miles northwest of Roswell, lends credib...
7.
Source: nsa.gov
Link:https://www.nsa.gov/Helpful-Links/NSA-FOIA/Declassification-Transparency-Initiatives/FOIA-Reports-and-Releases/FOIA-Reports-and-Releases-List/igphoto/2002761379/
Source snippet
Schiff, House of Representatives - Government Records - Results of a Search for Records...Read more...
8.
Source: skepticalinquirer.org
Title: The GAO Roswell Report and Congressman Schiff Special Report
Link:https://skepticalinquirer.org/1995/11/the-gao-roswell-report-and-congressman-schiff/
Source snippet
The GAO Roswell Report and Congressman Schiff. Philip J. Klass. From: Volume 19, No. 6 · November / December 1995 · Twitter Facebook.Read...
Published: December 1995
9.
Source: scribd.com
Title: The Roswell Report Fact vs Fiction in the New Mexico Desert
Link:https://www.scribd.com/document/33094619/The-Roswell-Report-Fact-vs-Fiction-in-the-New-Mexico-Desert
Source snippet
Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction 1994 | PDFThis report represents an effort to address the request made by Representative Steven H. Schif...
10.
Source: deseret.com
Link:https://www.deseret.com/1995/7/30/19185015/ufo-documents-destroyed-unjustifiably-lawmaker-says/
Source snippet
`UFO' DOCUMENTS DESTROYED UNJUSTIFIABLY...30 Jul 1995 — Schiff said the GAO estimates the information was destroyed more than 40 years ago...
11.
Source: blogs.library.unt.edu
Link:https://blogs.library.unt.edu/sycamore-stacks/2022/07/07/75-years-after-the-roswell-incident-what-have-we-learned/
Source snippet
unt.edu75 Years after the Roswell Incident, What Have We Learned?Jul 7, 2022 — In February 1994, the General Accounting Office (GAO), act...
Published: February 1994
12.
Source: tampabay.com
Title: gao on the trail of alleged ufo crash
Link:https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1994/01/26/gao-on-the-trail-of-alleged-ufo-crash/
Source snippet
Jan 26, 1994 — Schiff said that last March, after receiving inquiries from UFO believers and some Roswell residents who were in the milit...
13.
Source: centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com
Link:https://centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1995/11/22165051/p22.pdf
Source snippet
The GAO Roswell Report d Congressman Schiff"Schiff said important documents, which may have shed more light on what happened at Roswell...
14.
Source: latimes.com
Title: la xpm 1994 01 30 mn 17009 story
Link:https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-30-mn-17009-story.html
Source snippet
GAO Investigating Report That Government Covered Up...30 Jan 1994 — But, Schiff said, Archives officials told him they did not have the...
15.
Source: esd.whs.mil
Title: Roswell Report Case Closed
Link:https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/FOID/Reading%20Room/UFOsandUAPs/RoswellReportCaseClosed.pdf?ver=2017-05-22-113519-430
Source snippet
Roswell report22 May 2017 — records of the alleged primary witnesses revealed that the "missing nurse" was never missing, and the pediatr...
Published: May 2017
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