"If an earth-like planet were found...

...the president and Congress would be brought into the loop prior to a public announcement."

What's that all about?  The statement comes from an article at the Washington Post about the success the Kepler telescope is having at locating extrasolar planets, most of which are quite un-Earthlink:

They've found a planet with the density of Styrofoam.
They've found two planets with surfaces hotter than molten lava.
They've found two inexplicable planet-sized objects that for some reason are hotter than the stars they orbit. Scientists have never seen anything like this before.

That's all well and good, but why the caution that if an earth-like planet is found they will notify the President and Congress before going public with the information?  Are they afraid we are going to do something?  Will they hold the information to release when its politically convenient?