[Congressional Record: September 9, 2008 (House)]
[Page H7886-H7888]
OVER-CLASSIFICATION REDUCTION ACT
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 6575) to require the Archivist of the United States to promulgate
regulations to prevent the over-classification of information, and for
other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6575
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Over-Classification
Reduction Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to increase Governmentwide
information sharing and the availability of information to
the public by applying standards and practices to reduce
improper classification.
SEC. 3. OVER-CLASSIFICATION PREVENTION WITHIN THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.
(a) Archivist Responsibilities.--
(1) Regulations.--The Archivist of the United States, in
consultation with the heads of affected Federal agencies,
shall promulgate regulations to prevent the over-
classification of information.
(2) Requirements.--The regulations under this subsection
shall--
(A) identify specific requirements to prevent the over-
classification of information, including for determining--
(i) when classified products should be prepared in a
similar format governmentwide; and
(ii) when classified products should also be prepared in an
unclassified format; taking into consideration whether an
unclassified product would reasonably be expected to be of
any benefit to a State, local, tribal or territorial
government, law enforcement agency, or other emergency
response provider, the private sector, or the public;
(B) ensure that compliance with this Act protects national
security and privacy rights; and
(C) establish requirements for Federal agencies to
implement, subject to chapter 71 of title 5, United States
Code, including the following:
(i) The process whereby an individual may challenge without
retribution classification decisions by another individual
and be rewarded with specific incentives for successful
challenges resulting in--
(I) the removal of improper classification markings; or
(II) the correct application of appropriate classification
markings.
(ii) A method for informing individuals that repeated
failure to comply with the regulations promulgated under this
section could subject them to a series of penalties.
(iii) Penalties for individuals who repeatedly fail to
comply with the regulations promulgated under this section
after having received both notice of their noncompliance and
appropriate training or re-training to address such
noncompliance.
(3) Consultation.--The regulations shall be promulgated in
consultation, as appropriate, with representatives of State,
local, tribal, and territorial governments; law enforcement
entities; organizations with expertise in civil rights,
employee and labor rights, civil liberties, and government
oversight; and the private sector.
(4) Deadline.--The regulations under this subsection shall
be promulgated in final form not later than one year after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Inspector General Responsibilities.--Consistent with
the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) and section
17 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C.
403q), the Inspector General of each affected Federal agency,
in consultation with the Archivist, shall randomly audit
classified information from each component of the agency with
employees that have classification authority. In conducting
any such audit, the Inspector General shall--
(1) assess whether applicable classification policies,
procedures, rules, and regulations have been followed;
(2) describe any problems with the administration of the
applicable classification policies, procedures, rules, and
regulations, including specific non-compliance issues;
(3) recommend improvements in awareness and training to
address any problems identified under paragraph (2); and
(4) report to Congress, the Archivist, and the public, in
an appropriate format, on the findings of the Inspector
General's audits under this section.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT OF OVER-CLASSIFICATION PREVENTION WITHIN
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
(a) Personal Identifiers.--
(1) In general.--For purposes described in paragraph (2),
the Archivist of the United States shall require that, at the
time of classification of information, the following shall
appear on the information:
(A) The name, personal identifier, or unique agency
identifier of the individual applying classification markings
to the information.
(B) The agency, office, and position of the individual.
(2) Purposes.--The purposes described in this paragraph are
as follows:
(A) To enable the agency to identify and address over-
classification problems, including the classification of
information that should not be classified.
(B) To assess the information sharing impact of any such
problems.
(b) Training.--When implementing the security education and
training program pursuant to Executive Order 12958, Executive
Order 12829, and successor appropriate Executive Orders, the
Archivist, subject to chapter 71 of title 5, United States
Code, shall, in consultation with heads of affected Federal
agencies--
(1) integrate training to educate about--
(A) the prevention of over-classification of information;
(B) the proper use of classification markings, including
portion markings;
(C) the consequences of over-classification and other
repeated improper uses of classification markings, including
the misapplication of classification markings to information
that does not merit such markings, and of failing to comply
with the policies and procedures established under or
pursuant to this section, including the negative consequences
for the individual's personnel evaluation, information
sharing, and the overall success of the agency's missions;
and
(D) information relating to lessons learned from
implementation of the regulations including affected Federal
agency internal audits and Inspector General audits, as
provided under this Act; and
(2) ensure that such program is conducted efficiently, in
conjunction with any other security, intelligence, or other
training programs required by the agency to reduce the costs
and administrative burdens associated with the additional
training required by this section.
(c) Detailee Program.--
(1) Requirement for program.--The Archivist, subject to
chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, in consultation
with heads of affected Federal agencies, shall implement a
detailee program to detail Federal agency personnel, on a
nonreimbursable basis, to the National Archives and Records
Administration for the purpose of--
(A) training and educational benefit for the agency
personnel assigned so that they may better understand the
policies, procedures and laws governing classification
authorities;
(B) bolstering the ability of the National Archives and
Records Administration to conduct its oversight authorities
over agencies; and
(C) ensuring that the policies and procedures established
by the agencies remain consistent with those established by
the Archivist of the United States.
(2) Sunset of detailee program.--Except as otherwise
provided by law, this subsection shall cease to have effect
on December 31, 2012.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Information.--The term ``information'' means any
communicable knowledge or documentary material, regardless of
its physical form or characteristics, that is owned by, is
produced by or for, or is under the control of the Federal
Government.
(2) Federal Agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' means--
(A) any Executive agency, as that term is defined in
section 105 of title 5, United States Code;
(B) any military department, as that term is defined in
section 102 of such title; and
(C) any other entity within the executive branch that comes
into the possession of classified information.
(3) Affected Federal Agency.--The term ``affected Federal
agency'' means any Federal agency that employs an individual
with original or derivative classification authority.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Clay) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay).
{time} 1415
General Leave
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6575, the Over-Classification Reduction Act,
addresses the ongoing problem in the Federal
[[Page H7887]]
Government of over-classification. This bill was introduced by the
chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform, Henry Waxman and Tom Davis.
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States,
known as the 9/11 Commission, recommended limiting the unnecessary
classification of documents and providing incentives for information
sharing. Yet as we mark the 7th-year anniversary of the September 11
tragedy, our government still is not sharing important information.
Some information must be protected to avoid threatening our national
security. But going too far by over-protecting information is also
damaging. Over-classification hurts our efforts to fight terrorism
because it prevents agencies from sharing information with relevant
stakeholders, including State and local law enforcement and other
Federal agencies. It also undermines public access to this important
information.
H.R. 6575 calls on the Archivist to promulgate regulations to prevent
the over-classification of information. In addition to reducing over-
classification, the Archivist would consider what classified
information should be prepared in an unclassified format. Agencies
would be required to give employees training and the opportunity to
challenge classifications, and agency inspectors general would randomly
audit classified information to ensure that it is properly marked.
This bill is being considered with an amendment that makes
clarifications and addresses concerns raised by the administration and
some Members of Congress. For example, the amendment ensures that the
bill is consistent with executive order 12958 as well as other existing
laws and programs. The amendment also clarifies that the regulations
required by the bill be developed in consultation with the heads of
affected agencies. It is essential that the Director of National
Intelligence play an important role in developing policies related to
the declassification of intelligence information. The Archivist also
should consult with relevant agencies such as the Department of Defense
regarding information about military operations or the Department of
Energy regarding safeguarding nuclear facilities.
This bill takes a government-wide approach to improving information
sharing. By doing so it will help strengthen our national security.
I would like to thank Chairman Reyes and Representative Harman for
working with the Committee on Oversight on this bill. I urge my
colleagues to support this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. AKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I agree completely with my friend from St. Louis here, and H.R. 6575
makes a whole lot of sense.
When we face direct threats, it's easy to assume that the best thing
to do is to conceal, protect, or hide information, and, in fact, it's
probably the worst thing that we can do. That's what the 9/11
Commission decided as it reviewed the American classification process
that existed before the 2001 attacks. This is a quotation:
``Current security requirements nurture over-classification and
excessive compartmentalization of information among agencies. Each
agency's incentive structure opposes sharing, with risks, criminal,
civil, and internal administrative sanctions, but few rewards for
sharing information. No one has to pay the long-term costs of over-
classifying information though these costs, even in literal financial
terms, are substantial.''
The result is that the United States for a long time has tried to
protect a huge body of secrets using an incomprehensibly complex system
of classifications and safeguard requirements. Worst still, this body
of secrets is growing and no one can say with any degree of certainty
how much information is classified, how much needs to be declassified,
or whether the Nation's real secrets can be adequately protected in a
system so bloated it often does not distinguish between the critically
important and the merely embarrassing.
Our classification practices have been highly subjective,
inconsistent, and susceptible to abuse. Over-classification often
confuses national security with bureaucratic, political, or diplomatic
convenience.
With this legislation we intend to reduce improper and over-
classification and consequently increasing government-wide information
sharing and the availability of information to the public. We
accomplish this by instructing the Archivist to promulgate regulations
which will standardize decisions on the classification documents.
The legislation also establishes systems for challenging whether
information ought to be classified and instructs agency IGs to randomly
audit classified information to assess whether proper classification
decisions are actually being made.
Finally, this legislation creates a record attached to each
classified document stating who made the decision to classify. The
current system of organizational silos restricts the free flow of
information from agency to agency. This system reduces this Nation's
overall security by making sure no one gets a view of the entire
mosaic. The legislation presents a government-wide solution to protect
what must be protected but requires sharing what ought to be shared.
Mr. Speaker, our future safety depends on moving from a ``need to
know'' culture to a ``need to share'' culture. This legislation will
help us reach that goal. I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to urge my colleagues to
vote in favor of H.R. 6575, the Over-Classification Reduction Act,
which addresses the ongoing problem in the Federal Government of over-
classification. Let me thank again Chairman Waxman as well as Ranking
Member Davis for their sponsorship of this bill.
Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, an old military maxim instructs,
``He who protects everything protects nothing.'' For too long, that
instruction has been ignored in this country with regards to our
classified secrets.
When facing direct threats, it is always easy to assume the best
thing to do is to conceal, protect and hide information. The problem
is, as the old military maxim said, that could be the exact worst thing
to do.
The 9/11 Commission put it this way: ``Current security requirements
nurture overclassification and excessive compartmentation [sic] of
information among agencies. Each agency's incentive structure opposes
sharing, with risks, criminal, civil, and internal administrative
sanctions, but few rewards for sharing information. No one has to pay
the long-term costs of over-classifying information, though these
costs--even in literal financial terms--are substantial.''
The result is the United States for a long time has tried to protect
a huge body of secrets using an incomprehensibly complex system of
classifications and safeguard requirements.
Worse still, this body of secrets is growing. And no one can say--
with any degree of certainty--how much information is classified, how
much needs to be declassified or whether the Nation's real secrets can
be adequately protected in a system so bloated it often does not
distinguish between the critically important and the merely
embarrassing.
Our classification practices have been highly subjective,
inconsistent and susceptible to abuse. Over-classification often
confuses national security with bureaucratic, political or diplomatic
convenience.
With this legislation, we intend to reduce improper and over-
classification--and, consequently, increasing government-wide
information sharing and the availability of information to the public.
We accomplish this by instructing the Archivist to promulgate
regulations which will standardize decisions on the classification of
documents.
The legislation also establishes systems for challenging whether
information ought to be classified and instructs agency IGs to randomly
audit classified information to assess whether proper classification
decisions are being made.
Finally, this legislation creates a record--attached to each
classified document--stating who made the decision to classify it.
The current system of organizational silos restricts the free flow of
information from agency to agency. This reduces the Nation's overall
security by making sure no one gets to view the entire mosaic.
Today, ``connecting the dots'' must be a ``team sport'' and this
legislation presents a government-wide solution to protect what must be
protected--but requires sharing of what ought to be shared.
Mr. Speaker, our future safety depends on moving from a ``need to
know'' culture to a ``need to share'' culture.
[[Page H7888]]
This legislation will help us reach that goal and I urge my
colleagues to support it.
Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6575, the Over-Classification Reduction
Act, is aimed at reducing over-classification by the Federal
Government. I introduced this bill with the Ranking Member of the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Tom Davis.
I want to thank Ranking Member Davis for working with me to move this
bill. I also want to thank Chairman Reyes and Representative Harman for
their cooperation on this bill and for their leadership on this issue.
In addition, I want to recognize Representative Clay for his work on
this issue.
The 9/11 Commission recommended providing incentives for information
sharing, ``to restore a better balance between security and shared
knowledge.'' But unfortunately, that advice has not been heeded. We
continue to see the Federal Government fostering secrecy using the tool
of over-classification.
As the 9/11 Commission pointed out in its report, ``[c]urrent
security requirements nurture overclassification and excessive
compartmentalization of information among agencies. Each agency's
incentive structure opposes sharing, with risks . . . but few rewards
for sharing information. No one has to pay the long-term costs of
overclassifying information, though these costs--even in literal
financial terms--are substantial.''
H.R. 6575 would require the Archivist to promulgate regulations to
prevent the over-classification of information. This bill would
increase accountability by allowing individuals to challenge decisions
to classify information and requiring that successful challenges be
rewarded. The bill improves oversight of classification decisions by
requiring the Inspector General of each affected agency to randomly
audit classified information to determine whether the appropriate
procedures were followed and to provide recommendations for
improvements. It also requires training for employees to proactively
prevent over-classification.
The problem of over-classification is governmentwide and it demands a
governmentwide solution. In order to improve information sharing, every
agency that has employees with the authority to classify documents must
be held accountable. This bill does that. I urge support for H.R. 6575.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 6575, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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