PDF Version

S. Doc. 105-2

REPORT

of the

COMMISSION ON
PROTECTING AND REDUCING
GOVERNMENT SECRECY

PURSUANT TO PUBLIC LAW 236
103RD CONGRESS

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The Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy

Daniel Patrick Moynihan, New York, Chairman
Larry Combest, Texas, Vice Chairman

John M. Deutch, Massachusetts
Martin C. Faga, Virginia
Alison B. Fortier, Maryland
Richard K. Fox, District of Columbia
Lee H. Hamilton, Indiana
Jesse Helms, North Carolina
Ellen Hume, District of Columbia
Samuel P. Huntington, Massachusetts
John D. Podesta, District of Columbia
Maurice Sonnenberg, New York

Staff

Eric R. Biel, Staff Director
Jacques A. Rondeau, Deputy Staff Director

Sheryl L. Walter, General Counsel
Joan Vail Grimson, Counsel for Security Policy
Thomas L. Becherer, Research and Policy Director
Cathy A. Bowers, Senior Professional Staff
Gary H. Gower, Senior Professional Staff
John R. Hancock, Senior Professional Staff
Michael D. Smith, Senior Professional Staff
Sally H. Wallace, Senior Professional Staff
Michael J. White, Senior Professional Staff
Carole J. Faulk, Administrative Officer
Paul A. Stratton, Administrative Officer (1995)
Maureen Lenihan, Research Associate
Terence P. Szuplat, Research Associate
Pauline M. Treviso, Research Associate

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Appointments to the Commission

By the President of the United States

The Honorable John M. Deutch, Belmont, MA
Mr. John D. Podesta, Washington, DC
Ambassador Richard K. Fox, Jr., Washington, DC
Ms. Ellen Hume, Washington, DC

By the Majority Leader of the Senate

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Pindars Corners, NY
Professor Samuel P. Huntington, Boston, MA

By the Minority Leader of the Senate

Senator Jesse Helms, Raleigh, NC
Mrs. Alison B. Fortier, Chevy Chase, MD

By the Speaker of the House of Representatives

Representative Lee H. Hamilton, Nashville, IN
Mr. Maurice Sonnenberg, New York, NY

By the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives

Representative Larry Combest, Lubbock, TX
Mr. Martin C. Faga, Falls Church, VA

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COMMISSION
ON
PROTECTING AND REDUCING
GOVERNMENT SECRECY

WASHINGTON, D.C.
(202)776-8727

March 3, 1997

The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We hereby transmit the report of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy.

The Commission was created under Title IX of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 (P.L. 103-236) to conduct "an investigation into all matters in any way related to any legislation, executive order, regulation, practice, or procedure relating to classified information or granting security clearances" and to submit a final report containing recommendations covering these areas. The Commission's investigation was the first authorized by statute to examine government secrecy in 40 years, and only the second ever.

The Commission's report is unanimous. It contains recommendations for actions by the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch, with the object of protecting and reducing secrecy in an era when open sources make a plenitude of information available as never before in history.

Respectfully submitted,

Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Chairman

Larry Combest
Vice Chairman

[identical letters were sent to Speaker Newt Gingrich, House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle]

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