ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS The Honorable Porter Goss
Congress of the United States
Committee on the Judiciary
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-6216
(202)225-3951August 13, 2001
Chairman
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
H-405 The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515Dear Chairman Goss:
Thank you for your letter of March 6, 2001, recommitting your Committee to working with the Committee on the Judiciary during the 107th Congress on legislation to prohibit the unauthorized disclosure of classified information or other proposals to address concerns about the disclosure of sensitive national security information.
Recognizing that there is intent to address legislatively unauthorized disclosures of classified information during the current session, I appreciate your Committee's willingness to work closely with the Judiciary Committee in crafting a balanced approach to correcting this problem. As it is my understanding that Senator Shelby plans to include anti-leaks legislation as part of the Senate's version of the FY2002 Intelligence Authorization bill, I wanted to take this opportunity to assert that the House Committee on the Judiciary would seek immediate referral of any legislation that incorporates criminal provisions addressing the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.
Given the importance of the Intelligence Authorization bill, it is my strong preference that any anti-leaks legislation be considered separate and apart from general authorization bills. Like you, I firmly believe that a public hearing process, in which various interests are able to express their views, could build a better understanding of the problem of unauthorized disclosures of classified information and highlight the desire to develop an appropriate solution to this national security problem. I also believe that our two Committees should jointly encourage the Bush Administration to review appropriate administrative, civil, and criminal responses to this problem and provide information on methods and [word illegible] for improving the enforcement of current law as well.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
cc: The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Sincerely,
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR.
Chairman