[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 17, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H5438-H5439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ANNOUNCEMENT BY CHAIRMAN OF PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE 
         REGARDING AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I wish to announce to all Members of the House 
that the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday, June 
12, 2003, pursuant to its Rules of Procedure, by majority vote, 
authorized access to any Member of the House who wishes to review 
certain documents provided to the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence by the Director of Central Intelligence in response to the 
letter from the chairman and ranking member to the director dated May 
22, 2003.
  Specifically, the documents at issue relate to the available 
intelligence concerning Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program and 
Iraq's ties to terrorist groups prior to the commencement of 
hostilities in Iraq.
  These documents are available for review by Members only at the 
offices of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in Room H-405 
of the Capitol. The committee office will be open during regular 
business hours for the convenience of any Member who wishes to review 
this material.
  Members wishing to review these documents must contact the 
committee's Director of Security, Mr. Bill McFarland, in advance to 
arrange a time and date for that viewing. This will assure the 
availability of committee staff to assist Members in their review of 
these classified materials and manage the flow of activity in an 
orderly way.
  It should be understood by Members that none of the classified 
material reviewed by Members is authorized to be disclosed publicly.
  It is important that Members also keep in mind the requirements of 
House rule XXIII, clause 13. That rule permits only those Members of 
the House who have signed the oath set out in clause 13 of House rule 
XXIII to have access to classified information.
  I would advise Members wishing to review these documents that they 
should bring with them a copy of the

[[Page H5439]]

rule XXIII oath executed by them when they come to the committee office 
to review that material. If a Member has not yet signed the rule XXIII 
oath, but wishes to review the documentation provided by the DCI, the 
committee staff can administer the oath and see to it that the executed 
form is sent to the Clerk's office.
  Additionally, the committee's rules require that before Members are 
given access to any classified material in the committee's possession, 
that Members must execute a nondisclosure agreement indicating that 
they have been granted access to particularly described classified 
material; they are familiar with both the rules of the House and the 
committee rules with respect to the classified nature of information 
contained in the documents they are given for review; and they 
understand fully the limitations placed on them with respect to 
disclosure of that information.
  The committee requires that this nondisclosure agreement be signed by 
any Member seeking to review the documents each time the Member seeks 
to gain access to the documents.
  Those are the conditions with which the committee agreed to make this 
material available to any Member. If there are any questions, please 
call the committee and we will be glad to elaborate.

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