[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18186-18188]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   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

[[Page 18187]]

       (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 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.

[[Page 18188]]

  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.
  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.

                          ____________________