14 March 1998
Source: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces002.html

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[DOCID: f:h1546ih.txt]

105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1546

  To provide for a system to classify information in the interests of
     national security and a system to declassify such information.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 7, 1997

 Mr. Hamilton  (for himself and Mr. Combest) introduced the following
  bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight, and in addition to the Committees on Intelligence (Permanent
    Select), and National Security, for a period to be subsequently
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


  To provide for a system to classify information in the interests of
     national security and a system to declassify such information.

    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 ``Government Secrecy Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to promote the effective protection
of classified information and the disclosure of information where there
is not a well-founded basis for protection or where the costs of
maintaining a secret outweigh the benefits.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The system for classifying and declassifying national
        security information has been based in regulation, not in
        statute, and has been governed by six successive Executive
        orders since 1951.
            (2) The Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government
        Secrecy, established under Public Law 103-236, issued its
        report on March 4, 1997 (S. Doc. 105-2), in which it
        recommended reducing the volume of information classified and
        strengthening the protection of classified information.
            (3) The absence of a statutory framework has resulted in
        unstable and inconsistent classification and declassification
        policies, excessive costs, and inadequate implementation.
            (4) The implementation of Executive orders will be even
        more costly as more documents are prepared and used on
        electronic systems.
            (5) United States taxpayers incur substantial costs as
        several million documents are classified each year. According
        to figures submitted to the Information Security Oversight
        Office and the Congress, the executive branch and private
        industry together spent more than $5.2 billion in 1996 to
        protect classified information.
            (6) A statutory foundation for the classification and
        declassification of information is likely to result in a more
        stable and cost-effective set of policies and a more consistent
        application of rules and procedures.
            (7) Enactment of a statute would create an opportunity for
        greater oversight by the Congress of executive branch
        classification and declassification activities, without
        impairing the responsibility of executive branch officials for
        the day-to-day administration of the system.

SEC. 4. CLASSIFICATION AND DECLASSIFICATION OF INFORMATION.

    (a) Classification For National Security Reasons.--The President
may, in accordance with this Act, protect from unauthorized disclosure
information in the possession and control of the executive branch when
there is a demonstrable need to do so in order to protect the national
security of the United States. The President shall ensure that the
amount of information classified is the minimum necessary to protect
the national security.
    (b) Procedures for Classification and Declassification.--
            (1) In general.--The President shall, to the extent
        necessary, establish categories of information that may be
        classified and procedures for classifying information under
        subsection (a). The President shall, concurrently with the
        establishment of such categories and procedures, establish, and
        allocate resources for the implementation of, procedures for
        declassifying information previously classified.
            (2) Publication of categories and procedures.--
                    (A) The President shall publish notice in the
                Federal Register of any categories and procedures
                proposed to be established under paragraph (1) with
                respect to both the classification and declassification
                of information, and shall provide an opportunity for
                interested agencies and other interested persons to
                submit comments thereon. The President shall take into
                account such comments before establishing the
                categories and procedures, which shall also be
                published in the Federal Register.
                    (B) The procedures set forth in subparagraph (A)
                shall apply to any modifications in categories or
                procedures established under paragraph (1).
            (3) Agency standards and procedures.--The head of each
        agency shall establish standards and procedures for classifying
        and declassifying information created by that agency on the
        basis of the categories and procedures established by the
        President under paragraph (1). Each agency head, in
        establishing and modifying standards and procedures under this
        paragraph, shall follow the procedures required of the
        President in paragraph (2) for establishing and modifying
        categories and procedures under that paragraph.
    (c) Considerations in Determining Classification and
Declassification.--
            (1) In general.--In determining whether information should
        be classified or declassified, the agency official making the
        determination shall weigh the benefit from public disclosure of
        the information against the need for initial or continued
        protection of the information under the classification system.
        If there is significant doubt as to whether information
        requires such protection, it shall not be classified.
            (2) Written justification.--
                    (A) Original classification.--The agency official
                who makes the decision to classify information shall
                identify himself or herself and shall provide in
                writing a detailed justification for that decision.
                    (B) Derivative classification.--In any case in
                which an agency official classifies a document on the
                basis of information previously classified that is
                included or referenced in the document, that agency
                official shall identify himself or herself in that
                document.
    (d) Standards for Declassification.--
            (1) Initial classification period.--Information may not
        remain classified under this Act for longer than a 10-year
        period unless the head of the agency that created the
        information certifies to the President at the end of such
        period that the information requires continued protection,
        based on a current assessment of the risks of disclosing the
        information, carried out in accordance with subsection (c)(1).
            (2) Additional classification period.--Information not
        declassified prior to or at the end of the 10-year period
        referred to in paragraph (1) may not remain classified for more
        than a 30-year period unless the head of the agency that
        created the information certifies to the President at the end
        of such 30-year period that continued protection of the
        information from unauthorized disclosure is essential to the
        national security of the United States or that demonstrable
        harm to an individual will result from release of the
        information.
            (3) Declassification schedules.--All classified information
        shall be subject to regular review pursuant to schedules each
        agency head shall establish and publish in the Federal
        Register. Each agency shall follow the schedule established by
        the agency head in declassifying information created by that
        agency.
            (4) Assessment of existing classified information.--Each
        agency official responsible for information which, before the
        effective date of this Act--
                    (A) was determined to be kept protected from
                unauthorized disclosure in the interest of national
                security, and
                    (B) had been kept so protected for longer than the
                10-year period referred to in paragraph (1),
        shall, to the extent feasible, give priority to making
        decisions with respect to declassifying that information as
        soon as is practicable.
    (e) Reports to Congress.--Not later than December 31 of each year,
the head of each agency that is responsible for the classification and
declassification of information shall submit to the Congress a report
that describes the application of the classification and
declassification standards and procedures of that agency during the
preceding fiscal year.
    (f) Amendment to Freedom of Information Act.--Section 552(b)(1) of
title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
            ``(1)(A) specifically authorized to be classified under the
        Government Secrecy Act of 1997, or specifically authorized,
        before the effective date of that Act, under criteria
        established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the
        interest of national security (as defined by section 7(6) of
        the Government Secrecy Act of 1997), and (B) are in fact
        properly classified pursuant to that Act or Executive order;''.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL DECLASSIFICATION CENTER.

    (a) Establishment.--The President shall establish, within an
existing agency, a National Declassification Center, the functions of
which shall be--
            (1) to coordinate and oversee the declassification policies
        and practices of the Federal Government; and
            (2) to provide technical assistance to agencies in
        implementing such policies and practices, in accordance with
        this section.
    (b) Functions.--
            (1) Declassification of information.--The Center shall, at
        the request of any agency and on a reimbursable basis,
        declassify information within the possession of that agency
        pursuant to the guidance of that agency on the basis of the
        declassification standards and procedures established by that
        agency under section 4, or if another agency created the
        information, pursuant to the guidance of that other agency on
        the basis of the declassification standards and procedures
        established by that agency under section 4. In carrying out
        this paragraph, the Center may use the services of officers or
        employees or the resources of another agency, with the consent
        of the head of that agency.
            (2) Coordination of policies.--The Center shall coordinate
        implementation by agencies of the declassification policies and
        procedures established by the President under section 4 and
        shall ensure that declassification of information occurs in an
        efficient, cost-effective, and consistent manner among all
        agencies that create or otherwise are in possession of
        classified information.
            (3) Disputes.--If disputes arise among agencies regarding
        whether information should or should not be classified, or
        between the Center and any agency regarding the Center's
        functions under this section, the heads of the agencies
        concerned or of the Center may refer the matter to the
        President for resolution of the dispute.
    (c) National Declassification Advisory Committee.--
            (1) In general.--There is established a 12-member National
        Declassification Advisory Committee. 4 members of the Advisory
        Committee shall be appointed by the President and 2 members
        each shall be appointed by the majority and minority leaders of
        the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
        the minority leader of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Membership.--The members of the Advisory Committee
        shall be appointed from among distinguished historians,
        political scientists, archivists, other social scientists, and
        other members of the public who have a demonstrable expertise
        in declassification and the management of Government records.
        No officer or employee of the United States Government shall be
        appointed to the Advisory Committee.
            (3) Duties.--The Advisory Committee shall provide advice to
        the Center and make recommendations concerning declassification
        priorities and activities.
    (d) Annual Reports.--The Center shall submit to the President and
the Congress, not later than December 31 of each year, a report on its
activities during the preceding fiscal year, and on the implementation
of agency declassification practices and its efforts to coordinate
those practices.

SEC. 6. INFORMATION TO THE CONGRESS.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the withholding
of information from the Congress.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``Advisory Committee'' means the National
        Declassification Advisory Committee established under section
        5(c);
            (2) the term ``agency'' means any executive agency as
        defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code, any
        military department as defined in section 102 of such title,
        and any other entity in the executive branch of the Government
        that comes into the possession of classified information;
            (3) the term ``Center'' means the National Declassification
        Center established under section 5(a);
            (4) the terms ``classify'', ``classified'', and
        ``classification'' refer to the process by which information is
        determined to require protection from unauthorized disclosure
        pursuant to this Act in order to protect the national security
        of the United States;
            (5) the terms ``declassify'', ``declassified'', and
        ``declassification'' refer to the process by which information
        that has been classified is determined to no longer require
        protection from unauthorized disclosure pursuant to this Act;
        and
            (6) the term ``national security of the United States''
        means the national defense or foreign relations of the United
        States.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
                                 <all>

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See also S.712 for identical bill introduced by Senators Moynihan and
Helms on May 7, 1997:

   http://jya.com/s712.txt
