Declassification Reform Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3733 To establish the Executive Agent for Declassification to promote programs, processes, and systems and for directing resources relating to declassifica- tion in the Federal Government, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 14, 2020 Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To establish the Executive Agent for Declassification to pro- mote programs, processes, and systems and for directing resources relating to declassification in the Federal Gov- ernment, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Declassification Re- 4 form Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3733.IS S3733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3733 IS (1) In his August 16, 2019, letter to the Presi- 1 dent, the director of the Information Security Over- 2 sight Office (ISOO) wrote the following: ‘‘Today, the 3 Government creates electronic petabytes of classified 4 and controlled unclassified data each month, a del- 5 uge that we expect will continue to grow unabated’’. 6 (2) The director of the Office has identified 7 problems in the declassification system for years, 8 writing in his August 16, 2019, letter, ‘‘In my last 9 annual report to you, I emphasized that users of this 10 system inside and outside the Government rightly 11 observe that its current framework is unsustainable 12 and desperately requires modernization. The invest- 13 ment, adoption, and use of advanced technologies lie 14 at the core of this transformation, but we also need 15 new policies and practices that reflect and support 16 the way the Government actually operates in the 17 21st century’’. 18 (3) The director of the Office wrote in his Au- 19 gust 16, 2019, letter the following: ‘‘The Govern- 20 ment has not invested in the technologies needed to 21 support electronic information management and in- 22 formation security’’. 23 (4) In its June 2016 report, the Public Interest 24 Declassification Board (PIDB) wrote the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3733.IS S3733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3733 IS ‘‘[n]early all users of the security classification sys- 1 tem agree that it is no longer able to handle the cur- 2 rent volume and forms of information, especially 3 given the exponential growth of digital information’’. 4 (5) In its June 2016 report, the Board wrote 5 the following: ‘‘[a]s the PIDB has previously noted 6 in all of our reports, we reaffirm that our most im- 7 portant recommendation for developing and ensuring 8 such a system is the adoption of a government-wide 9 technology investment strategy for the management 10 of classified information.’’. 11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 12 In this Act: 13 (1) CLASSIFICATION.—The term ‘‘classifica- 14 tion’’ means the act or process by which information 15 is determined to be classified information. 16 (2) CLASSIFIED NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMA- 17 TION OR CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.—The term 18 ‘‘classified national security information’’ or ‘‘classi- 19 fied information’’ means information that has been 20 determined pursuant to Executive Order 13526 (50 21 U.S.C. 3161 note; relating to classified national se- 22 curity information), or any predecessor or successor 23 order, to require protection against unauthorized 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3733.IS S3733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3733 IS disclosure and is marked to indicate its classified 1 status when in documentary form. 2 (3) DECLASSIFICATION.—The term ‘‘declas- 3 sification’’ means the authorized change in the sta- 4 tus of information from classified information to un- 5 classified information. 6 (4) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive 7 agency’’ has the meaning given such term in section 8 105 of title 5, United States Code. 9 SEC. 4. EXECUTIVE AGENT FOR DECLASSIFICATION. 10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is in the executive 11 branch of the Federal Government an Executive Agent for 12 Declassification who shall be responsible for promoting 13 programs, processes, and systems relating to declassifica- 14 tion, including developing technical solutions for auto- 15 mating declassification review, and directing resources for 16 such purposes in the Federal Government. 17 (b) DESIGNATION.—The Director of National Intel- 18 ligence shall serve as the Executive Agent for Declassifica- 19 tion. 20 (c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Executive Agent for 21 Declassification are as follows: 22 (1) To promote programs, processes, and sys- 23 tems with the goal of ensuring that declassification 24 activities keep pace with classification activities and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3733.IS S3733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3733 IS that classified information is declassified at such 1 time as it no longer meets the standard for classi- 2 fication. 3 (2) To promote the establishment of a federated 4 declassification system to streamline, modernize, and 5 oversee declassification across Executive agencies. 6 (3) To direct resources to develop, coordinate, 7 and implement a federated declassification system 8 that includes technologies that automate declas- 9 sification review and promote consistency in declas- 10 sification determinations across the executive branch 11 of the Federal Government. 12 (4) To work with the Director of the Office of 13 Management and Budget in developing a line item 14 for declassification in each budget of the President 15 that is submitted for a fiscal year under section 16 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code. 17 (5) To identify and support the development 18 of— 19 (A) best practices for declassification 20 among Executive agencies; and 21 (B) goal oriented declassification pilot pro- 22 grams. 23 (6) To promote and implement technological 24 and automated solutions relating to declassification, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3733.IS S3733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3733 IS with human input as necessary for key policy deci- 1 sions. 2 (7) To promote feasible, sustainable, and inter- 3 operable programs, processes, and systems to facili- 4 tate a federate declassification system. 5 (8) To direct the implementation across Execu- 6 tive agencies of the most effective programs and ap- 7 proaches relating to declassification. 8 (9) To establish, oversee, and enforce acquisi- 9 tion and contracting policies relating to declassifica- 10 tion programs. 11 (10) In coordination with the Information Secu- 12 rity Oversight Office in the National Archives and 13 Records Administration— 14 (A) to issue policies and directives to the 15 heads of Executive agencies relating to direct- 16 ing resources and making technological invest- 17 ments in declassification that include support 18 for a federated declassification system; 19 (B) to ensure implementation of the poli- 20 cies and directives issued under subparagraph 21 (A); 22 (C) to collect information on declassifica- 23 tion practices and policies across Executive 24 agencies, including challenges to effective de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3733.IS S3733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3733 IS classification, training, accounting, and costs 1 associated with classification and declassifica- 2 tion; 3 (D) to develop policies for ensuring the ac- 4 curacy of information obtained from Federal 5 agencies; and 6 (E) to develop accurate and relevant 7 metrics for judging the success of declassifica- 8 tion policies and directives. 9 (d) CONSULTATION WITH EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 10 ON DECLASSIFICATION PROGRAMS AND TECHNOLOGY.— 11 In making decisions under this section, the Executive 12 Agent for Declassification shall consult with the Executive 13 Committee on Declassification Programs and Technology 14 established under section 5(a). 15 (e) COORDINATION WITH THE NATIONAL DECLAS- 16 SIFICATION CENTER.—In implementing a federated de- 17 classification system, the Executive Agent for Declassifica- 18 tion shall act in coordination with the National Declas- 19 sification Center established by section 3.7(a) of Executive 20 Order 13526 (50 U.S.C. 3161 note; relating to classified 21 national security information). 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3733.IS S3733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3733 IS SEC. 5. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ON DECLASSIFICATION 1 PROGRAMS AND TECHNOLOGY. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com- 3 mittee to provide advice and guidance to the Executive 4 Agent for Declassification on matters relating to declas- 5 sification programs and technology. 6 (b) DESIGNATION.—The committee established by 7 subsection (a) shall be known as the ‘‘Executive Com- 8 mittee on Declassification Programs and Technology’’ (in 9 this section referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 10 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 11 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall be 12 composed of the following: 13 (A) The Director of National Intelligence. 14 (B) The Under Secretary of Defense for 15 Intelligence. 16 (C) The Secretary of Energy. 17 (D) The Secretary of State. 18 (E) The Director of the National Declas- 19 sification Center. 20 (F) The Director of the Information Secu- 21 rity Oversight Board. 22 (G) The Director of the Office of Manage- 23 ment and Budget. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3733.IS S3733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3733 IS (H) Such other members as the Executive 1 Agent for Declassification considers appro- 2 priate. 3 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson of the 4 Committee shall be the Director of National Intel- 5 ligence. 6 SEC. 6. ADVISORY BODIES FOR EXECUTIVE AGENT FOR DE- 7 CLASSIFICATION. 8 (a) DESIGNATION OF ADVISORY BODIES.—The fol- 9 lowing are hereby advisory bodies for the Executive Agent 10 for Declassification: 11 (1) The Public Interest Declassification Board 12 established by section 703(a) of the Public Interest 13 Declassification Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–567). 14 (2) The Office of the Historian of the Depart- 15 ment of State. 16 (3) The Historical Office of the Secretary of 17 Defense. 18 (4) The office of the chief historian of the Cen- 19 tral Intelligence Agency. 20 (b) MATTERS PERTAINING TO THE PUBLIC INTER- 21 EST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD.— 22 (1) CONTINUITY OF MEMBERSHIP.—Subsection 23 (c)(2) of section 703 of the Public Interest Declas- 24 sification Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–567; 50 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3733.IS S3733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3733 IS U.S.C. 3161 note) is amended by adding at the end 1 the following: 2 ‘‘(E) Notwithstanding the other provisions 3 of this paragraph, a member whose term has 4 expired may continue to serve until a successor 5 is appointed.’’. 6 (2) MEETINGS.—Subsection (e) of such section 7 is amended, in the second sentence, by inserting 8 ‘‘appointed’’ before ‘‘members’’. 9 SEC. 7. REPORTING. 10 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than the end of the 11 first full fiscal year beginning after the date of the enact- 12 ment of this Act and not less frequently than once each 13 fiscal year, the Executive Agent for Declassification shall 14 submit to Congress and make available to the public a re- 15 port on the implementation of declassification programs 16 and processes in the most recently completed fiscal year. 17 (b) COORDINATION.—The report shall be coordinated 18 with the Annual Report of the Information Security Over- 19 sight Office in the National Archives and Records Admin- 20 istration pursuant to Section 5.2(b)(8) of Executive Order 21 13526. 22 (c) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted and made 23 available under subsection (a) shall include, for the period 24 covered by the report, the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3733.IS S3733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3733 IS (1) The costs incurred by the Federal Govern- 1 ment for classification and declassification. 2 (2) A description of information systems of the 3 Federal Government and technology programs, proc- 4 esses, and systems of Executive agencies related to 5 declassification. 6 (3) A description of the policies and directives 7 issued by the Executive Agent for Declassification 8 and other activities of the Executive Agent for De- 9 classification. 10 (4) A description of the challenges posed to Ex- 11 ecutive agencies in implementing the policies and di- 12 rectives of the Executive Agent for Declassification 13 relating to declassification as well as the policies of 14 the Executive agencies. 15 (5) A description of pilot programs and new in- 16 vestments in programs, processes, and systems relat- 17 ing to declassification and metrics of effectiveness 18 for such programs, processes, and systems. 19 (6) A description of progress and challenges in 20 achieving the goal described in section 4(c)(1). 21 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 22 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 23 this Act $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3733.IS S3733 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS