Archive Submits Comments on Obama Administration Declassification Policy

Public Interest Declassification Board Launches Forum for Public Input on Declassification Policy

For more information contact:
Meredith Fuchs/Kristin Adair - 202/994-7000

Washington, DC, June 30, 2009 - The Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) yesterday launched a historic Declassification Policy Forum to gather public input as part of an ongoing review of classification and declassification policy by the Obama Administration. The forum, hosted on the blog of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), will run from June 29th to July 13th and will seek recommendations in four different issue areas. Each topic will be available for public comment for three days, after which summaries of the comments will be sent to administration officials who are working to develop recommendations on classification and declassification policy. The current schedule is:

Declassification Policy – June 29-July 1
National Declassification Center – July 2-July 4
Classification Policy – July 5-July 7
Technology Challenges and Opportunities – July 8-13

In a May 27 directive, President Obama charged National Security Council staff with reviewing and recommending changes to the current classification executive order, EO 12958. The recommendations are due to the president on September 1. The blog process is described by Martin Faga, Acting Director of the Public Interest Declassification Board, and William Leary, Senior Director for Records and Access Management, National Security Council, and Chair of the interagency Policy Committee charged with reviewing Executive Order 12958, as amended, on the OSTP Blog. The Declassification Policy discussion was kicked off by Herb Briick, a member of the PIDB. On July 8, 2009, the PIDB also will host a public meeting at the National Archives and Records Administration to discuss revisions to Executive Order 12958, as amended, which governs classification and declassification policy.

The National Security Archive has begun submitting comments to the blog, where they can be voted on and commented on. The National Security Archive plans to submit additional comments during each of the four discussion periods.