S. 3393- -GOVERNMENT SECRECY CONTROL ACT AND S. 3399- -AMENDMENTS TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01495R000500050041-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 11, 2006
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: May 13, 1974
• Content Type: MF

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R
Y
13 May 1974
MEMORANDUM FOR:
O/DDI
SUBJECT S.3393--Government Secrecy Control Act
and S.3399--Amendments to the Freedom
of Information Act
1. S.3393 and 5.3399 have a major impact on the way
this Agency operates in classifying and handling classified
information. Both bills introduce Congressional interven-
tion into the classification and declassification process,
create legislative and/or executive organizations to review
and monitor all classified matter and require dissemination
of classified information to Congress as requested. In
their present form, they jeopardize existing Agency classi-
ficatio% policy and open up to the Congress and public
Agency classified documents.
2. S.3393 requires the registration of all classified
documents or matter within 20 days of origination or re-
ceipt within the United States. The only materials excluded
from these provisions are those that are destroyed within
60 days after issuance, i.e., working papers or drafts.
Any classified material not registered cannot be considered
classified and may not be withheld from the public. Material
classified before enactment which is over 10 years old must
be given to the public unless its registered and material
which is less than 10 years old at enactment may be with-
held from the public for only 4 years unless it is registered.
Registration consists of filing on a monthly basis biblio-
graphic, classification, and dissemination data on each new
classified item with the Federal Registrar (a new Federal
Officer replacing the Interagency Classification Review
Committee). The Registrar is authorized to permit agencies
to use aggregate entries for those classified items that
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SUBJECT: S.3393--Government Secrecy Control Act and 5.3399--
Amendments to the Freedom of Information Act
are voluminous in quantity or similar in content and to
use codes to protect the names of the classifiers. Under
this provision, CIA reporting could be handled by a limited
number of entries such as intelligence information reports,
intelligence memorandums, intelligence reports, interoffice
correspondence, etc. The bill, however, authorizes Congress
to overrule the Registrar's decisions on this recording
and to ask for more specific details on any classified
item.
3. The definition of what. constitutes classified
material is open-ended and includes any piece of classi-
fied item originating in the Agency and all present and
former Agency classified materials. The amount of record-
keeping required to register on a monthly basis all new
classified, as well as, all previously classified material
is staggering and expensive (it could easily reach $3
million and at least 200 slots annually). I doubt if
Congress would accept aggregate entries for all Agency
material and even if they do so, it would require consider-
able manpower to review and register old materials to
protect them from ultimate declassification. CRS was
able to absorb the EO 11652 data index (a similar register)
requirement because we could adapt our computer-based
document retrieval system to meet the requirement and
because items to be controlled were limited to finished
intelligence. The present CRS system could not absorb
"all" CIA classified matter. A new and more expensive
registration system would have to be introduced to meet
the increased coverage and timeliness (within 20 days)
requirements of this bill.
4. The final authority for declassification and release
to the public is assigned to a joint committee of Congress.
A Congressional committee will have a difficult time in
making the proper classification decision. Senator Muskie
admits that decisions on requiring or dropping secrecy
are "matters of individual judgment where precise standards
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SUBJECT: S.3393--Government Secrecy Control Act and S.3399--
Amendments to the Freedom of Information Act
cannot be automatically applied to every case." Prior
to the Congressional review, the Federal Registrar has
authority to approve or disapprove declassification decisions
made by individual agencies. These procedures are not only
time consuming and bureaucratic but they usurp the Director's
final authority to protect intelligence sources and methods.
S.3399
5. S.3399 is similar in purpose to S.3393. The ultimate
classification and declassification authority, however, is
vested in a full-time nine-member Classification Review
Commission. This Commission has the authority to overrule
individual agency decisions on downgrading and declassi-
fication, to investigate failures of agencies to comply
with requests for information and to furnish any classi-
fication information requested by Congress, a member of
Congress, or the Comptroller-General. The Commission is
authorized to use judicial processes to ensure compliance.
The Agency is not exempt from these provisions. The
Director's authority to protect intelligence sources and
methods could be seriously eroded by this process.
6. Documents that pertain to cryptographic systems,
that disclose intelligence sources or methods or that
disclose a defense plan, project or other specific defense
matter are exempt from the phased automatic downgrading
provisions. Classification of such documents, however,
must be reviewed by the Commission and the Commission can
authorize or reject classification extensions for an addi-
tional two years and beyond that time period if so requested
by the President. If such extensions of these types of
documents are rejected, they become subject to the phased
automatic downgrading schedules within the bill. This
is a time consuming, bureaucratic procedure to follow
to ensure that Agency classified materials are protected.
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SUBJECT: 5.3393--Government Secrecy Control Act and S.3399--
Amendments to the Freedom of Information Act
7. The bill also omits the phrase "foreign policy"
from the standard security classification definition
"damage to the national defense of the United States."
8. A provision in the bill could impact on CRS' bio-
graphic responsibility. A provision states that classi-
fication "to avoid embarrassment to any individual is
.prohibited." Many of the CRS biographic reports are
classified because of US Official assessments of foreign
officials' capabilities and personal lives.
9. The bill also provides that any classified documents
provided to the US by a foreign government or international
organization must be provided to Congress upon written re-
quest of a Congressional Committee. This would jeopardize
existing liaison relations with foreign government intelli-
gence activities.
10. I recommend careful review of both bills by the
Agency. Their intent is to correct classification abuses
but in so doing, they could seriously impair the intelli-
gence processes of the FederalrGovernme.rt.
H. C. EISENBEISS
Direcebr, Central Reference Service
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t EMORANDUM FOR: s,sistant Legislative Counsel
Attached are comments prepared
by CRS on S. 3393 and S- 22P-A that you
suggested via F I
$TATI NTL
STATI NTL
Attachment
13 May 1974
(DATE)
FORM GN 54 101 WHICH RELACES
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MAY FORM USED1 01
Distribution:
Original - Addressee w att (Basic Returned)
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1 DDI (File: Legislative Counsel) w/att
1 - ADDI Chrono
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