Lankford Urges Biden Admin to Implement Declassification Law

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a letter to US Office of Management and Budget Federal Chief Information Officer Clare Martorana requesting an update on implementation of the Sensible Classification Act, which was signed into law last year as part of the Intelligence Authorization Act included in the National Defense Authorization Act. 

Lankford and Cornyn were joined on the letter by Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) and Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Angus King (I-ME), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Bob Casey (D-PA)

“We write to request an update on your progress in developing a technology solution to classification and declassification in accordance with the Amended Sensible Classification Act of 2023… The government systematically overclassifies too much information at great cost to both public trust and national security. At the same time, the government often fails to protect the nation’s most important secrets,” the Senators wrote.

“Part of the solution to both of these challenges involves the adoption of technology that would enable classification and declassification of information to be carried out in a more efficient and effective manner…This opportunity to adapt our classification and declassification processes will greatly enhance the government’s ability to maintain accountability of our classified documents and records, streamline critical processes important to our national security, and work to reestablish trust and transparency between the United States government and the American people,” the Senators continued.

The full text of this letter is here and below.

Dear Ms. Martorana,

We write to request an update on your progress in developing a technology solution to classification and declassification in accordance with the Amended Sensible Classification Act of 2023. As you know, this bill became law as part of the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act, now known as PL 118-31.

The government systematically overclassifies too much information at great cost to both public trust and national security. At the same time, the government often fails to protect the nation’s most important secrets. Part of the solution to both of these challenges involves the adoption of technology that would enable classification and declassification of information to be carried out in a more efficient and effective manner. The statutory requirement includes consultations with the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Director of National Intelligence, the Public Interest Declassification Board, the Director of Information Security Oversight Office, and the head of the National Declassification Center of the National Archives and Records Administration, specifically to research an efficient and effective system, to be implemented on an interoperable and federated basis across the federal government for classifying and declassifying information. You may also know that a report to Congress on your progress is due within one year of the law’s enactment.

We therefore ask for a timely response to this letter that can satisfactorily answer the following questions:

1. What progress have you made in researching a technology-based solution to support efficient and effective classification and declassification in accordance with statutory requirements?
2. What meetings or coordination have you done with the heads of agencies listed above and in the statute?
3. How will you ensure the technology solution is interoperable and federated across the federal government?
4. Are you on track to meeting a statutory requirement of providing a report to Congress by the end of the year?

This opportunity to adapt our classification and declassification processes will greatly enhance the government’s ability to maintain accountability of our classified documents and records, streamline critical processes important to our national security, and work to reestablish trust and transparency between the United States government and the American people.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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