[Libs-Or] INFORMATION - President issues executive order on classified national security information

[Diedre Conkling]

Here is some good news. President issues executive order on classified
national security information<http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=4203>
December 31, 2009 ( No
Comments<http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&view=js&name=js&ver=GRUts-X5mqs.en.&am=!JjYx-7BZhZy5A3Gi0egGIiyZ7URC3i6z3Cvtb6ZrA0jkGg#comments>)

On December 29, President Obama issued a new executive order, “Classified
National Security
Information”<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-classified-national-security-information>.
This order will alter the way the executive branch classifies documents,
reducing over classification and the length of time the public must wait to
view documents.  The president also released a memorandum
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-implementation-executive-order-classified-national-security>to
the heads of executive departments and agencies that explains how he would
like the order to be implemented.

As the White House has stated, among the major changes are the following:

   - It establishes a National Declassification Center at the National
   Archives to enable agency reviewers to perform collaborative
   declassification in accordance with priorities developed by the Archivist
   with input from the general public.
   - For the first time, it establishes the principle that no records may
   remain classified indefinitely and provides enforceable deadlines for
   declassifying information exempted from automatic declassification at 25
   years.
   - For the first time, it requires agencies to conduct fundamental
   classification guidance reviews to ensure that classification guides are
   up-to-date and that they do not require unnecessary classification.
   - It eliminates an Intelligence Community veto of certain decisions by
   the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel that was introduced in
   the Bush order.

A thorough explanation of the president’s documents can be found of the White
House website<http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/12/28/promoting-openness-and-accountability-making-classification-a-two-way-street>
.

This is another step in the direction of a more open and transparent
government and we will watch anxiously to watch as the implementation takes
place.
Jessica McGilvray <jmcgilvray at alawash.org>
Assistant Director, OGR

http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=4203

-- 
Diedre Conkling
Lincoln County Library District
P.O. Box 2027
Newport, OR  97365
Work phone & fax:  541-265-3066
Work email:  diedre at beachbooks.org
Home email:  diedre08 at gmail.com
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