Preserving American Access to Information Act

Summary: Preserving American Access to Information Act  This bill directs: (1)&nbsp;the President to take appropriate actions to enhance the authority and capacity of the National Declassification Center under Executive Order 13526, or any successor executive order, to promote a government-wide strategy for the declassification of information; (2) the National Declassification Center to provide for consultation between the Center's advisory panel and the public on a regular basis; (3) federal agencies to make efforts to identify and designate historically valuable records during the initial classification process to ensure preservation and timely access to such records following eventual declassification; (4) the Public Interest Declassification Board to submit reports to Congress on pilot programs to assess the feasibility and&nbsp;advisability of mechanisms to improve the current declassification capabilities of such agencies; and (5) the Public Interest Declassification Board to review the rules of the Senate and the House of Representatives regarding the declassification of classified Committee records and make recommendations to improve declassification efforts. The bill requires federal agency heads that classify information to report to Congress on&nbsp;an assessment of the feasibility and advisability of: (1)&nbsp;replacing the&nbsp;agency's current classification system with a two-tiered system,&nbsp;and&nbsp;(2) declassifying records with classified Formerly Restricted Data. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preserving American Access to 
Information Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The 1994 Joint Security Commission, convened at the 
        request of the Secretary of Defense and the Director of the 
        Central Intelligence Agency stated that ``[t]he classification 
        system, largely unchanged since the Eisenhower administration 
        has grown out of control. More information is being classified 
        and for extended periods of time. Security rules proliferate, 
        becoming more complex yet remaining unrelated to the threat. . 
        . . Indeed, the classification system is not trusted on the 
        inside any more than it is on the outside. Insiders do not 
        trust it to protect information that needs protection. 
        Outsiders do not trust it to release information that does not 
        need protection''.
            (2) The Public Interest Declassification Board, notes in 
        its 2012 report that ``[a]gencies are currently creating 
        petabytes of classified information annually, which quickly 
        outpaces the amount of information the Government has 
        declassified in total in the previous seventeen years since 
        Executive Order 12958 established the policy of automatic 
        declassification for 25 year old records. Without dramatic 
        improvement in the declassification process, the rate at which 
        classified records are being created will drive an exponential 
        growth in the archival backlog of classified records awaiting 
        declassification, and public access to the nation's history 
        will deteriorate further''.

SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF THE NATIONAL DECLASSIFICATION CENTER.

    (a) In General.--The President shall take appropriate actions to 
enhance the authority and capacity of the National Declassification 
Center under Executive Order No. 13526, or any successor Executive 
order, in order to facilitate, enhance, and advance a government-wide 
strategy for the declassification of information.
    (b) Required Actions.--The actions taken under subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
            (1) A requirement that Federal agencies complete the review 
        of Presidential and Federal records proposed for 
        declassification, in accordance with priorities established by 
        the National Declassification Center, within eighteen months of 
        the start of the declassification process, except that agencies 
        may complete such review within two years of the start of the 
        declassification process upon the written approval of the 
        Director of the National Declassification Center.
            (2) A requirement that Federal agencies with authority to 
        classify information share their declassification guidance with 
        other such Federal agencies and with the National 
        Declassification Center.

SEC. 4. PUBLIC CONSULTATION WITH ADVISORY PANEL TO THE NATIONAL 
              DECLASSIFICATION CENTER.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the National Declassification 
Center shall provide for consultation between the advisory panel to the 
National Declassification Center and the public.
    (b) Frequency.--Consultations under subsection (a) shall occur not 
less frequently than the frequency of the regular meetings of the 
advisory panel to the National Declassification Center and, to the 
extent practicable, shall occur concurrently with the meetings of the 
advisory panel.

SEC. 5. PRESERVATION AND ACCESS TO HISTORICALLY VALUABLE RECORDS.

    Federal agencies shall make every effort to identify and designate 
historically valuable records during the initial classification process 
in order to ensure preservation and timely access to such documents and 
records following eventual declassification.

SEC. 6. REPORTS ON PILOT PROGRAMS ON IMPROVEMENTS TO THE 
              DECLASSIFICATION PROCESSES.

    (a) Reports.--The Public Interest Declassification Board shall, in 
consultation with the heads of Federal agencies that classify and 
review classified information as well as the Director of the National 
Declassification Center, submit to Congress reports setting forth 
options for various pilot programs to assess the feasibility and 
advisability of mechanisms to improve the current declassification 
capabilities of such agencies, including updates of software and 
procedures relating to declassification of information.
    (b) Mechanisms.--In selecting mechanisms to be assessed pursuant to 
the pilot programs for purposes of subsection (a), an emphasis shall be 
afforded to the selection of current technologies and practices that 
could improve current declassification capabilities, including 
commercial, off the shelf-technologies and current best practices of 
Federal agencies and the private sector.

SEC. 7. REVIEW OF DECLASSIFICATION PROCEDURES REGARDING INFORMATION 
              CONTROLLED BY CONGRESS.

    The Public Interest Declassification Board shall review the rules 
of the Senate and of the House of Representative regarding the 
declassification of classified Committee records, including hearings, 
meetings, and reports, and make recommendations to improve the 
consistency and timeliness of declassification efforts.

SEC. 8. REPORTS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the head of each Federal agency that classifies information shall 
submit to Congress a report that sets forth the following:
            (1) An assessment of feasibility and advisability of 
        replacing the current classification system of such agency with 
        a two-tiered system, including an analysis and assessment of 
        restructuring necessary to align the level of protection with 
        the level of harm anticipated in the event of unauthorized 
        release of sensitive information.
            (2) If such agency possesses records with classified 
        Formerly Restricted Data (FRD), an assessment of the 
        feasibility and advisability of declassifying such records.