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TRANSMITTAL OF SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS 

TO CONGRESS26

Members of Congress, Members of Congressional Committees, and their staffs often 

request copies of classified, Safeguards Information and unclassified documents, 

referred to below as "sensitive" documents. The procedures set forth in this section 

are established to ensure that these Congressional requests are treated uniformly and 

responded to promptly. 

GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES

Specific guidelines and procedures governing the handling of incoming requests (both 

oral and written), the coordination of responses, and the transmittal of documents are 

set forth below: 

1. Sensitive documents are documents within the agency’s possession that have 

not been disclosed to the public and that may be withheld from public disclosure 

under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or Privacy Act. 

2. The Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA) is the proper office to handle requests 

from Members of Congress or Congressional committees and their staffs for 

sensitive documents. In the event such requests are received elsewhere in 

NRC, they should be referred to OCA for handling. OCA is to assure that all 

such requests are accorded uniform treatment and responded to promptly within 

the guidelines established by the Commission. 

3. Sensitive documents will normally be provided only upon written request. When 

sensitive documents are requested orally by a Member of Congress or a 

Congressional staff person, OCA should inform the requestor that the document 

or documents requested contain sensitive information and ask that a written 

request be made to the Commission. In matters where time is of the essence, 

the written request of a Member of Congress or Congressional staff person may 

be dispensed with as long as the request is memorialized by OCA. Copies of all 

memoranda prepared by OCA which memorialize such requests are circulated to 

the Commission by OCA. The Commission’s general practice is to provide 

sensitive documents requested by Members of its Congressional oversight 

committees. It will also provide sensitive documents to other Members of 

Congress when the documents address matters pertaining to his or her State or 

District. In other circumstances, OCA should advise the Member that the NRC 

 26 Pursuant to Section 402 of the Consolidated and Further Continuing 

Appropriations Act, 2015, the July 5, 2011, version of this chapter is in effect 

and cannot be amended.
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prefers that such requests be made through the full Committee or Subcommittee 

Chairman or ranking minority Member of an NRC oversight committee. 

4. Documents relating to ongoing security activities, adjudications, pending 

enforcement actions, or ongoing investigations are particularly sensitive, and the 

Commission’s preference is that these documents not be provided to Congress 

until after the agency has decided the matter at issue. When documents within 

these categories are requested, OCA will discuss the sensitivity of the document 

with the requester and ask to defer the request until after the agency has made 

its decision on the matter at issue. If the requester refuses to withdraw or defer 

his or her request, then OCA, after consultation with the Commission, will provide 

these documents to Congress pursuant to the procedures set forth below. 

5. Unless otherwise directed by the Commission, sensitive documents are to be 

transmitted by the Director, OCA, under a cover letter that identifies their sensitive 

nature and requests that the documents be held in confidence with access 

limited to Members and committee staff. The cover letter should clearly identify 

the documents supplied. Where not previously established, the exact wording 

of the cover letter should be coordinated with the Office of the General Counsel 

(OGC). Each page of each sensitive document provided shall be marked “Not for 

Public Disclosure.” 

6. As with all other correspondence with Congressional Committees and 

Subcommittees, copies of the transmittal letter should be routinely provided to 

the Committee Chairman or Ranking Minority Member. If requested, the 

documents supplied as enclosures to the transmittal letter should be provided. 

Copies of all letters transmitting sensitive documents to Congress are circulated 

to the Commission by OCA. 

7. All letters going to Congress transmitting Safeguards Information should have in 

the body of the letter the following: 

Enclosure(s) XX contains Safeguards Information and must be handled 

and stored in accordance with 10 CFR 73.21 as noted and described in 

the cover sheet. Therefore, I request that access to this (these) 

enclosure(s) be limited to you and those of your staff who have a needto-know. In addition, pursuant to Section 149 of the Atomic Energy Act of 

1954, as amended, and 10 CFR 73.59, access to Enclosure(s) XX must 

be restricted to those members of your staff who have undergone 

fingerprinting for a prior U.S. government criminal history check. 

8. Responses to requests for investigative records compiled for law enforcement 

purposes should be coordinated with the Executive Director for Operations (EDO), 

the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), and/or the Office of the Inspector 

General (OIG), depending upon the nature of the records requested. 
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9. Responses to requests for the following types of sensitive documents should be 

coordinated, as appropriate, with the EDO, CFO, and OGC: 

a. classified documents (National Security Information and Restricted Data); 

b. documents containing Proprietary Information; 

c. agency files containing personnel or medical information, the public 

disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of 

personal privacy; 

d. documents containing Safeguards Information; 

e. draft documents containing inspection and enforcement findings, either in 

their entirety or excerpts from them; 

f. staff drafts, predecisional memoranda, and letters containing advice, 

recommendations, or opinions prepared in or by an office reporting to the 

Commission, EDO, or CFO, on matters pending agency review and 

decision; and 

g. documents containing confidential commercial information relating to the 

awarding of grants, contracts, or other agency procurement actions, 

disclosure of which may jeopardize the agency’s competitive position. 

10. Responses to requests for documents containing classified or Safeguards 

Information should also be coordinated with the Office of Nuclear Security and 

Incident Response. Established procedures for handling and storing classified 

or Safeguards Information should be followed and delivery made only to 

Congressional staff persons with the appropriate clearance and need to know. 

11. Classified documents originated by another agency will not be transmitted, and 

the requester will be advised to contact the originating agency directly, pursuant 

to Executive Order 13526. The possible release of NRC documents containing 

classified information originated by another agency will be coordinated with the 

originating agency. In addition, Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards 

Information (SUNSI) documents (e.g. Homeland Security Information or other 

sensitive security related information) received from another Federal agency will 

not be transmitted. 

12. Requests for lists of SECY papers and other administrative records relating to 

the deliberative, decision-making process of the Commission should be 

coordinated with the Office of the Secretary (SECY). 

13. Responses to requests for sensitive documents used in the deliberative, 
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consultative, or predecisional activities of the Commission itself must be 

reviewed by the Commission. These documents include the following items: 

a. transcripts, electronic recordings, or meeting summaries of Commission 

meetings closed pursuant to the Government in the Sunshine Act (e.g., 

pending adjudications and enforcement actions, pending investigations, 

litigative strategy and frank discussion of individuals where release would 

invoke privacy issues); 

b. interoffice communications between and among Commissioners and their 

personal staff containing predecisional advice, recommendations, or 

opinions; 

c. documents containing predecisional staff advice, recommendations or 

opinions prepared by a member of a Commissioner’s personal staff or a 

special consultant to a Commissioner; and 

d. documents containing predecisional staff advice, recommendations, or 

opinions of an office reporting directly to the Chairman, Office of 

Congressional Affairs (OCA), and Office of Public Affairs (OPA), or to the 

Commission (OGC, SECY, OCAA, OIP, and the EDO). (These 

documents specifically include those subject to the attorney-client privilege 

and documents prepared by legal counsel which reveal the theory of a 

case or litigative strategy. They also include investigative reports 

prepared by OI pending Commission action). 

14. In coordinating with Commissioner offices, OCA should first collect the requested 

documents in coordination with SECY and the relevant Commission-level offices. 

Once the documents have been compiled and a cover letter drafted, a listing of 

the documents and the draft cover letter, and a proposed date for transmittal 

should be provided to each Commissioner for his or her review. Unless otherwise 

advised by the Commission, the Director, OCA, may transmit the requested 

documents to the requesting party on the date proposed.27

15. In some cases, where the nature of the documents is highly sensitive, the 

Commission may wish to consider alternatives to direct transmittal. For example, 

the Commission may wish to suggest retaining the documents on the premises 

and making them available to Congressional staff for their review. It is the 

responsibility of the Director, OCA, and of the EDO, CFO, or the relevant Office 

Director to call the attention of the Commission to especially sensitive 

 27 Appendix 13 contains a checklist for use by relevant offices which, in 

coordination with OCA/OGC and SECY, are gathering Commission documents 

pursuant to Congressional document requests. 
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documents which in their judgment may require special handling. 

16. In cases where non-public documents requested by a Congressional source are 

also being requested under a FOIA request, they should be transmitted to the 

requesting Congressional committee under a cover letter signed by the Director, 

OCA, explaining that the documents are subject to a pending FOIA request and 

requesting that they be maintained in confidence pending a FOIA determination. 

In cases where there is no FOIA request pending, the cover letter should simply 

state that the document or documents are not publicly available and ask that 

they not be disclosed to the public. 

17. The originating office shall promptly advise OCA of any subsequent 

determination authorizing the public release of documents sent to Congress 

under sensitive handling procedures. OCA should then inform Congressional 

committees that have been given these documents of such a determination.