II

★(Star Print)

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 22

To provide for a system to classify information in the interests of national

security and a system to declassify information, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 19, 1999

Mr. MOYNIHAN (for himself, Mr. HELMS, Mr. LOTT, Mr. DASCHLE, Mr.

THOMPSON, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To provide for a system to classify information in the interests of national security and a system to declassify information, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Government Secrecy

5 Reform Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. CLASSIFICATION AND DECLASSIFICATION OF IN7 FORMATION.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may, in accordance

9 with the provisions of this Act, protect from unauthorized
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1 disclosure any information owned by, produced by or for,

2 or under the control of the executive branch when there

3 is a demonstrable need to do so in order to protect the

4 national security of the United States.

5 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS AND PROCE6 DURES FOR CLASSIFICATION AND DECLASSIFICATION.—

7 (1) GOVERNMENTWIDE PROCEDURES.—

8 (A) CLASSIFICATION.—The President

9 shall, to the extent necessary, establish cat10 egories of information that may be classified

11 and procedures for classifying information

12 under subsection (a).

13 (B) DECLASSIFICATION.—At the same

14 time the President establishes categories and

15 procedures under subparagraph (A), the Presi16 dent shall establish procedures for declassifying

17 information that was previously classified.

18 (2) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—

19 (A) NOTICE.—The President shall publish

20 in the Federal Register notice regarding the

21 categories and procedures proposed to be estab22 lished under paragraph (1).

23 (B) COMMENT.—The President shall pro24 vide an opportunity for interested persons to
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•S 22 IS1S

1 submit comments on the categories and proce2 dures covered by subparagraph (A).

3 (C) DEADLINE.—The President shall com4 plete the establishment of categories and proce5 dures under paragraph (1) not later than 60

6 days after publishing notice in the Federal Reg7 ister under subparagraph (A). Upon completion

8 of the establishment of such categories and pro9 cedures, the President shall publish in the Fed10 eral Register notice regarding such categories

11 and procedures.

12 (3) MODIFICATION.—In the event the President

13 determines to modify any categories or procedures

14 established under paragraph (1), subparagraphs (A)

15 and (B) of paragraph (2) shall apply to such modi16 fication.

17 (4) AGENCY STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The head of each agen19 cy shall establish standards and procedures to

20 permit such agency to classify and declassify in21 formation created by such agency in accordance

22 with the categories and procedures established

23 by the President under this section and other24 wise to carry out the provisions of this Act.

25 Such standards and procedures shall include
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1 mechanisms to minimize the risk of inadvertent

2 or inappropriate declassification of previously

3 classified information (including information

4 classified by other agencies).

5 (B) GUIDANCE.—

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—The President shall

7 require the head of each agency with origi8 nal classification authority to produce writ9 ten guidance on the classification and de10 classification of information in order to im11 prove the classification and declassification

12 of information by such agency and the de13 rivative classification of information and

14 declassification of derivatively classified in15 formation by such agency and other agen16 cies. Such guidance may be treated as clas17 sified information under this Act.

18 (ii) DECLASSIFICATION PERIOD FOR

19 CERTAIN INFORMATION.—

20 (I) IN GENERAL.—In producing

21 written guidance under clause (i), the

22 head of an agency may specify types

23 and categories of information that

24 may remain classified for up to 25
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1 years after the date of original classi2 fication.

3 (II) APPROVAL REQUIRED.—The

4 specification of a type or category of

5 information under subclause (I) shall

6 be effective only with the approval of

7 the Director of the Office of National

8 Classification and Declassification

9 Oversight.

10 (C) DEADLINE.—Each agency head shall

11 establish standards and procedures under sub12 paragraph (A) and produce written guidance

13 under subparagraph (B) not later than 60 days

14 after the date on which the President publishes

15 notice under paragraph (2)(C) of the categories

16 and standards established by the President

17 under paragraph (1).

18 (D) PUBLICATION.—Each agency head

19 shall publish in the Federal Register the stand20 ards and procedures established by such agency

21 head under subparagraph (A).

22 (c) STANDARD FOR CLASSIFICATION AND DECLAS23 SIFICATION DECISIONS.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

25 information may be classified under this Act, and
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1 classified information under review for declassifica2 tion under this Act may remain classified, only if the

3 harm to national security that might reasonably be

4 expected from disclosure of such information out5 weighs the public interest in disclosure of such infor6 mation.

7 (2) DEFAULT RULE.—In the event of signifi8 cant doubt whether the harm to national security

9 that might reasonably be expected from the disclo10 sure of information would outweigh the public inter11 est in the disclosure of such information, such infor12 mation shall not be classified or, in the case of clas13 sified information under review for declassification,

14 declassified.

15 (3) FACTORS IN DECISIONS.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall

17 prescribe the factors to be utilized in deciding

18 for purposes of paragraph (1) whether the dis19 closure of information might reasonably be ex20 pected to harm national security or might serve

21 the public interest.

22 (B) GUIDANCE.—In prescribing factors

23 under subparagraph (A), the President shall

24 also prescribe guidance to be utilized in apply25 ing such factors. The guidance shall specify
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1 with reasonable detail the weight to be assigned

2 each factor and the manner of balancing among

3 opposing factors of similar or different weight.

4 (C) PROCESS.—The President shall pre5 scribe factors and guidance under this para6 graph at the same time the President estab7 lishes categories and procedures under sub8 section (b)(1) and subject to the notice and

9 comment procedures set forth under subsection

10 (b)(2).

11 (d) WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION FOR CLASSIFICA12 TION.—

13 (1) ORIGINAL CLASSIFICATION.—Each agency

14 official who makes a decision to classify information

15 not previously classified shall, at the time of such

16 decision—

17 (A) identify himself or herself; 

18 (B) provide in writing a detailed justifica19 tion of that decision; and

20 (C) indicate the basis for the classification

21 of the information with reference to the written

22 guidance produced under subsection (b)(4)(B).

23 (2) DERIVATIVE CLASSIFICATION.—In any case

24 in which an agency official or contractor employee

25 classifies a document on the basis of information
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1 previously classified that is included or referenced in

2 the document, the official or employee, as the case

3 may be, shall—

4 (A) identify himself or herself in that docu5 ment; and

6 (B) provide a concise explanation of that

7 decision.

8 (e) DECLASSIFICATION OF INFORMATION CLASSI9 FIED UNDER ACT.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graphs (2), (3), and (4), information classified under

12 this Act may not remain classified under this Act

13 after the date that is 10 years after the date of the

14 original classification of the information.

15 (2) EARLIER DECLASSIFICATION.—When

16 classifying information under this Act, an agency of17 ficial may provide for the declassification of the in18 formation as of a date or event that is earlier than

19 the date otherwise provided for under paragraph (1).

20 (3) LATER DECLASSIFICATION.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—When classifying infor22 mation under this Act, an agency official with

23 original classification authority over the infor24 mation may provide for the declassification of

25 the information on a date that is up to 25 years
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1 after the date of original classification in ac2 cordance with the guidance approved under

3 subsection (b)(4)(B)(ii).

4 (B) POSTPONEMENT.—The actual date of

5 the declassification of information referred to in

6 subparagraph (A) may be postponed under

7 paragraph (4)(D).

8 (4) POSTPONEMENT OF DECLASSIFICATION.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The declassification of

10 any information or category of information that

11 would otherwise be declassified under para12 graph (1) or (2) may be postponed if an official

13 of the agency with original classification author14 ity over the information or category of informa15 tion, as the case may be, determines, before the

16 time of declassification for such information

17 otherwise provided for under paragraph (1) or

18 (2), as the case may be, that the information or

19 category of information, as the case may be,

20 should remain classified.

21 (B) PROCEDURE.—An official may not im22 plement a determination under subparagraph

23 (A) until the official obtains the concurrence of

24 the Director of the Office of National Classi-
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1 fication and Declassification Oversight in the

2 determination.

3 (C) GENERAL DURATION OF POSTPONE4 MENT.—Except as provided in subparagraph

5 (D), information the declassification of which is

6 postponed under this paragraph may remain

7 classified not longer than 15 years after the

8 date of the postponement.

9 (D) EXTENDED DURATION OF POSTPONE10 MENT.—

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses

12 (ii) and (iii), the declassification of any in13 formation that would otherwise be declas14 sified under subparagraph (C) or para15 graph (3) may be postponed if an official

16 of the agency with original classification

17 authority over the information determines

18 that extraordinary circumstances require

19 that the information remain classified.

20 (ii) PROCEDURES.—An official may

21 not implement a determination under

22 clause (i) until the official—

23 (I) obtains the concurrence of the

24 Director of the Office of National
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1 Classification and Declassification

2 Oversight in the determination; and

3 (II) submits to the President a

4 certification of the determination.

5 (iii) REVIEW.—The President shall es6 tablish a schedule for the review of the

7 need for continued classification of any in8 formation the declassification of which is

9 postponed under this subparagraph. Such

10 information shall be declassified at the ear11 liest possible time after the termination of

12 the circumstances with respect to such in13 formation referred to in clause (i).

14 (E) CONCURRENCES.—A concurrence at

15 the direction of the Classification and Declas16 sification Review Board on appeal under section

17 4(c)(2) and a concurrence at the direction of

18 the President on appeal under section 5(a) shall

19 be treated as a concurrence of the Director of

20 the Office of National Classification and De21 classification Oversight for purposes of subpara22 graphs (B) and (D)(ii)(I).

23 (5) APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR DECLASSIFICA24 TION OF INFORMATION.—Except as provided in this

25 Act, no information classified under this Act may be
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1 declassified or released without the approval of the

2 agency that originally classified the information.

3 (6) SPECIFICATION OF DECLASSIFICATION

4 DATE OR EVENT.—Each agency official making a

5 decision to classify information under this subsection

6 shall specify upon such information the date or event

7 of its declassification.

8 (f) DECLASSIFICATION OF CURRENT CLASSIFIED IN9 FORMATION.—

10 (1) PROCEDURES.—The President shall estab11 lish procedures for declassifying information that

12 was classified before the effective date of this Act.

13 Such procedures shall, to the maximum extent prac14 ticable, be consistent with the provisions of this sec15 tion.

16 (2) AUTOMATIC DECLASSIFICATION.—The pro17 cedures established under paragraph (1) shall in18 clude procedures for the automatic declassification

19 of information referred to in that paragraph that

20 has remained classified for more than 25 years as of

21 the effective date referred to in that paragraph.

22 (3) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—

23 (A) NOTICE.—The President shall publish

24 notice in the Federal Register of the procedures
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1 proposed to be established under this sub2 section.

3 (B) COMMENT.—The President shall pro4 vide an opportunity for interested persons to

5 submit comments on the procedures covered by

6 subparagraph (A).

7 (C) DEADLINE.—The President shall com8 plete the establishment of procedures under this

9 subsection not later than 60 days after publish10 ing notice in the Federal Register under sub11 paragraph (A). Upon completion of the estab12 lishment of such procedures, the President shall

13 publish in the Federal Register notice regarding

14 such procedures.

15 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO FOIA.—Section

16 552(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended to

17 read as follows:

18 ‘‘(1)(A) specifically authorized to be classified

19 under the Government Secrecy Reform Act of 1999

20 or specifically authorized under criteria established

21 by an Executive order to be kept secret in the inter22 est of national security and (B) are in fact properly

23 classified pursuant to that Act or Executive order;’’.
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1 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF NATIONAL CLASSIFICATION AND DE2 CLASSIFICATION OVERSIGHT.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within

5 the National Archives and Records Administration

6 an office to be known as the Office of National Clas7 sification and Declassification Oversight (in this sec8 tion referred to as the ‘‘Oversight Office’’).

9 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Oversight

10 Office is to standardize the policies and procedures

11 used by agencies to assess information for initial

12 classification and to review information for declas13 sification.

14 (3) POLICY GUIDANCE.—On behalf of the Presi15 dent, the Assistant to the President for National Se16 curity Affairs shall provide policy guidance to the

17 Oversight Office.

18 (4) BUDGET.—

19 (A) CONSULTATION IN PREPARATION.—

20 The Archivist of the United States shall consult

21 with the Assistant to the President for National

22 Security Affairs and the Director of the Office

23 of Management and Budget in preparing the

24 annual budget request for the Oversight Office.

25 (B) PRESENTATION.—The annual budget

26 request for the Oversight Office shall appear as
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1 a distinct item in the annual budget request of

2 the National Archives and Records Administra3 tion.

4 (b) DIRECTOR.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be a Director of

6 the Office of National Classification and Declas7 sification Oversight who shall be appointed by the

8 President, by and with the advice and consent of the

9 Senate. The Director shall be the head of the Over10 sight Office.

11 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—To the maximum extent

12 practicable, the President shall nominate for ap13 pointment as Director individuals who have experi14 ence in policy relating to classification and declas15 sification of information, records management, and

16 information technology.

17 (3) SUPERVISION.—The Director shall report

18 directly to the Archivist of the United States.

19 (4) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Section 5315 of

20 title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding

21 at the end the following:

22 ‘‘Director, Office of National Classification and

23 Declassification Oversight.’’.

24 (c) PERSONNEL AND RESOURCES.—
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1 (1) TRANSFER.—All personnel, funds, and

2 other resources of the Information Security Over3 sight Office are hereby transferred to the Oversight

4 Office and shall constitute the personnel, funds, and

5 other resources of the Oversight Office.

6 (2) INTERIM DIRECTOR.—The Director of the

7 Information Security Oversight Office shall serve as

8 acting Director of the Oversight Office until a Direc9 tor of the Oversight Office is appointed under sub10 section (b)(1).

11 (d) DUTIES.—The Oversight Office shall—

12 (1) coordinate and oversee the classification and

13 declassification policies and practices of agencies in

14 order to ensure the compliance of such policies and

15 procedures with the provisions of this Act;

16 (2) develop and issue directives, instructions,

17 and educational aids and forms to assist in the im18 plementation of the provisions of this Act;

19 (3) develop a program of research and develop20 ment of technologies to improve the efficiency of

21 classification and declassification processes under

22 this Act;

23 (4) determine whether or not information is

24 classified in violation of this Act and order that in25 formation determined to be classified in violation of
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1 this Act be declassified by the agency that originated

2 the classification;

3 (5) determine whether an agency determination

4 to postpone the declassification of information under

5 section 2(e)(4) is consistent with the provisions of

6 this Act;

7 (6) review the proposed budgets of agencies for

8 classification and declassification programs and

9 make recommendations to the Office of Management

10 and Budget as to means of ensuring that such budg11 ets provide sufficient funds to permit agencies to

12 comply with the requirements of this Act;

13 (7) oversee special access programs consistent

14 with its other duties under this section;

15 (8) conduct audits and on-site reviews of agency

16 classification and declassification programs; and

17 (9) establish and maintain a Government-wide

18 database on the declassification activities of the Gov19 ernment, including an unclassified version of the

20 database available to the public.

21 (e) AGENCY COOPERATION.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the control and

23 supervision of the President, each agency shall pro24 vide the Oversight Office such information and other

25 cooperation as the Director of the Oversight Office
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1 considers appropriate to permit the Oversight Office

2 to carry out its duties.

3 (2) SPECIAL ACCESS PROGRAMS.—The head of

4 an agency with jurisdiction over special access pro5 grams may—

6 (A) limit access to such programs to not

7 more than the Director and one other employee

8 of the Oversight Office; and

9 (B) upon the concurrence of the President,

10 deny access by the Oversight Office to any such

11 program if the head of such agency determines

12 that such access would pose an exceptional risk

13 to national security.

14 (f) APPEALS FROM CERTAIN DECISIONS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—An agency may appeal to

16 the Classification and Declassification Review Board

17 any declassification order or determination under

18 paragraph (4) or (5) of subsection (d).

19 (2) DEADLINE.—An agency may appeal an

20 order or determination under paragraph (1) only if

21 the agency submits the appeal to the Board not later

22 than 60 days after the date of the order or deter23 mination, as the case may be.

24 (g) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The Director of

25 the Oversight Office shall take appropriate actions to pre-
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1 vent disclosure to the public of classified information that

2 is provided to the Oversight Office. Such actions shall in3 clude a requirement that the staff of the Oversight Office

4 possess security clearances appropriate for the informa5 tion considered and reviewed by the Oversight Office.

6 (h) ANNUAL REPORT.—

7 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than March 31

8 each year, the Director of the Oversight Office shall

9 submit to Congress and to the President a report on

10 the compliance of agencies with the requirements of

11 this Act.

12 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report under paragraph

13 (1) shall—

14 (A) include a summary of the extent of the

15 compliance of agencies Government-wide with

16 the requirements of this Act as of the date of

17 such report; and

18 (B) set forth an assessment of the compli19 ance of each agency with such requirements as

20 of that date.

21 (3) FORM.—Each report under paragraph (1)

22 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in23 clude a classified annex.

24 (4) AVAILABILITY.—The Oversight Office shall

25 make available to the public the unclassified form of
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1 each report under paragraph (1) on an Internet Web

2 site maintained by the Oversight Office.

3 SEC. 4. CLASSIFICATION AND DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW

4 BOARD.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within

6 the Executive Office of the President a board to be known

7 as the Classification and Declassification Review Board

8 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Board’’).

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP AND PROCEDURAL MATTERS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall consist of

11 five members appointed by the President, by and

12 with the advice and consent of the Senate, of

13 whom—

14 (A) four shall be private citizens;

15 (B) two shall be officers or employees of

16 the Federal Government; and

17 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—

18 (A) PRIVATE CITIZENS.—The members of

19 the Board who are private citizens shall be ap20 pointed from among individuals who are distin21 guished historians, political scientists, archi22 vists, and other social scientists or who other23 wise have demonstrated expertise in matters re24 lating to the national security of the United
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1 States, records management, or government in2 formation policy.

3 (B) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—The

4 members of the Board who are officers or em5 ployees of the Federal Government shall be ap6 pointed from among such officers and employ7 ees who have demonstrated expertise in matters

8 referred to in subparagraph (A).

9 (C) CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT.—Notwith10 standing any provision of paragraph (1), the

11 commencement or termination of service as an

12 officer or employee of the Federal Government

13 of an individual appointed as a member of the

14 Board under that paragraph before such com15 mencement or termination shall not affect the

16 continuation of such individual as a member of

17 the Board.

18 (3) NOMINATIONS.—

19 (A) CONSULTATION.—In nominating indi20 viduals for appointment to the Board, the

21 President shall consult with the Secretary of

22 Defense, Secretary of State, Attorney General,

23 Assistant to the President for National Security

24 Affairs, Director of Central Intelligence, Archi-
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1 vist of the United States, and Director of the

2 Office of Management and Budget.

3 (B) LIMITATION.—The President may not

4 nominate for appointment to the Board any in5 dividual who has previously served as a member

6 of the Board.

7 (C) INITIAL NOMINATIONS.—The Presi8 dent shall make the first nominations of indi9 viduals for appointment to the Board not later

10 than 120 days after the effective date of this

11 Act.

12 (D) BIPARTISAN REPRESENTATION.—Of

13 the members of the Board appointed under

14 paragraph (1)(A), not more than two shall be

15 of the same political party.

16 (4) PRESIDING OFFICER.—The President shall

17 designate a member of the Board appointed under

18 paragraph (1)(A) to serve as the Presiding Officer

19 of the Board.

20 (5) TERM.—Members of the Board shall be ap21 pointed for a term of 4 years, except that of the

22 members first nominated for appointment to the

23 Board under paragraph (3)(C)—
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1 (A) two shall be nominated for a 4-year

2 term (including the member who shall be the

3 Presiding Officer of the Board);

4 (B) two shall be nominated for a 3-year

5 term; and

6 (C) two shall be nominated for a 2-year

7 term.

8 (6) VACANCIES.—An individual appointed to fill

9 a vacancy shall be appointed for the unexpired term

10 of the member replaced.

11 (7) PROCEDURAL MATTERS.—

12 (A) QUORUM.—A majority of the members

13 of the Board shall constitute a quorum, but a

14 lesser number of members may hold hearings.

15 (B) RULES AND PROCEDURES.—

16 (i) REQUIREMENT.—The Board shall

17 establish, and may from time to time mod18 ify, such rules and procedures as the

19 Board considers appropriate to carry out

20 its duties. Such rules and procedures shall

21 provide that a decision of the Board re22 quires a vote of a majority of the members

23 of the Board.
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1 (ii) PUBLICATION.—The Board shall

2 publish its rules and procedures in the

3 Federal Register.

4 (iii) INITIAL RULES AND PROCE5 DURES.—The Board shall establish its ini6 tial rules and procedures not later than

7 90 days after the date of initial meeting

8 of the Board.

9 (c) POWERS AND DUTIES.—The Board shall—

10 (1) decide on appeals by agencies which chal11 lenge a declassification order of the Office of Na12 tional Classification and Declassification Oversight

13 under section 3(d)(4);

14 (2) decide on appeals by agencies which chal15 lenge a determination of that Office not to concur in

16 the postponement of the declassification of informa17 tion under section 3(d)(5); and

18 (3) decide on appeals by persons or entities who

19 have filed requests for mandatory declassification re20 view.

21 (d) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The Board

22 shall take appropriate actions to prevent the disclosure to

23 the public of classified information that is provided to the

24 Board. Such actions shall include a requirement that the

25 members and staff of the Board possess security clear-
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1 ances appropriate for the information considered and re2 viewed by the Board.

3 (e) PERSONNEL MATTERS.—

4 (1) COMPENSATION.—

5 (A) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the

6 Board who is a private citizen shall be com7 pensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent

8 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for

9 level IV of the Executive Schedule under section

10 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each

11 day (including travel time) during which such

12 member is engaged in the performance of the

13 duties of the Board.

14 (B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of

15 the Board shall be allowed travel expenses, in16 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates

17 authorized for employees of agencies under sub18 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States

19 Code, while away from their homes or regular

20 places of business in the performance of serv21 ices for the Board.

22 (2) STAFF.—The Presiding Officer of the

23 Board may, with the concurrence of the Board, ap24 point such staff, including an executive secretary, as

25 the Board requires to carry out its duties.
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1 (3) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—

2 Any Federal Government employee may be detailed

3 to the Board without reimbursement, and such de4 tail shall be without interruption or loss of civil serv5 ice status or privilege.

6 SEC. 5. APPEAL OF DETERMINATIONS OF CLASSIFICATION

7 AND DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW BOARD.

8 (a) APPEAL.—Subject to subsection (c), any agency

9 may appeal to the President a decision or other action of

10 the Classification and Declassification Review Board

11 under section 4(c).

12 (b) DEADLINE.—An agency may appeal a decision or

13 other action under subsection (a) only if the agency sub14 mits the appeal to the President not later than 60 days

15 after the date of the decision or other action concerned.

16 (c) FINALITY.—A decision of the President on an ap17 peal under subsection (a) shall be final.

18 SEC. 6. PROHIBITIONS.

19 (a) WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM CON20 GRESS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to author21 ize the withholding of information from Congress.

22 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Except in the case of the

23 amendment to section 552 of title 5, United States Code,

24 made by section 2(g), no person may seek or obtain judi-
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1 cial review of any provision of this Act or any action taken

2 under a provision of this Act.

3 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

4 In this Act:

5 (1) The term ‘‘agency’’ means any executive

6 agency as defined in section 105 of title 5, United

7 States Code, any military department as defined in

8 section 102 of such title, and any other entity in the

9 Executive Branch of the Government that comes

10 into the possession of classified information.

11 (2) The terms ‘‘classify’’, ‘‘classified’’, and

12 ‘‘classification’’ refer to the process by which infor13 mation is determined to require protection from un14 authorized disclosure pursuant to this Act in order

15 to protect the national security of the United States.

16 (3) The terms ‘‘declassify’’, ‘‘declassified’’, and

17 ‘‘declassification’’ refer to the process by which in18 formation that has been classified is determined to

19 no longer require protection from unauthorized dis20 closure pursuant to this Act.

21 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

22 This Act and the amendment made by section 2(g)

23 shall take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment

24 of this Act.

Æ