I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 700 
To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code, to apply the require-
ments of the Freedom of Information Act to the National Security 
Council, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 24, 2017 
Mrs. WALORSKI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code, to 
apply the requirements of the Freedom of Information 
Act to the National Security Council, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transparency in Na-
tional Security Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:50 Feb 01, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H700.IH
H700
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) The National Security Council (NSC) is 
mandated by statute to advise the President with re-
spect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and 
military policies relating to the national security and 
to perform such other functions as the President 
may direct. 
(2) The NSC maintained an active Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA) program and responded to 
requests under Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, 
and George H.W. Bush. 
(3) The 1996 case that eliminated the FOIA re-
quirement for the NSC, Armstrong v. Executive Of-
fice of the President, concluded that the NSC does 
not exercise sufficiently independent authority. 
(4) In the 20 years since the Armstrong case, 
former Secretaries and Cabinet officials, including 
Leon Panetta and Robert Gates, have spoken out 
concerning the increasing centralization of power at 
the White House, and the NSC in particular. 
(5) The Obama Administration issued Presi-
dential Policy Directive 1 on February 13, 2009, 
which established the roles and responsibilities for 
the NSC and established the National Security Advi-
sor as the principal advisor to the President. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:50 Feb 01, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H700.IH
H700
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(6) The NSC has grown 20 times in size since 
the 1960s and now has approximately 400 employ-
ees. 
(7) The NSC’s growth has accelerated in the 
recent administrations, the NSC doubled in size to 
approximately 100 under President Clinton, the 
NSC doubled in size again to approximately 200 
under President George W. Bush, and has doubled 
again under President Obama to nearly 400 employ-
ees. 
(8) Successive administrations have shifted the 
NSC’s role beyond coordinating and advising as was 
intended by the National Security Act of 1947 and 
now use the NSC as the final approval for military 
operations as well. 
(9) General Norton Schwartz, former Chief of 
Staff of the Air Force stated, ‘‘The NSC should not 
be activists. They should have a limited, if any role, 
in execution.’’. 
(10) Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advi-
sor to Presidents Ford and George H.W. Bush stat-
ed, ‘‘The basic rule is that you shouldn’t have so 
many people that you can duplicate the work of the 
departments.’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:50 Feb 01, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H700.IH
H700
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(11) The Presidential Records Act has been ap-
plied to the NSC, given the NSC’s growing auton-
omy and level of responsibilities, the NSC should in-
stead follow the disclosure requirements of the FOIA 
and be obligated to preserve its records in accord-
ance with the Federal Records Act. 
SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION 
ACT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL. 
Section 552(f)(1) of title 5, United States Code (com-
monly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), 
is amended by inserting ‘‘and the National Security Coun-
cil’’ after the ‘‘Executive Office of the President’’. 
SEC. 4. APPLICATION. 
The amendment made by section 3 shall apply with 
respect to any record created by the National Security 
Council before, on, or after the date of the enactment of 
this Act. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:50 Feb 01, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H700.IH
H700
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS