I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2331 
To restore and strengthen the laws that provide for an open and transparent 
Federal Government. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 12, 2005 
Mr. WAXMAN (for himself, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. 
CUMMINGS, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. 
MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. NOR-
TON, Ms. LINDA
T. SA´NCHEZ
of California, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. STARK, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Ms. 
WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on 
Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To restore and strengthen the laws that provide for an 
open and transparent Federal Government. 
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 ‘‘Restore Open Govern-
ment Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
Sec. 3. Promotion of public disclosure. 
Sec. 4. Revocation of the Ashcroft and Card Memoranda that encourage the 
withholding of information. 
Sec. 5. Elimination of unnecessary pseudo-classification. 
Sec. 6. Restoration of public access to presidential records. 
Sec. 7. Prohibition on secret advisory committees. 
Sec. 8. Promotion of timely declassification of Government documents. 
Sec. 9. Improvements to operation of Freedom of Information Act. 
SEC. 3. PROMOTION OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Public access to information held by the 
Federal Government is vitally important to the func-
tioning of a democratic society. 
(2) The Freedom of Information Act was en-
acted to ensure such public access to information. 
(3) The Freedom of Information Act specifies 
limited exemptions to the general requirement for 
disclosure, where disclosure could potentially threat-
en other important public policy goals. 
(4) In establishing the categories of exempt in-
formation under the Freedom of Information Act, 
Congress allowed agencies to withhold information in 
those categories, but did not in any way mandate or 
encourage such withholding. 
(b) POLICY.—The policy of the Federal Government 
is to release information to the public in response to a 
request under the Freedom of Information Act—
(1) if such release is required by law; or 
(2) if such release is allowed by law and the 
agency concerned does not reasonably foresee that 
disclosure would be harmful to an interest protected 
by an applicable exemption. 
(c) GUIDANCE.—All guidance provided to Federal 
Government employees responsible for carrying out the 
Freedom of Information Act shall be consistent with the 
policy set forth in subsection (b). 
SEC. 4. REVOCATION OF THE ASHCROFT AND CARD MEMO-
RANDA 
THAT 
ENCOURAGE 
THE 
WITH-
HOLDING OF INFORMATION. 
The ‘‘Memorandum for Heads of all Federal Depart-
ments and Agencies’’ on ‘‘The Freedom of Information 
Act’’ issued by Attorney General John Ashcroft on Octo-
ber 12, 2001, and the ‘‘Memorandum for the Heads of 
Executive Department and Agencies’’ on ‘‘Action to Safe-
guard Information Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruc-
tion and Other Sensitive Documents Related to Homeland 
Security’’ issued by Andrew H. Card, Jr., Assistant to the 
President and Chief of Staff, on March 19, 2002, shall 
have no force or effect.
SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF UNNECESSARY PSEUDO-CLASSI-
FICATION. 
(a) REPORT ON THE PROLIFERATING USE OF PSEU-
DO-CLASSIFICATION DESIGNATIONS.— 
(1) REPORT
REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 
nine months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Archivist of the United States shall submit 
to the congressional committees described in sub-
section (d) a report describing the use of pseudo- 
classification designations. 
(2) MATTERS
COVERED.—The Archivist shall 
report on, at a minimum, the following: 
(A) The number of pseudo-classification 
designation policies used by Federal agencies, 
and a list of each of the pseudo-classification 
designations that includes the agency or agen-
cies that use the designation. 
(B) Any existing guidance, instruction, di-
rective, or regulations regarding each agency’s 
use of the pseudo-classification designations. 
(C) The number of documents categorized 
by each agency in each of the previous three fis-
cal years under each designation. 
(D) The number and level of experience 
and training of Federal agency, office, and con-
tractor personnel authorized to make pseudo- 
classification designations. 
(E) The cost of placing and maintaining 
information under each pseudo-classification 
designation. 
(F) The extent to which information placed 
under pseudo-classification designations has 
subsequently been released under section 552 of 
title 5, United States Code (popularly known as 
the Freedom of Information Act). 
(G) The extent to which pseudo-classifica-
tion designations have been used to withhold 
from the public information that is not author-
ized to be withheld by Federal statute, or by an 
Executive order relating to the classification of 
national security information. 
(H) The statutory provisions described in 
subsection (c). 
(3) INPUT FROM OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 
In order to report on the use of pseudo-classification 
designations, the Archivist shall solicit and consider 
input from Federal agencies, offices, and contrac-
tors, and all federal agencies, offices, and contrac-
tors shall cooperate fully and promptly with all re-
quests by the Archivist in the fulfillment of this sec-
tion. 
(4) NOTICE
AND
COMMENT.—The Archivist 
shall provide notice and an opportunity for public 
comment on the report. 
(b) ELIMINATION OF UNNECESSARY PSEUDO-CLAS-
SIFICATION DESIGNATIONS.— 
(1) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 15 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ar-
chivist of the United States shall promulgate regula-
tions banning the use of unnecessary pseudo-classi-
fication designations. 
(2) STANDARDS
FOR
INFORMATION
CONTROL 
DESIGNATIONS.—If the Archivist determines that 
there is a need for some agencies to use information 
control designations to safeguard information prior 
to review for disclosure, beyond those designations 
established by statute or by an Executive Order re-
lating to the classification of national security infor-
mation, the regulations under paragraph (1) shall 
establish standards for the use of those designations 
by agencies. Such standards shall address, at a min-
imum, the following issues: 
(A) Standards for utilizing the information 
control designations in a manner that is nar-