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After September 11, the federal government passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In addition to creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the law contains two provisions that could exempt information from public access. Both the Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) and Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) provisions undermine corporate and government accountability and threaten community right-to-know by hiding information from the public about infrastructure vulnerabilities or any other "sensitive" information.

News

Problems Disclosed on Classification Procedures at Intelligence Agencies 04/15/2008
A recent report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) reviews the classification procedures at eight agencies and finds significant problems, which unnecessarily complicate classification procedures and inhibit the free flow of information. Read More

House Passes Compromise FISA Bill 03/18/2008
The House recently rejected the president's request to pass and send to the White House a Senate bill to extend surveillance authority and grant telecommunications companies retroactive immunity for assisting in wiretapping. Instead, on March 14, the House passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 3773), which rejects immunity for telecommunications companies and imposes stronger civil liberties safeguards. Read More

House Forces Expiration of Protect America Act 02/20/2008
During the week of Feb. 11, the White House and Democrats in Congress exchanged blows over whether and how to extend the surveillance powers of the Protect America Act of 2007 (PAA). The Senate's approach, the FISA Amendments Act (S. 2248), included a provision granting immunity for telecommunications companies that helped the government monitor citizens through its warrantless wiretapping program. The House leadership, opposed to immunity for telecommunications companies, refused to consider the bill. Instead, House leaders wanted to pass a three-week extension of PAA powers to give themselves time to resolve differences with the Senate, but House Republicans blocked the move. As a result, the PAA expired at midnight Eastern time on Feb. 16. Despite the expiration, the government still has numerous surveillance tools available as debate continues. Read More

FISA Fight Heats Up in Senate 02/05/2008
The Senate is continuing its debate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). On Jan. 31, President Bush signed a 15-day extension of the Protect America Act (PAA) to allow the Senate to further debate and vote on a modified extension of PAA. A provision providing immunity to telecommunications companies remains a contentious issue. Read More

Public Interest Board Attempts to Improve Declassification 01/23/2008
On Jan. 9, the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) released a report, Improving Declassification: A Report to the President from the Public Interest Declassification Board, outlining a series of recommendations to improve the declassification of government information. Read More

SBU Gets New Letters and Maybe a Better Policy 01/23/2008
The Department of Defense (DoD) is finalizing policies to streamline categories used to restrict technically unclassified documents. The new policy to eliminate the multiple agency-specific "Sensitive But Unclassified" (SBU) procedures and replace them with a common set of "Controlled Unclassified Information" (CUI) standards is currently under presidential review. Read More

Secrecy Hinders Progress of Terrorism Cases 12/04/2007
The secrecy of the government's counterterrorism efforts is impeding the progress of bringing suspected terrorists to trial. In reports from The New York Times and The Washington Post, secret government programs and secret court procedures have slowed cases involving suspected and convicted terrorists. Read More

Congress Reforming Government Surveillance Authority 11/20/2007
Legislation to reform expansive surveillance authority moved forward in both the House and the Senate recently. The House passed the RESTORE Act (H.R. 3773), which would reform the Protect America Act (PAA), passed in haste before Congress's August recess. The Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 (S. 2248) without telecom immunity provisions that were included in the Senate Intelligence Committee bill, setting up a confusing situation that makes it unclear which version will be sent to the Senate floor for consideration. Read More

Senate Judiciary Committee Skeptical of Telecom Immunity 11/06/2007
As the Senate considers legislation to address the president's surveillance powers, the Senate Judiciary Committee registered concern regarding the recent compromise brokered in the Senate Intelligence Committee to grant the telecommunications industry immunity for alleged illegal assistance with the National Security Agency's (NSA) warrantless surveillance of American citizens. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), respectively, chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated that immunity did not appear to be necessary, and that those alleging harm should have their day in court. Read More

National Research Council Recommends Greater Openness 11/06/2007
The National Research Council of the National Academies issued a report in October calling for policies to improve government openness with regard to scientific information. The report stressed that certain government policies developed after 9/11 overly restrict access to scientific information and thereby harm scientific progress and national security. Read More

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