August 27 is the deadline for completion of recommendations to be made by an interagency taskforce assigned by the president that address the issue of secrecy labeling in the federal government.  No indication as of yet as to what those recommendations may contain.  As part of our effort to educate the government and the public on the importance of this issue, we interviewed several experts about the key questions:

In July, OMB Watch produced a report outlining the history and problems of the current CUI system and offering specific recommendations for reform, which was submitted to the taskforce.  The report concludes that though the current CUI reform effort simplifies the label framework and establishes consistent definitions and practices, it falls short in several important areas. These include the overuse of CUI markings, time limits and the implications for public access to the information, congressional and judicial use of CUI information, and the lack of oversight involved with CUI.

The Constitution Project subsequently submitted their own report that included recommended legislative changes concerning CUI.  Legislative changes would ensure that many changes recommended by interested groups as well as the taskforce would be codified into law.  Last year, two CUI bills sat in Congress with little momentum to be passed.  We hope that renewed interest on the part of the administration to seek long-term solutions to rampant secrecy labeling will compel the current Congress to pass legislation sitting before it. 

The Reducing Information Control Designations Act (H.R. 1323) passed the House in March but has not gained any momentum in the Senate.  This legislation would codify the following changes:

• Establish standards that maximize public access to information;
• Limit the number of agency employees and contractors with authority to utilize such designations;
• Establish procedures for identifying, marking, dating, and tracking information assigned to the designations;
• Establish penalties for employees and contractors who repeatedly fail to comply;
• Require training for federal agency employees or contractors who are responsible for analyzing, disseminating, preparing, producing, receiving, publishing, or otherwise communicating information with a designation; and
• Require each federal agency's Inspector General to randomly audit unclassified information with such a designation.

We hope that you will contact your Senator and urge them to press their support for this legislation.