Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., announced that the White House is leading an effort to reform the classification system as stated by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, a two-time Wash100 Award recipient, in a letter.
Haines said in the letter that agencies are taking part in a White House-led process that seeks to gather insights on challenges related to the standardization of information management, declassification, classification and the control of sensitive data.
The DNI letter was in response to a call by Wyden and Moran for the Biden administration to update the executive order that establishes rules for government classification and declassification to address urgent concerns in the current system that undermine national security.
“I’m pleased that the Biden administration is committed to reforming the classification system and investing in new declassification technology. I’ll continue watching closely to ensure the White House gets it done and ultimately heeds my call to update the executive order governing classification,” Wyden said in a statement published Wednesday.
Haines also informed the lawmakers of current efforts within the Intelligence Community to improve the declassification process.
